The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Georgia star TE has UK’s attention but won’t be sole focus
LEXINGTON – As Mark Stoops expressed his admiration for Brock Bowers — Georgia’s ultra-talented tight end, Stoops pointed out, made “back-toback one-handed catches” in last week’s win at Auburn — Kentucky’s coach couldn’t find much wrong with the defense.
The Tigers, he said, had Bowers “covered pretty well.”
As the Wildcats prepare to face Bowers at 7 p.m. Saturday in Athens, Georgia, Stoops jokingly said his team can’t assign “any more than two” defenders to the highly touted tight end.
Attempting to provide further context for Kentucky’s quandary, Stoops looked to the past.
In another sport.
“I think Brock is going to get his. He’s going to make plays,” Stoops said. “It’s kind of like going up against Michael Jordan or someone like that — you know they’re going to get theirs.”
A junior who played a marquee role in the Bulldogs’ last two national championship seasons, Bowers already ranks among the school’s all-time leaders in every major receiving category. Through five games this fall, he’s first on the team in catches (30), receiving yards (413) and touchdown receptions (three).
“Brock Bowers is one of one,” Stoops said. “I’ve never seen anybody like him.”
UK defensive coordinator Brad White was equally effusive in his evaluation of Bowers.
“He’s big, he’s fast, he’s gonna be — if not the top, he’s one of the top blockers that we’ll face all year from the tight end position. He’s relentless,” White said after the Wildcats’ Wednesday practice. “Obviously everybody sees what he does when the ball is in his hand. He’s kind of like the ultimate teammate. You see him cheering. He’s as excited about a play that his teammates make as when he makes one. He’s just an incredible player.
“Obviously one of the top football players in college football. Not (just) tight end . ... He is elite level.”
Kentucky rendered Bowers a nonfactor in last season’s game in Lexington, holding him to 10 yards receiving on two receptions in a 16-6 Georgia win. But he terrorized the Wildcats in the last meeting at Sanford Stadium, catching five passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-13 Bulldogs’ triumph in 2021.
“You have to embrace (Saturday) because you know Brock Bowers is a great player,” said UK linebacker Trevin Wallace, a Georgia native who will have more than a dozen family and friends at the game. “He’s going to make a play or two, so if he makes a play on you, just get up and go on to the next.”
Amid all the skills Bowers possesses that make him a safe bet to be one of the first players off the board in next year’s NFL draft — should he forgo his senior season — there’s one attribute White believes is overlooked time and again.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him tackled to the ground out of bounds,” White said.
“Now he may get sort of ping-ponged all the way to where the whistle blows and you see a lot of defenders on the ground. But, ultimately, he’s pushed out of bounds and he’s always still standing. He’s got incredible balance, strength (in his) lower body.
“So among all the other things he does well, you have to tackle him really well, and you have to do it with multiple hats because if you’re lucky enough to get a one-on-one tackle to the ground, that’s a really, really, really impressive tackle.”
Kentucky vs. Georgia football pregame notes
● Kentucky is 5-0 for the third time (2023, 2021, 2018) in Stoops’ 11 seasons as coach. The Wildcats have started 5-0 in 14 seasons since the program began in 1881 but just five times in the past 70 years (also 5-0 in 1984 and 2007).
● Fresh off his 280-yard rushing performance against Florida, UK running back Ray Davis now leads the SEC in rushing yards (594), rushing yards per game (118.8), yards per carry (7.82) and rushing touchdowns (eight). He ranks among the top five nationally in all four of those statistical categories.
● After his epic outing against the Gators, accolades arrived by the bushel for Davis. Among the honors he received were SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, the Doak Walker Award for running back of the week, the Maxwell Trophy Player of the Week, the Walter Camp National FBS Offensive Player of the Week, the Senior Bowl National Player of the Week and the East/West Shrine Bowl Breakout Offensive Player of the Week.
● The Wildcats had two others earn awards: Stoops was named the Bobby Dodd coach of the week, and offensive lineman Jeremy Flax was the Outland Trophy national player of the week.
● Kentucky’s defense is allowing 75.8 rushing yards per game, ninth in the country and second in the league (Missouri, 74.8).
● UK will try to snap a losing streak against Georgia that stretches more than a decade. The Bulldogs have won 13 straight in the series since the Wildcats’ last victory in 2009. Georgia leads the all-time series 62-12-2, with a 31-4-2 mark in Athens.
Kentucky vs. Georgia odds
Georgia is a 14 1⁄2-point favorite at home against Kentucky, according to the DraftKings college football odds.
How to watch Kentucky vs. Georgia football
Who: No. 20 Kentucky (5-0, 2-0 SEC) at No. 1 Georgia (5-0, 2-0)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia
TV: ESPN
Radio: Tom Leach (play-by-play), Jeff Piecoro (analyst) and Dick Gabriel (sideline) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington and online at UKAthletics.com. The game also will be carried on satellite radio: Sirius (Channel 138), XM (Channel 190) and the SiriusXM app (Channel 961).
Streaming: Authenticated subscribers can access ESPN via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.