ATHENS — Mark Richt offered a warning Tuesday to any fans who might peruse the stats and assume Georgia’s suddenly resurgent running game might be in for another easy game against Kentucky this week.
Georgia’s tailbacks have totaled more than 130 yards rushing in each of the past four games, and Kentucky ranks 11th in the SEC and 98th nationally in rushing defense, but Richt said the game plan for success on the ground against the Wildcats isn’t quite so simple.
“There are some statistics of them maybe having some people running the ball against them relatively well, but most people that have hurt them running the ball have hurt them with the option game,” Richt said. “The more traditional zone, power, sprint draw, the things that we do the most, they’ve been much more tougher and physical against those types of runs.”
With a trio of burly linebackers and a solid defensive line, Kentucky is able to be physical at the point of attack, but struggles against teams with a more dynamic approach to their running game.
Against Florida, Kentucky allowed 362 yards rushing. Against Mississippi State, the Wildcats gave up another 348 yards on the ground. Those two teams averaged 7.3 yards per rush, while the rest of Kentucky’s opponents have managed just 3.7 yards per carry.
“It makes you want to put some option in, doesn’t it?” Richt said with a smile.
He may have been joking, but Georgia does have a few wrinkles to its running attack that could prove effective. Branden Smith’s speed has helped him score on two long touchdowns already this season — one on a reverse and one from the Wildcat package. Backup quarterback Logan Gray offers a more athletic option at the position, too, while receiver Rantavious Wooten has seen action on draw plays and reverses as well.
While those remain in the playbook, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said it’s still unlikely the option game will play much of a role this week.
“We always have that going into certain game plans, but the teams that really have had a lot of success on them were teams that did that exclusively, quarterbacks that run that had more than just one or two wrinkles,” Bobo said. “Sometimes you think it might be easy to add this or that, but most teams that do that, they do that exclusively and that’s their system.”
Seeking out second
Virtually all of Georgia’s preseason goals have evaporated, but the Bulldogs can lock up a solid consolation prize Saturday with a win over Kentucky.
A victory would end Georgia’s conference slate with a 5-3 record in the SEC, good for sole possession of second place in the Eastern Division. While that’s a far cry from where Georgia had hoped it would be, it’s still a motivating factor the team has rallied around.
“That’s the best we can do now, and we definitely want finish up that way,” quarterback Joe Cox said. “It’s not what we wanted, but I would still be proud of finishing up this year strong and being right behind Florida in the East.”
Richt said he has talked about accomplishing that goal already this week, and tight end Aron White said a win would assure something more than just Georgia’s place in the standings. Second place may be well short of Georgia’s original goal, White said, but it would help to restore some of the credibility that has been lost this year.
“Across the country, you want to stack up, but most importantly you have to think about your conference,” White said. “I feel like we get overlooked a lot of times in the East because a lot of people make a big deal about Tennessee and Florida being the big guys in the SEC East, but we definitely feel like we’re a force to be reckoned with, too.”
Replacing Rambo
Safety Bacarri Rambo won’t play this week after suffering a concussion on a game-saving tackle against Auburn. Richt said Saturday that, while Quintin Banks would likely see an increase in his snaps against Kentucky, the majority of Rambo’s work would go to Georgia’s two incumbent starters — Reshad Jones and Bryan Evans.
“I would think they’ll get more (reps) and I’m not saying there’s going to be a third guy plugged in to rotate,” Richt said. “Quintin Banks would be the first guy to do that. Makiri Pugh is also coming on at safety. It could be either one of those guys, but will it be the same reps that Rambo was getting? Probably not.”
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