In four seasons, has Kentucky closed the gap on Georgia at all?

In the moments after No. 1 Georgia had polished off No. 11 Kentucky on Saturday at Sanford Stadium, Mark Stoops was asked about the positives UK could take from its performance.

To his credit, the Wildcats head man was having none of that.

“We’re not into that anymore,” Stoops said. “There are no moral victories.”

With that as a framing, we are not going to dwell on the impressive work Stoops has done to get the historically football-challenged Wildcats to the point that they have now faced Georgia deep in the season with the SEC East lead riding on the outcome twice in the past four years.

Accepting that Stoops has built UK into a legitimate SEC football program, we will instead weigh a more difficult question: Is there any evidence that Kentucky has closed the gap on Georgia since the two teams played for first place in the SEC East in 2018?

Getting a polished performance from erstwhile backup quarterback Stetson Bennett and a dominant showing from its vaunted defensive front, Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC) looked every bit like the nation’s best team in beating No. 11 Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC), 30-13.

“I don’t know if there are many great teams in college football this year. This one is,” Stoops said of Georgia.

Bennett made extensive use of his tight ends — especially impressive freshman Brock Bowers (five catches, 101 yards, two touchdowns) — to complete 14 of 20 passes for 250 yards and three TDs.

Led by nose guard Jalen Carter (six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss) and linebackers Quay Walker (nine tackles) and Nakobe Dean (seven tackles, one TFL), the powerful Georgia defensive front held Kentucky’s normally formidable rushing attack to 51 net yards on 27 carries.

“They are a great defense,” Kentucky quarterback Will Levis said. “(They have) great players. Long, athletic, strong. And they are schemed up well.”

In the SEC East pecking order, UK has been on the ascension in recent years. The Wildcats have beaten South Carolina seven out of eight, both Missouri and Vanderbilt six out of seven and both Florida and Tennessee two out of four.

Georgia has been the mountain Kentucky has yet to climb.

If you compare the 2018 and 2021 battles between the Cats and the Dawgs for the SEC East lead, they featured remarkably similar storylines.

2018: Kentucky lost by 17 points (34-17).

2021: Kentucky lost by 17 points (30-13).

2018: UK was outgained by 134 total yards (444-310).

2021: UK was outgained by 167 total yards (416-249).

2018: Georgia stoned Kentucky’s bread-and-butter rushing attack (84 yards).

2021: Georgia stoned Kentucky’s bread-and-butter rushing attack (51 yards).

2018: Denied its normal running game, Kentucky got a promising showing from its new transfer quarterback — Terry Wilson completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions.

2021: Denied its normal running game, Kentucky got a promising showing from its new transfer quarterback — Levis completed 32 of 42 passes for 198 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions.

2018: A typically stout UK defense was humbled by Georgia, especially on the ground (gave up 331 rushing yards).

2021: A typically stout UK defense was humbled by Georgia, especially through the air (gave up 250 passing yards).

Bottom line: It’s hard to see from the head-to-head evidence derived from the two showdowns for SEC East supremacy between the Cats and Dawgs in the past four seasons that any ground has been gained by Kentucky on Georgia.

“They are a great team,” Wildcats defensive end Josh Paschal said of Georgia. “All credit to them. They played great.”

Said Levis: “(Georgia) is as advertised. They are the No. 1 team for a reason.”

For UK, the main source of optimism for the rest of its season that can be derived from Saturday came on the offensive side of the ball. Georgia’s defense entered the contest having given up only eight drives into its red zone and two offensive touchdowns all season.

Even though deprived of the potent rushing attack that Kentucky’s attack is predicated upon, new UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen still managed to call a game that produced three drives inside the Georgia 20 — which yielded two TDs and a blocked field goal.

After an uneven first five games as UK quarterback, Levis has now played well back-to-back against LSU and Georgia.

“I think we did some things we will be proud of when we watch the video,” Levis said of the Wildcats’ offense.

Out of an open date next Saturday, Kentucky has remaining games at Mississippi State, vs. Tennessee, at Vanderbilt, vs. New Mexico State and at Louisville.

The prospect of the first UK regular season with double-digit wins since 1977 (10-1) is viable for the 2021 Cats.

“We have to push through this,” Stoops said of UK’s 12th straight loss to Georgia. “We have a chance to have a good team and do some special things.”

For at least another season, closing the gap on Georgia will not be one of them.