Georgia coach Kirby Smart expresses concerns and updates on Trevor Etienne's injury

Georgia coach Kirby Smart knows what's coming for his Bulldogs as they trail Kentucky 6-3 at halftime in Lexington.

“You have to give them credit,” Smart said during his ABC-TV halftime interview, “that's the way it is in the SEC, that's the way it is.”

The Wildcats (1-1) outscored Georgia 130-63, the Bulldogs' lowest first-half offensive output since a game against LSU in 2009.

Kentucky, led by UGA transfer Brock Vandagriff, also had the ball under control for 19 minutes and 34 seconds, while Georgia did so for 10:26.

UGA quarterback Carson Beck completed just 5 of 11 passes for 32 yards, while Vandagriff completed 9 of 14 passes for 59 yards in the first half.

Georgia tailback Trevor Etienne, who rushed for 26 yards on nine carries, is battling a shoulder injury.

“Maybe he can come back, he did a phenomenal job tonight,” Smart said. “He's running like crazy, we need to help him, we need to get some things going.”

Smart attributed UGA's failure to Kentucky's defensive line, and the fact that offensive guard Tate Ratledge had to leave the game with an ankle injury didn't help matters.

“Their defense was the biggest challenge for our team,” Smart said. “We didn't show much explosiveness offensively, we couldn't produce anything offensively, we don't have much rhythm offensively.”

Georgia has won 14 straight games in its series against Kentucky and has a national record 41-game regular-season winning streak since 2020.