The Georgia Bulldogs delighted a sellout crowd at Sanford Stadium on Homecoming Saturday, rolling past Kentucky 35-14 in a dominant SEC win. The Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 SEC) bounced back quickly from last week’s setback, showing resilience and energy right out of the gates.

   Stockton, Bell Spark Fast Start: “We needed to get going early, and I’m proud of how the guys responded,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart. “That was the goal. That’s always the goal.”

   Quarterback Gunner Stockton delivered an electrifying performance with two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter and a 16-yard scoring strike later in the game. “I wasn’t shocked at all by the response of the team,” Smart added. “If we continue to get better, we’ll be where we need to be.”

   It was also nice to see Dillon Bell used more often. He’s too talented to be sitting most of the game on the sidelines. Bell was key, notching two short rushing touchdowns and catching a pair of passes—including a 33-yarder to set up a score. “We practice those end-arounds a lot and today it just opened up perfectly. The O-line made it easy for me,” Bell said postgame.

   Defense Stiffens, Crowd Energized: After trailing at halftime in two straight weeks, the Bulldogs left no doubt against Kentucky, jumping out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looking back. Georgia’s defense clamped down, holding the Wildcats to 270 total yards and forcing two turnovers. Linebacker CJ Allen forced a key fumble and notched a sack. “That’s a physical, resilient group,” Smart said about his defense. “That’s gonna keep you competitive.”

   Georgia’s crowd of more than 93,000 roared approval as the offense posted 425 total yards and controlled the clock for over 33 minutes. “We executed on third down and that changed the whole momentum from last week,” Stockton said, as Georgia converted 9 of 12 opportunities.

   Kentucky Kept at Arm’s Length: Kentucky struck back early in the second quarter with a 29-yard touchdown pass, but the Bulldogs answered immediately and soon grew the lead to 28-7 in the second half on another Bell run. Kentucky cut the lead to 35-14 late when they still had starters in and UGA had a ton of backups playing. But the outcome was never in doubt. “We’ve got a lot to work on, but our fans showed up, and we played for them today,” Allen said.

   Bulldogs Look Ahead, Extend Streak: The victory marks Georgia’s 16th straight win over Kentucky and improves their all-time Homecoming record to an impressive 83-18-2.

   Now, it’s on to the Deep South’s oldest rivalry, as the Bulldogs prepare to face Auburn next week. “We still have a long way to improve to get where we need to go,” Smart said. “But today was the response I wanted to see.”

   Georgia has won eight in a row in that series. Gametime has been announced as 7:30 p.m. in ABC.