Campus Clash- Week Ten
(6) Georgia Bulldogs at (11) Kentucky Wildcats
Georgia: The bye week did them well because they looked like a much different and better team than they did prior to the bye when they lost to LSU in Baton Rouge. This past Saturday in their annual showdown with the Florida Gators, they got back to playing their brand of football and that consists of establishing the running game, the offensive line dominating the line of scrimmage, the receivers making plays all over the field and the defense was back to its punishing ways, but my biggest takeaway from their win on Saturday was how Jake Fromm finally snapped out of his mini-funk and had a big game completing 17 of his 24 passes for 240 yards and three touchdown passes on the day and if they want to make that run down the stretch, he needs to be on his A-game moving forward because they will go as far as he takes them. They needed that win in Jacksonville on Saturday and I think the loss to LSU humbled them because they hadn’t been tested all year and now we can say that they have. Right now, Kirby’s team would one of my first two out in my first set of playoff rankings but there’s still some football left to be played and anything can happen as far teams who are ranked ahead of them losing and them gaining ground. They begin the final stretch of the season against a team that’s really been shocking us all.
Kentucky: Normally when you hear about the Kentucky Wildcats, the basketball team will ALWAYS come to mind and they’ve had a lot of success over the years. I think it’s safe to say the football team wants to mentioned as well and who would ever think that the Kentucky Wildcats, a football program that has struggled in recent memory would be sitting here at this moment with a record of 7-1, ranked 11th in the country and a chance to play for first place in a division that was just given to the Georgia Bulldogs? If you had predicted all of this, then you’re good and you need to be doing what I’m doing because, like many, I never saw this coming. So what has made this team so special in 2018? First, they have one of the best running backs in the nation that nobody really discusses and his name is Benny Snell. He’s an all-around back that can squeeze himself through any lane and get into the open field, he can block and help protect Terry Wilson and he’s also consistent as a receiver. Pay attention to this kid because the future is tremendously bright for him. The Wildcats offense can move the football down the field and they score as they average a little over 25.5 points per game and they’re not slouches either on the defensive side. They only give up 13 points per contest. This is the biggest game ever for the football program on Saturday.
Georgia Player To Watch: Riley Ridley– He’s the younger brother of the former Alabama star and current Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin and he’s made a nice name for himself. I remember his big-time performance in the National Title game in January and how many big catches he made. He will need to do the same on Saturday once again in Lexington.
Kentucky Player To Watch: Lynn Bowden Jr.– Georgia knows that Kentucky will do just about anything to get Benny the football. So expect them to load up the box and that will allow this kid to see a lot of one on one coverages in the backend from Georgia’s secondary.
Final Analysis: Who would’ve thought that the SEC East would come down to the Georgia Bulldogs and Kentucky Wildcats? This is incredible and that stadium will be pumped up beyond measure on Saturday in Lexington. Georgia must start as they did against the Florida Gators and when they get off to a quick start, good things happen for them. For Kentucky, they must mix up their offensive game-plan and not rely so much on the running game for them to succeed.
Prediction: Georgia 28 Kentucky 17
