Blue Preview: Your guide to Kentucky’s football game at Georgia
Kentucky at Georgia
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.
TV: CBS (play-by-play, Brad Nessler; analysis, Gary Danielson; sideline, Allie LaForce)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1, XM Channel 190, Sirius Channel 138
Records: Kentucky 7-3 (4-3 SEC), No. 7 Georgia 9-1 (6-1 SEC)
Series: Georgia leads 56-12-2
Last meeting: Georgia won 27-24 on Nov. 5, 2016, in Lexington
Favorite: Georgia is favored by 21.5 points
The story line
Off an impressive, 44-21 road throttling of Vanderbilt, Mark Stoops and Kentucky travel to Georgia seeking an upset victory that would give UK its first eight-win regular season since 1984. Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs figure to be in a foul mood after their unbeaten record and No. 1 rating in the College Football Playoff Rankings were spoiled in a lopsided 40-17 loss at Auburn last week.
The big threat
Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Georgia’s senior running back duo form one of the most lethal one-two combinations in the country. Chubb, a 5-foot-10, 225-pound product of Cedartown, Ga., has run for 894 yards and 10 touchdowns and is averaging 5.9 yards a carry. Michel, a 5-11, 215-pound product of Plantation, Fla., has 731 rushing yards and nine TDs while averaging a robust 7.4 yards a carry. Both Chubb and Michel will likely be running angry Saturday after being emphatically shut down by Auburn, Chubb finishing with 27 yards on 11 carries and Michel 21 yards on nine.
On the spot
Benny Snell. The Kentucky sophomore running back is on a massive roll over the past three games, running for 180 yards and three touchdowns vs. Tennessee, 176 yards and three TDs against Mississippi and 116 yards and three scores at Vanderbilt. At Georgia, the 5-11, 225-pound Snell goes up against the fifth-ranked run defense in the country. The Bulldogs are allowing only 103.8 yards a game. If Snell could have a stellar game against a nationally ranked run defense in a game telecast on CBS, the Westerville, Ohio, product could set himself up for some major 2018 awards consideration.
The mood
Has not been nearly as upbeat as a 7-3 Kentucky record would seem to merit. With the Wildcats suffering close home defeats to Florida and Mississippi in a year when the SEC East is unusually weak, some UK fans have seen this season as more a lost opportunity than a quality year. The sure way to turn that feeling around would be a huge upset of a Georgia team that has already clinched the SEC East championship — not that anyone is suggesting that will be easy to do.
Mark Story: 859-231-3230, @markcstory
This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Blue Preview: Your guide to Kentucky’s football game at Georgia."