LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Branson Robinson ran for a 3-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter that gave the lead, and first-ranked Georgia overcame a sluggish performance to move past Kentucky and hold it at bay 13-12 on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) struggled to find continuity on both sides of the ball and trailed 9-3 early in the third quarter, while the Wildcats looked to rebound from a poor performance in a 31-6 home loss to conference rival South Carolina. Peyton Woodring’s 30-yard field goal late in the third quarter brought Georgia within three points before the ‘Dawgs followed at just the right time with their longest drive of the night.

Trevor Etienne’s 12-yard run, 11-yard pass reception and 8-yard run brought the Bulldogs to the Kentucky 29-yard line. The Florida transfer then ran right and ran 17 yards to the 11-yard line, tiptoeing down the sideline in an attempt to reach the end zone. Robinson took the ball from there three plays later for Georgia’s first lead, 13-9.

The Wildcats weren’t done yet, answering with a 51-yard field goal from Alex Raynor to pull within a point. His 55-yard kick, a school record, put Kentucky ahead, and he added two more from 32 and 40 yards, securing a lead for more than three quarters — though not enough to beat Georgia. Kentucky (1-2, 0-2) got the ball one last time at its 20-yard line with 9 seconds left to play.

Etienne ran 19 times for 79 yards, while Robinson, a sophomore who missed last season with a torn ACL, rushed for five yards on two runs. Quarterback Carson Beck completed 15 of 24 passes for 160 yards, including his longest pass of 33 yards to Dominic Lovett with 2:45 left, putting the Bulldogs in the middle of the pack and giving them breathing room in a game where nothing was easy.

Kentucky was the aggressor for the first 30 minutes, building a 6-3 halftime lead with Raynor’s first two field goals. The Wildcats also outscored the Bulldogs 130-63 at halftime, which is nothing special but a huge improvement over last week’s lackluster 183-yard performance. Most notably, their defense forced the Bulldogs into four punts before Woodring tied the game at 3-3 with a 34-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

The conclusion

Georgia: The Bulldogs were outgunned in the first half and seemed out of sync for most of the night. But they limited Kentucky to field goals and it was only a matter of time before they got something together after two dominant performances and won a tough battle.

Kentucky: This game wasn’t decisive, but the Wildcats needed to step up after their poor performance against the Gamecocks. They were able to move the ball and even beat the Bulldogs 284-262, but only got into the red zone once and failed to reach the end zone for the second week in a row. That meant they couldn’t do anything against Georgia.

Next

Georgia visits No. 4 Alabama on Sept. 28 in a rematch of last season’s SEC championship, which the Crimson Tide won 27-24.

Kentucky hosts Ohio, a member of the Mid-American Conference, in its final non-league game before SEC play resumes.

___

AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll And https://apnews.com/hub/college-football