Bulldogs get strong defensive effort in win

Georgia limits Wildcats to 249 total yards and blocks two kicks in battle of unbeatens.

NO. 1 GEORGIA 30 NO. 11 KENTUCKY 13

ATHENS, Ga. — With Georgia playing its first game as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team since 2008, Stetson Bennett tossed three touchdown passes and the Bulldogs got another stifling defensive effort in a 30-13 victory over No. 11 Kentucky on Saturday.

Bennett, starting his third straight game in place of injured JT Daniels, hooked up with freshman tight end Brock Bowers on two scores.

The senior quarterback was 14 for 20 for 250 yards in another solid performance with Daniels watching from the sideline for the Bulldogs (7-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference).

Bowers, who has emerged as one of Georgia’s most dynamic offensive weapons in his first college season, had five receptions for 101 yards.

Georgia’s defense allowed two touchdowns in a game for the first time all season — the second with four seconds remaining after Kentucky (6-1, 4-1) called a timeout to take one last shot at punching it in from the one-yard line.

Otherwise, Georgia’s topranked defense lived up to the billing, limiting Kentucky to 249 total yards and blocking two kicks.

The Wildcats pulled out all stops, even running a hook and lateral.

But one week after rushing for 330 yards in a win over Louisiana

State, they had little success on the ground against Georgia’s fearsome defense, managing just 51 yards.

Kentucky trailed only 14-7 at halftime, matching Georgia’s smallest lead of the season after two quarters.

But the Bulldogs took the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards in six plays to effectively finish off the Wildcats and gain a stranglehold on the SEC East race. Every other team in the division has at least one conference loss.

An apparent 59-yard touchdown pass to Bowers was negated by a holding penalty, but Bennett connected again with the freshman tight end in the right corner of the end zone for the 27-yard score that did stand, pushing the lead to 21-7.

Bowers had another touchdown on a 20-yard play with about 111⁄2 minutes remaining to make it 30-7.

Todd Kirkland Getty Images BROCK BOWERS of Georgia hauls in a pass for a touchdown in the second half against Kentucky. Bowers had five receptions for 101 yards in the top-ranked Bulldogs’ victory.