ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray injured his left knee and needed assistance from trainers to leave the field late in the second quarter of the Bulldogs' 59-17 win over Kentucky on Saturday.

Kentucky defensive lineman Za'Darius Smith slammed Murray to the turf after Murray's pass to Rhett McGowan deflected off the receiver's hands and floated to Wildcats linebacker Khalid Henderson at the Kentucky 2-yard line for an interception with 4:11 left in the quarter.

Murray immediately motioned to the team's medical staff that he needed help, and they walked him directly to the locker room with the senior quarterback struggling to put any weight on his left leg. Just after halftime, Georgia announced that Murray would miss at least the rest of the game.

Murray seemed to tweak his left ankle at the end of a 28-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. Although the injury was clearly bothersome, he remained on the field and completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Arthur Lynch three plays later -- Murray's fourth touchdown pass of the game.

Murray had an MRI on his knee Saturday night, according to multiple reports.

In the first quarter, Murray surpassed 3,000 yards passing for the season -- making him the first quarterback in SEC history to reach that number in four seasons. Last season he became the first SEC quarterback to do it in even three seasons.

Murray's backup Hutson Mason entered the game on the final drive of the half and led the Bulldogs on a five-play touchdown drive that concluded with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Todd Gurley that put Georgia up 35-10 at halftime.

Mason was 13 of 19 totaling 189 yards and both threw and ran for a touchdown in the win which sent Kentucky to its 15th straight SEC loss.