Georgia takes the belt, 44–31, on the road at Kentucky.
Where this game sits in the lineage
Georgia took the belt here, ending Kentucky’s run of 7 days and 0 defenses (reign #273) and starting reign #274. It lasted 7 days and 0 defenses, until Florida took it on October 30, 2010.
For Georgia this was its 11th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 4 times before — and it took it back here.
It was the 2nd of 2 belt games between the two; going in, Georgia led the belt series 1–0; all-time Georgia leads 2–0.
Recap
Georgia's defense forced four Kentucky turnovers while their ground game dominated, with Washaun Ealey scoring five rushing touchdowns to seize control of the College Football Belt in Lexington. Kentucky's passing attack, led by Mike Hartline, kept the game competitive with La'Rod King hauling in three touchdown receptions and Brandon Boykin returning a kickoff 100 yards for a score in the first quarter, but Georgia's relentless offensive line and stout defense proved too much. Despite Kentucky's superior overall statistics—423 total yards to Georgia's 290—the Bulldogs' ball security and short-yardage efficiency, combined with their four takeaways, overwhelmed the Wildcats' prolific aerial assault. Georgia's four touchdowns in the first half alone essentially decided the contest, as the Bulldogs' defensive pressure and turnover margin created an insurmountable advantage that Kentucky could not overcome even with a balanced 9-of-15 third-down conversion rate.
- Washaun Ealey's five rushing touchdowns, including two in the second quarter alone, established Georgia's physical dominance early
- Brandon Boykin's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Q1 kept Kentucky in the game despite Georgia's quick start
- Georgia forcing four turnovers, including an interception of Mike Hartline in Q3, directly preventing Kentucky scoring opportunities
- Georgia's 21-point halftime lead proved insurmountable despite Kentucky's passing touchdowns by La'Rod King in Q2 and Q3
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 11:57 | Georgia | +3 yd | Washaun Ealey rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 11:57 | Georgia | +0 yd | Blair Walsh extra point GOOD. |
| Q1 4:57 | Kentucky | +100 yd | Joe Mansour kickoff for 70 yards returned by Brandon Boykin for 100 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 5:14 | Kentucky | +41 yd | Craig McIntosh 41 yard field goal GOOD. |
| Q1 4:57 | Georgia | +0 yd | Blair Walsh extra point GOOD. |
| Q1 3:38 | Kentucky | +29 yd | Mike Hartline pass complete to La'Rod King, fumbled, forced by Bacarri Rambo, recovered by Geo Sanders Commings at the Geo 44, Sanders Commings for 23 yards, to the Kent 33, tackled by Moncell Allen. |
| Q1 3:38 | Georgia | +47 yd | Blair Walsh 47 yard field goal MISSED. |
| Q2 13:04 | Georgia | +23 yd | Blair Walsh kickoff for 70 yards returned by Randall Cobb, tackled by Christian Robinson for 23 yards to the Kent 23, tackled by Christian Robinson. |
| Q2 13:04 | Georgia | +2 yd | Washaun Ealey rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 13:04 | Georgia | +0 yd | Blair Walsh extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 6:47 | Georgia | +2 yd | Washaun Ealey rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 6:47 | Georgia | +0 yd | Blair Walsh extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 1:09 | Kentucky | +35 yd | Mike Hartline pass complete to La'Rod King for 35 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 1:09 | Kentucky | +0 yd | Craig McIntosh extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 15:00 | Kentucky | +23 yd | Joe Mansour kickoff for 63 yards returned by Brandon Boykin, tackled by Raymond Sanders for 23 yards to the Geo 30, tackled by Raymond Sanders. |
| Q3 14:53 | Georgia | +34 yd | Aaron Murray pass complete to A.J. Green for 34 yards to the Kent 10, tackled by Jacob Dufrene for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 11:05 | Georgia | +2 yd | Washaun Ealey rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q3 11:05 | Georgia | +30 yd | Blair Walsh kickoff for 62 yards returned by Randall Cobb, tackled by Alec Ogletree for 30 yards to the Kent 38, tackled by Alec Ogletree. |
| Q3 10:58 | Kentucky | +0 yd | Mike Hartline pass intercepted by Sanders Commings at the Geo 0, returned for no gain for a touchback. |
| Q3 10:58 | Kentucky | +20 yd | Mike Hartline pass complete to Chris Matthews for 20 yards to the Geo 28, tackled by Bacarri Rambo and Sanders Commings for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 0:41 | Kentucky | +22 yd | Mike Hartline pass complete to La'Rod King for 22 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q3 0:41 | Kentucky | +0 yd | Craig McIntosh extra point GOOD. |
