Georgia completely dominated Kentucky in a 51-13 blowout win. We'll never be perfect, but we are getting better.

C'mon, Kentucky. You know you ain't supposed to wear all white after Labor Day.

1. Often, over the course of the week leading up to a particular game on the schedule, one might get a certain feeling about how things may or may not go. Two weeks ago I was really apprehensive about an Auburn team that struggled mightily against Texas A&M just the week before. For whatever reason, despite Kentucky’s absolute thrashing of Florida, I never felt that we were in some sort of imminent peril with this iteration of the Wildcats.

Georgia didn’t play a perfect game, but they executed a near-perfect game plan. I reckon those Bloody Tuesday practices have great value. Give Mike Bobo some due, folks. He’s dialing up plays and has been all year. Again, the execution is the difference between last night and the first 4 1/2 games.

2. I’m not so sure about anything being inevitable, but these stats are certainly eye-popping:

We still don't fully know what the true identity of this team is, but I do see a very confident and well coached team in all phases at the moment.

3. Mike Bobo schemed up a near perfect opening drive designed to get Carson Beck into a groove using short passing plays. This had the desired, calming effect on our still evolving QB. Beck himself has said he’s been a bit too amped up coming out of the blocks through the first 5 games. Bobo scripted the perfect opening drive to settle Beck down and into a rhythm. We haven’t started fast against anyone all year and this was wonderful to witness. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint had himself a game with 4 receptions - 99 yards and the trek to the endzone, below.

Perfect execution.

4. Kentucky’s opening drive started out most impressively. However, their 6’ 4”, 307 lb. sophomore guard, Jager Burton effectively killed it with a holding penalty. On UK’s next drive, Burton was flagged for a personal foul when he flopped on top of an already prone Sedrick Van Pran - a clear attempt to inflict injury. Burton should have been A. kicked out of the game, or at the minimum, B. benched by Mark Stoops. Neither happened. That was some dirty football, #62. Do better.

Speaking of Sed, this is just one example why he will go early in the upcoming NFL draft. Beast mode.

5. Did anyone’s heart skip several beats when Big Sed went down with a brief injury? He’s the glue on the entire offensive line. Jared Wilson came in for a series and, but for a low snap, did well. The staff is very high on #55.

Tate Ratledge had his best game of the season. Earlier in the week he was critical of himself and said as much during a post-practice press conference. He’s a vital cog in this machine.

6. You think Beck and Rara Thomas are beginning to experiment some in the ‘ol chemistry lab? You bet.

If the NFL doesn’t work out for #5, he should consider the Bolshoi Ballet. This was pretty.

7. The running game, mostly behind the efforts of the reliable and shifty Daijun Edwards, was very effective. The offensive line began to wear down Kentucky a bit before the half ended and certainly in the 3rd quarter. It was great to see Kendall Milton get back into the mix and he ran well. We’ll need #2 down the stretch. Milton really began to flash at the end of last year, but no one has been more snakebit with injuries than this kid. He got flagged a couple of times for holding, but that’ll get worked out. Kendall needs to keep his feet, though, as he tends to try hurdling tacklers at times, but he ran effectively and is tough to tackle.

8. Twelve different receivers had catches in the game. The leading receiver? Who else?

Seven receptions, 132 yards and a score. The best TE to ever play the game at the college level? I think so.

I could write an entire 15 Thoughts on Bowers alone and probably not cover everything. Does he get enough credit for blocking? Probably not. He’s the most complete player in the game at the moment, regardless of position. He should be in the Heisman conversation, no question.

9. How ‘bout Peyton Woodring? The kid is officially locked in and has not missed a kick since the South Carolina game. He was 3/3 on field goals with a long of 42 yards and perfect on extra points.

9a. Rumor has it that Brett Thorson had to punt. Still unverified as of this writing.

10. Defensively, Georgia did a great job and the numbers certainly bear this out. Ray Davis might be the best back we face all season and he was, for the most part, contained. He couldn’t run in the middle, but found more success on the outside as we are still having some issues with setting the edge. His touchdown came on a very well executed screen pass where we blitzed. Davis has an NFL future.

11. The Cats only managed 55 yards on the ground and 128 through the air. It seemed like more. Devin Leary missed some shots and probably should have had a long touchdown on their first drive as he overthrew a wide open receiver down the Georgia sideline. Kentucky dropped a few as well and their best receiver, Barrion Brown, was limited with a hamstring injury. Georgia sacked Leary 3 times. Jamon Dumas-Johnson got 1.5 of those and played his best game of the season.

12. The defense is still trying to figure some things out, but I detected some very positive adjustments after the half. I was very impressed by the young guys who began to flash in the 4th quarter after Kirby literally “called off the dogs.” Raylen Wilson is going to be a problem soon. So will Gabe Harris.

13. Kamari Lassiter had an excellent game. He’s become an elite pass defender, had 4 tackles (2 solo), shared a sack and defended 2 passes. I liked how Glenn Schumann dialed up some stuff that resulted in sacks or pressure throws. The secondary wasn’t exactly great early in the game with the aforementioned Kentucky misses and some poor angles, but they adjusted after the half.

14. I thought Brock Vandagriff did very well in his opportunies. He’s a very dangerous runner with a plus arm. Might they put in a few packages specifically for him as the season (already half over now. Incredible) rolls on? Andrew Paul should get some more reps vs. Vandy next week.

15. I feel this team still does not have a true identity, but from what just transpired it looks like the offense is on the verge of becoming very dangerous, very explosive and is getting healthier. We should be able to get up on Vandy in their stadium next week and rest some guys while rotating in some new faces that’ll get the kind of experience that builds depth.

After Vandy, we have the bye week before we head down to The Cocktail Party. This sets up perfectly for the November stretch, with Mizzou and Ole Miss in our building before we head up to Knoxville.

This is good.

I like where we are right now.

BONUS THOUGHTS:

• Careful, Dawgs. Vandy's punter is effective.
• Who watched the end of the Georgia Tech - Miami game last night? Miami out gained Tech but the issue was in doubt because of 3 interceptions that allowed Tech to hang around and lead late. Miami finally took the lead midway through the 4th quarter and had the ball with :36 to play. Mario Cristobal elected to run A play in the middle on a wet field instead of taking a knee and running out the clock (Tech had no timeouts left). The victory formation exists for a reason, coach. Miami fumbled, Tech got themselves a miracle touchdown and won. Cristobal should be fired for coaching malpractice.

• Southern California’s offense is pretty good. Their defense is not. I hope we get a shot at these guys.
• I guess the reports of Alabama’s demise was a bit premature. Bama is an undisciplined team at the moment with 14 penalties for 99 yards - mostly called on their offensive line. But Bama’s defense is gelling. They’re going to win the west - as it should be.
• I don’t know what high school this dude plays for, but he should get at least a preferred walk-on spot. I’m not thinking receiver. I’m thinking elite cover corner. He can flip his hips like a boss.

• Texas ain’t quite back. They’ll probably get a chance to atone for their Red River Rivalry loss. That was a fun game to watch.
• LSU won at Mizzou in another highly entertaining "defense optional" football.
• Apropos of nothing, this make me laugh out loud:

That’s all I’ve got, everybody. Have a great week.

As Always, GO DAWGS!