Through turmoil and uncertainty, Georgia still has a game Saturday against Kentucky

ATHENS -- There's still a game to be played.

Georgia and Kentucky's football programs will meet for the 69th time Saturday at Sanford Stadium. But the game itself has been placed on the backburner by just about everyone except the players and coaches.

Most of the attention this week has been paid to what the Bulldogs are going to do following last week's 27-3 defeat to Florida. That loss and the week that have followed have left many to consider whether head coach Mark Richt will, or should, be back next season.

If there was ever a game for the Bulldogs to bounce back from, after a horrific October, this would be it. During the past four games, Georgia faced the top three defenses in the SEC -- Alabama (275.8 yards per game), Missouri (282.1) and Florida (303).

Georgia's offensive woes certainly can be explained by poor execution, play-calling and injuries. But going against those defenses didn't help matters. Georgia's loss to Tennessee saw the offense hit some big plays, with the defense unable to slow down the Volunteers. It also marked the last time Georgia's offense scored a touchdown in a game.

But Saturday's Kentucky game begins a four-week stretch during which the Bulldogs possibly can get things going in the right direction again.

"No one likes to lose," inside linebacker Jake Ganus said. "Just as a person, as a player and as a team, we have to come together and realize that there are four games left on the schedule and a bowl game. We still have a lot to play for. It's disappointing not being able to get to the (SEC) championship, but we're still able to do a lot of good things this season."

Kentucky ranks 13th in the conference in points allowed per game at 29.1. Its defense is 12th at 414.6 yards per game. During the past three weeks, the Wildcats have given up 30 points to Auburn, 42 to Mississippi State and 52 to Tennessee.

Before Georgia's season imploded during the second third of the season, it was averaging 45.5 points through the first four games. Of course, those games were against weaker opponents, but so is Kentucky, relatively speaking.

There's a chance Georgia will be able to take advantage of the Wildcats' deficiencies and put up some points, which have been hard to come by the past two games.

"I'm optimistic with what we can do, the athletes we have, the players we have, the coaches we have and what we can do in the remaining games we have," tackle John Theus said. "It's up to us to come to work every day and put ourselves in best position, take the game plan and execute."

On defense, Georgia will have to account for quarterback Patrick Towles, whom Richt believes has NFL-caliber talent. Towles has completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,914 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Towles is a big quarterback at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds but has been inaccurate with the football at times. He has thrown six interceptions in the past four games, with Kentucky going 1-3 in that span.

But Georgia's defenders aren't taking Towles lightly.

"He fits their offense really well," Ganus said. "They have some playmakers, running backs, receivers, that can make plays. We just have to keep people in front of us, make tackles."

The actual game has been glossed over for an obvious reason. For the first time in 15 years, a high level of uncertainty about the Georgia program has crept in. The Bulldogs understand they need a win over Kentucky to help calm the outside noise down a bit.

"Well, it's not over yet, No. 1," Richt said. "At this point -- we didn't make it to the Eastern Division championship. That's all I can say right now. It's been up and down, but we're battling. We're battling."

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Through turmoil and uncertainty, Georgia still has a game Saturday against Kentucky ."