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Looking surprisingly vulnerable against one of the SEC's weakest teams, the Georgia Bulldogs narrowly avoided an upset against the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night, 29-24. With the Bulldogs' typically prolific offense struggling to score for the second straight week, Georgia nearly got taken down by a far less impressive opponent.
Coming off last week's miserable 35-7 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, Georgia likely expected a much easier time this week against the Wildcats, but Kentucky put up a surprisingly strong effort at home. By dominating the running game all night, Kentucky managed to stay in the game despite a general inability to pass the ball.
Over the course of the game, Kentucky rushed for 206 yards while holding the Georgia offense to 77 yards on the ground, but Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray threw for 427 yards while three different Kentucky players combined to complete 11 passes for a paltry 124 yards.
Box Score Hero: Murray's huge numbers -- 427 yards passing, four touchdowns -- carried Georgia on the night, as the team averaged just 2.4 yards per carry. Tavarres King (nine catches, 188 yards, two scores) and Malcolm Mitchell (nine catches, 103 yards) were Murray's primary targets. Kentucky's Jonathan George was the game's leading rusher with 87 yards on 12 carries.
Rankings Ramifications: It's difficult to imagine Georgia getting a significant boost from narrowly beating an opponent that had one win coming into the game, but at least the Bulldogs avoid an upset that would've likely knocked them way down in the polls.
But Did They Cover? Georgia was favored to blow out Kentucky by 27 points, so they didn't quite cover.
For More On This Game: For more on UGA football, visit Georgia blog Dawg Sports, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills and SB Nation Atlanta. For more on Cats football, visit Kentucky blog A Sea Of Blue, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
Next Week's Schedule: Georgia heads home for a massive Saturday match-up against the No. 2 Florida Gators next week, while the Wildcats are visiting the Missouri Tigers.
This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.