| Q4 13:53 | Georgia | +0 yd | Blair Walsh extra point GOOD. |
| Q4 15:00 | Georgia | +25 yd | Aaron Murray pass complete to A.J. Green for 25 yards to the Kent 10, tackled by Randall Burden for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 13:53 | Georgia | +1 yd | Washaun Ealey rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q4 13:53 | Georgia | +20 yd | Blair Walsh kickoff for 69 yards returned by Randall Cobb, tackled by Shawn Williams for 20 yards to the Kent 21, tackled by Shawn Williams. |
| Q4 10:52 | Kentucky | +39 yd | Mike Hartline pass complete to Chris Matthews for 39 yards for a TOUCHDOWN, GEORGIA penalty holding declined. |
| Q4 10:52 | Kentucky | +0 yd | Two-point conversion attempt, Randall Cobb pass to Matt Roark GOOD. |
| Q4 13:47 | Kentucky | +21 yd | Raymond Sanders rush for 21 yards to the Kent 47, tackled by Akeem Dent, GEORGIA penalty offside defense declined for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 2:47 | Georgia | +36 yd | Blair Walsh kickoff for 65 yards returned by Randall Cobb, tackled by Christian Robinson for 36 yards to the Kent 41, tackled by Christian Robinson out-of-bounds. |
| Q4 2:47 | Georgia | +30 yd | Blair Walsh 30 yard field goal GOOD. |
| Q4 5:49 | Georgia | +41 yd | Washaun Ealey rush for 41 yards to the Kent 7, tackled by Dakotah Tyler out-of-bounds for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 2:40 | Kentucky | +27 yd | Mike Hartline pass complete to Raymond Sanders for 27 yards to the Geo 32, tackled by Vance Cuff for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 1:23 | Kentucky | +9 yd | Mike Hartline pass complete to Raymond Sanders for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
Kentucky
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Hartline | 27/43 | 353 | 8.2 | 4 | 1 | 59.3 |
Georgia
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Murray | 9/12 | 113 | 9.4 | 0 | 0 | 40.8 |
Rushing
Kentucky
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond Sanders | 16 | 79 | 4.9 | 0 | 21 |
| Donald Russell | 7 | 13 | 1.9 | 0 | 4 |
| Moncell Allen | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Hartline | 6 | -24 | -4.0 | 0 | 5 |
Georgia
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washaun Ealey | 28 | 157 | 5.6 | 5 | 41 |
| Carlton Thomas | 6 | 12 | 2.0 | 0 | 7 |
| Aaron Murray | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 | 3 |
| Shaun Chapas | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
Receiving
Kentucky
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La'Rod King | 3 | 88 | 29.3 | 2 | 35 |
| Chris Matthews | 4 | 83 | 20.8 | 1 | 39 |
| Raymond Sanders | 7 | 77 | 11.0 | 1 | 27 |
| Randall Cobb | 7 | 45 | 6.4 | 0 | 15 |
| Jordan Aumiller | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | 0 | 15 |
| Matt Roark | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 |
| Tyler Robinson | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 6 |
Georgia
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Green | 6 | 86 | 14.3 | 0 | 34 |
| Rantavious Wooten | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 8 |
| Tavarres King | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 |
Show more stats (5 more categories)
Interceptions
Kentucky
No recorded stats in this category.
Georgia
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanders Commings | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kick Returns
Kentucky
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randall Cobb | 5 | 127 | 25.4 | 36 | 0 |
| Raymond Sanders | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 |
| Jewell Ratliff | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
Georgia
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Boykin | 2 | 123 | 61.5 | 100 | 1 |
| Darryl Gamble | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
Kicking
Kentucky
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig McIntosh | 1/1 | 100.0 | 41 | 2/2 | 5 |
Georgia
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blair Walsh | 1/2 | 50.0 | 30 | 5/6 | 8 |
Punt Returns
Kentucky
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randall Cobb | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Georgia
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Green | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Punting
Kentucky
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Tydlacka | 1 | 47 | 47.0 | 0 | 0 | 47 |
Georgia
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Butler | 3 | 152 | 50.7 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 302960096) · This game in the downloadable dataset