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defense to pull off victory: Larry Lancaster blocked a Wildcat punt for one score, and Bobby Towns intercepted a pass and returned it 43-yards for the second touchdown, which enabled the Bulldogs to return home a winner and remain undefeated in SEC competition.
Kentucky was an original member of the Southeastern Conference, but the two schools did not compete in football until 1939 when Wallace Butts became Georgia’s head coach and athleticdirector. Hehad coached at Male High in Louisville and got to know the Wildcat athletic officials while coaching there. In his first year as head coach in Athens, he put Kentucky on the Bulldog schedule. By 1942, Butts had recruited outstanding talent which turned out to be a celebrated year for UGA, which received the Rose Bowl invitation and ultimately won the national championship. Kentucky finished the year 3-6-1, but in the opening game in Louisville, the Wildcats were more than a handful. Georgia won 7-6. In their all time series with the Wildcats, the Bulldogs hold a 60-12-2 lead and have won as many games in Lexington as they have in Athens, 29. For games decided by seven points or less, Georgia has the advantage, 17-8-2, a reminder of how many close games there have been.
Rex Robinson’s field goal in 1978, you likely remember with Larry Munson screaming “Yeah, yeah, yeah” when his kick sailed through, was one of those close games. His winning kick was for 29 yards with 12 seconds left on the clock, which brought about victory, 17-16.
One of my favorite memories in the series came when backup quarterback Cory Phillips passed for 400 yards and four touchdowns in Lexington for a 34-30 victory in 2000. You may remember the Kentucky quarterback, the late Jared Lorenzen who tipped the scales at 285 pounds. Lorenzen had an outstanding game, too, throwing for 528 yards, but the day belonged to Phillips, who walked on at Georgia and experienced two 400 yard passing games. The other was against Georgia Tech with 413 yards passing and two touchdowns in a 27-15 victory.
The Touchdown Club of Athens will honor Cory later this fall.
