LEXINGTON, Ky. — Branson Robinson scored a 3-yard game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter and top-ranked Georgia overcame a lackluster performance to beat Kentucky 13-12 on Saturday night before holding off the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 SEC) couldn't find consistency on both offense and defense, letting the Wildcats trail 9-3 early in the third quarter and falling 31-6 at home to conference rival South Carolina.
Peyton Woodring's 30-yard field goal late in the third quarter put Georgia within three, then the Dogs got the timing right to mount their longest drive of the night.
Trevor Etienne's 12-yard run, 11-yard reception and eight-yard rush advanced the Bulldogs to the Kentucky 29.
The Florida transfer then broke right and ran 17 yards to the 11, then tiptoed along the sideline trying to reach the end zone but ended up going out of bounds.
Robinson scored from there three plays later, and Georgia took its first lead at 13-9.
That wasn't the end for the Wildcats, as Alex Rayner's 51-yard field goal put them within one point.
His school-record 55-yard kick gave Kentucky the lead for the first time, and he added kicks from 32 and 40 yards out to help the lead last more than three quarters, but it wasn't enough to beat Georgia.
Kentucky (1-2, 0-2) had its final possession at its own 20-yard line with nine seconds left.
Etienne ran 19 times for 79 yards and Robinson, a sophomore who missed last season with a torn ACL, ran twice for five yards.
Quarterback Carson Beck completed 15 of 24 passes for 160 yards, including a 33-yard pass to Dominic Lovett with 2:45 left.
That gave the Bulldogs some breathing room in a game where nothing was going to be easy.
Kentucky was on the offensive end for the first 30-plus minutes, leading 6-3 at the half on Raynor's first two field goals.
The Wildcats outgained the Bulldogs 130-63 by halftime, not a great result but a big improvement from last week's lackluster 183-yard game.
Most notably, their defense forced the Bulldogs to punt four times before Woodring hit a 34-yard field goal late in the second quarter to tie the score at 3-3.
