Top-ranked Georgia seeks 3-0 start in SEC opener at Kentucky, which aims for improved performance

No. 1 Georgia (2-0) at Kentucky (1-1, 0-1 SEC), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EDT (ABC)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Georgia by 24 1/2.

Series: Georgia leads, 63-12-2.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Georgia opens Southeastern Conference play looking to tie South Carolina atop the standings and win its 15th straight against Kentucky. The Wildcats aim to avoid a 0-2 SEC start after losing 31-6 to South Carolina in an effort that was flat in all aspects.

KEY MATCHUP

Georgia’s scoring defense is tied for fourth in FBS with just two second-half field goals allowed to Clemson and Tennessee Tech, the second coming on the game’s final play. The Bulldogs enter with linemen Mykel Williams listed as doubtful and Jordan Hall, Xzavier McLeod and Warren Brinson questionable by the SEC. The Bulldogs will face a Kentucky offense hungry to rebound from gaining just 183 yards and kicking two field goals against South Carolina, the first time since December 2022 it hasn’t scored a touchdown. The Wildcats yielded five sacks to the Gamecocks and must shut down a pass rush that has registered five through two games.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is 15-1 as the starter and is coming off a career-best five-touchdown passing performance against Tennessee Tech. The senior is 53 yards away from 5,000 career and has completed 72% of his passes for 520 yards and seven TDs this season.

Kentucky linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson transferred from Georgia last winter after earning an Associated Press second team All-American selection in 2022. He recorded 126 tackles and 9.5 sacks over three seasons with the Bulldogs and has six stops (1.5 for loss) so far with the Wildcats. Dumas-Johnson intercepted a pass in the season opener against Southern Miss.

FACTS AND FIGURES

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Georgia tight end Lawson Luckie (7) is brought down by Tennessee Tech defensive back Caldra Williford (13) after a catch during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia running back Chauncey Bowers (33) runs between Tennessee Tech linebacker Kalvyn Crummie (42) and defensive lineman Jeremiah Sandiford (95) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia running back Trevor Etienne (1) runs for a big gain after a catch during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee Tech Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia defensive back Justyn Rhett (9) is called for a face mask penalty as he tackles Tennessee Tech wide receiver Tremel Jones (2) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee Tech Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on Tuesday were investigating the origin of suspicious packages that have been sent to or received by elections officials in more than a dozen states, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or that any of the packages contained hazardous material.

The latest packages were sent to elections officials in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York and Rhode Island. Mississippi authorities reported a package was delivered there Monday, and the Connecticut Secretary of State's office said the FBI alerted it of a package that was intercepted.

The FBI is collecting the packages, some of which contained “an unknown substance,” agency spokesperson Kristen Setera in Boston said in a statement.

“We are also working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, the individual or individuals responsible for the letters, and the motive behind the letters,” she said. “As this is an ongoing matter we will not be commenting further on the investigation, but the public can be assured safety is our top priority.”

It’s the second time in the past year that suspicious packages were mailed to election officials in multiple states.

The latest scare comes as early voting has begun in several states ahead of the high-stakes elections for president, Senate, Congress and key statehouse offices, causing disruption in an already tense voting season. Local election directors are beefing up security to keep workers and polling places safe while also ensuring that ballots and voting procedures won’t be tampered with.

The National Association of Secretaries of State condemned what it described as a “disturbing trend” of threats to election workers leading up to Nov. 5, as well as the second apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

“This must stop, period,” the group said. "Our democ­racy has no place for political violence, threats or intimidation of any kind.”

On Tuesday, the FBI notified the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office that postal service investigators had identified a suspicious envelope delivered to a building housing state offices. The package was intercepted. No employees from the office had contact with the envelope, which is now in the hands of the FBI.

Packages also were sent to secretaries of state and election offices in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming this week. The packages forced evacuations in Iowa, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Hazmat crews in several states quickly determined the material was harmless.

The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Elections Division said it received a package similar to those sent to other states and that the state Department of Homeland Security was testing it. The division said it has notified county election officials to be on the lookout.

Oklahoma officials said the material sent to the election office there contained flour.

“We have specific protocols in place for situations such as this,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a statement after the evacuation of the six-story Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines.

A state office building in Topeka, Kansas, was evacuated due to suspicious mail sent to both the secretary of state and attorney general, Kansas Highway Patrol spokesperson April M. McCollum said in a statement.

Topeka Fire Department crews found several pieces of mail with an unknown substance on them, though a field test found no hazardous materials, spokesperson Rosie Nichols said. Several employees were exposed to it and were being monitored.

In Oklahoma, the State Election Board received a suspicious envelope in the mail containing a multi-page document and a white, powdery substance, agency spokesperson Misha Mohr said. Testing determined the substance was flour.

State workers in an office building next to the Wyoming Capitol in Cheyenne were sent home Monday pending testing of a white substance mailed to the secretary of state’s office.

Suspicious letters were sent to election offices and government buildings in at least six states last November, including the same building in Kansas that received suspicious mail Monday. While some of the letters contained fentanyl, even the suspicious mail that was not toxic delayed the counting of ballots in some local elections.

One of the targeted offices was in Fulton County, Georgia, the largest voting jurisdiction in one of the nation’s most important swing states. Four county election offices in Washington state had to be evacuated as election workers were processing ballots cast, delaying vote-counting.

The letters caused election workers around the country to stock up the overdose reversal medication naloxone.

Election offices across the United States have taken steps to increase security amid an onslaught of harassment and threats following the 2020 election and the false claims that it was rigged.

LeBlanc reported from Boston. Christina Almeida Cassidy in Atlanta; Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York; Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut; Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri; Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan; Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.

The Oklahoma State Election Board Office inside the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, was one of at least five states in the U.S. which election officials received suspicious packages on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)

FILE - William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower stands June 22, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

The Oklahoma State Election Board Office inside the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, was one of at least five states in the U.S. which election officials received suspicious packages on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)

The Oklahoma State Election Board Office inside the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, was one of at least five states in the U.S. which election officials received suspicious packages on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)

A hazmat crew from the National Guard's Civilian Support Team investigates after a suspicious package was delivered to election officials at the Missouri Secretary of State's Jefferson City, Mo., office on Tuesday Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Summer Ballentine)