ATHENS, Ga. — The Kentucky Wildcats are 5-0 on the year and 2-0 in SEC play, having dominated both Vanderbilt and Florida by scores of 45-28 and 33-14, respectively.
However, they get a huge test this Saturday when they head to Athens to take on the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs, who are an astonishing 34-1 dating back to 2021 and who have won the last two national championships under coach Kirby Smart.
A known basketball school like Kentucky upsetting a budding dynasty at Georgia seems like something you'd see in a Disney movie, but Locked on Kentucky host Lance Dawe believes there is a path to a victory here for the Wildcats, and he lays out three things they need to do to pull it off.
1. Run the football, and run the football some more
Ray Davis is having himself a monster start to the 2023 college football season, with 594 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns through his first five games - tying his career high in touchdowns set back as a freshman at Temple in 2019.
Davis also has three touchdowns through the air, tying last year's total at Vanderbilt. Davis is going to be a major problem for the Bulldogs, who gave up 219 rushing yards last week to Auburn and who don't boast the same elite defensive front as they have in year's past, with many of those players ending up in the NFL.
Georgia's current 3.9 yards per carry allowed is ninth in the SEC, and with Davis in the fold this is a big area Kentucky can exploit on Saturday.
2. Devin Leary needs to be consistent
Leary's arrival in Lexington was a big deal, with fans hoping the 2021 version of Leary - who completed just under 66% of his passes for 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns at NC State - would arrive with him.
So far the Wildcats have seen a more inconsistent version of Leary, a fifth year senior who has completed just 57.7% of his passes with a pedestrian 10-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio with the Wildcats.
For Kentucky to have a chance in this game, Leary will need to utilize his excellent wide receiver corps - otherwise Georgia will be able to stack the box and neutralize Davis and the running game, which could lead to a long afternoon for the Wildcats in Athens.
3. Create Turnovers
Kentucky is currently third in the SEC in turnovers, and they have a +2 turnover margin which is tied with Auburn for second in the conference.
Georgia has lost six fumbles and thrown three interceptions on the year, and Kentucky's opportunistic defense and nothing to lose mentality could create a situation where they are able to take risks and go for takeaways.
If those risks pay off and they can take scoring opportunities away from the Bulldogs, it isn't hard to see a path to keeping this game close, and a strong running game and a strong performance from Leary could be enough to pull off the big upset.
The game kicks off at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN.