A.J. Green scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:54 to play to cap a wild second half, as the 14th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs held on to down the Kentucky Wildcats, 42-38, in a shootout at Commonwealth Stadium.Matthew Stafford went 17-for-27 with 376 yards and three touchdowns, while Knowshon Moreno added 123 yards on the ground with three scores for the Bulldogs (8-2, 5-2 SEC), who bounced back from last week's 49-10 thrashing at the hands of Florida. Mohamed Massaquoi had eight catches for 191 yards and a score.
"I say the word of the day is thankfulness," said Georgia coach Mark Richt. "A lot of excitement, two great teams battling like mad. I know it had to be tough for Kentucky just as it would have been heart breaking for us if we wouldn't have come out with a win."
Randall Cobb ran for three scores on 18 carries for 82 yards and went 12- for-20 for 105 yards and an interception, while Tony Dixon added two rushing touchdowns for the Wildcats (6-4, 2-4), who have lost four of their last six games.
"Obviously this is a very, very tough loss," said Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks. "One of the toughest losses we've had since I've been here. For some reason we started like we were sleep walking. Unfortunately, one of the phases of our team that has played outstanding football all year long, and has put us in the position that we're in, didn't have a very good day today. Our defense gave up a lot of big, big plays in the passing game. We didn't tackle as well as we normally tackle, but you've got to give (Knowshon) Moreno some credit for that."
Trailing by three points with under four minutes to play, Georgia started the game-winning drive on its own 15. On the first play, Massaquoi got the ball down to the Kentucky seven-yard line on a 78-yard catch-and-run. Three plays later, Stafford rolled out to the right to avoid the rush, broke a tackle and threw the ball to the back of the end zone past a leaping defender to Green for an 11-yard score and a 42-38 lead with under two minutes to play.
"We knew we had to put some points on the board, whether by a field goal or touchdown," said Moreno. "The guys made plays and came up with big catches when we needed them. We were fortunate that we got the touchdown."
Kentucky got into Georgia territory and faced a 4th-and-2, which failed, but a face mask penalty on Georgia advanced the chains. However, Cobb was picked off by Demarcus Cobb on the next play to seal the victory.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Kentucky took a 31-28 lead on a 14- yard touchdown run by Randall Cobb. However, Georgia answered quickly as Stafford and Green hooked up on a 42-yard strike and Moreno followed with an 18-yard touchdown run on the next play to give the Bulldogs the lead back. Winston Guy, though, took the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to set up a 1st-and- goal and Cobb punched it in from a yard out for a 38-35 advantage.
Massaquoi fumbled on Georgia's next two possessions, but Kentucky was unable to take advantage and the Bulldogs scored on their last drive to win the game. The Bulldogs struck fast as Stafford and Massaquoi connected on a 29-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead just 1:49 into the game. After holding the Wildcats to a three-and-out, Georgia marched 73 yards in just 3:19 and Moreno made it a 14-0 game on a six-yard run with 7:38 left in the first.
Kentucky, though, got on the board on its next possession as a 15-play, 60- yard march was finished on a three-yard touchdown run by Dixon with just 1:14 left in the first to make it a 14-7 contest. After getting the ball back on a failed fourth-down conversion by Georgia, the Wildcats tied the game on a two-yard touchdown run by Cobb with 7:15 left in the first half. Kentucky started the second half with the ball and got a 40-yard field goal from Lones Seiber to make it a 21-17 game less than six minutes in. Georgia, though, took the lead into the locker room on an 11-yard touchdown reception from Shaun Chapas with just 4:48 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs were stopped on their next possession and a blocked punt by Kentucky set up a nine-yard touchdown run by Cobb to give Kentucky its first lead of the game at 24-21 with 7:31 left in the third. However, the Bulldogs regained the lead on their next possession as Moreno capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown to set up the high-scoring final quarter.
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