JUST IN: Can Wildcats avoid embarrassment against No. 1 team?

The Cats beat the Golden Eagles in Week 1 by a score of 31-0 in a game that ended with 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter after the game was delayed several hours due to lightning.

However, it wasn’t quite as smooth sailing in Week 2. Kentucky went into its game against South Carolina as big 10-point favorites, but the game couldn’t have gone much worse than it did. Mark Stoops was beaten by Shane Beamer for the third time in a row in what was an utterly embarrassing performance. The final score was 31-6.

Kentucky completed just six (!) forward passes for 44 yards on the way to just 183 total yards and two field goals. The offensive line looked like a high school group. Brock Vandagriff didn’t have time to blink, much less read the defense, but he didn’t look particularly good even when he did have a clean pocket. And the wide receivers, mainly Barion Brown, looked like they were playing lackadaisically.

The defense wasn’t quite as bad as the score reflected, but it certainly wasn’t great. It was an all-systems failure that can be placed at the foot of one person—Mark Stoops. The Cats are now 1-1 overall and 0-1 in SEC play.

And what’s their reward? They get to take on the No. 1 team in the country in Week 3.

Kentucky’s upcoming opponent, the Georgia Bulldogs, has dominated in their first two contests as they usually do (2-0). Kirby Smart’s squad dominated a top-25 Clemson Tigers team 34-3 to start the season in a game that could have been even uglier. The Bulldogs followed that up with a 48-3 win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in Week 2.

Georgia has been led by a dominant defense, but what’s new? Carson Beck, a Heisman candidate and the Bulldog starting quarterback, has completed 71% of his passes for 520 yards to go along with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions so far this season. Georgia also has a great running game, led by junior Florida transfer Trevor Etienne and true freshman Nate Frazier.

Regardless of the outcomes to date, we have to hope that Stoops will have his team ready to play in Week 3. Stoops has never beaten the Bulldogs during his time in Lexington. However, he’s played Smart’s teams closer than most expected on several occasions. The last two games in Lexington have been decided by scores of 14-3 and 16-6.

Additionally, this is a big game for Vandagriff, who transferred from Athens after sitting on the bench for three seasons, and Jamon Dumas-Johnson, who transferred after losing his starting spot despite playing at an All-American level.

It’s hard to imagine Kentucky putting up much of a game after watching last week’s performance, especially from the Big Blue Wall, but the BBN should be showing up in droves to give Kentucky as much help as they can.

Can the Cats bounce back against the Bulldogs? Or will they allow one bad loss to define their season?

Let us know in the poll below and in the comments section!