Coming off a drubbing of rival Florida, the 2nd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs take on SEC East rival South Carolina (6-2). The Gamecocks will come into a rocking Sanford Stadium for a 3:30 EST start, as the Bulldogs look to improve to 9-0. The game can be seen on CBS.
Coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs are on a mountaintop right now. Not only have they beaten half of their main rivals already, but they’ve won with authority. And a week before their big game against Auburn, they’ll look to fend off a pretty good Gamecock squad.
Georgia’s defense and run game have continued to carry them. Nick Chubb led a ground performance that racked up nearly 300 yards last week on only 35 carries. They’ve gone over 200 yards on the ground every game since playing Notre Dame in early September.
And even though their defense gave up the most rushing yards they have all year, they had their best performance against the pass and nearly had their second shutout.
South Carolina comes in as a surprise team in the SEC East and rode their improving run game to a win over Vanderbilt last week. They’ve won three straight, crushing Arkansas before inching by Tennessee and Vandy.
They’ll look for QB Jake Bentley to regain his form, as he’s gone three straight games without at least 200 yards passing. As of right now, South Carolina is listed as 24 ½-point underdogs.
The Gamecocks don’t have the talent to keep this game close late. But they can play enough of an agitator to keep the Bulldogs from running away with it until then.
Georgia is coming off a huge win over a top rival they hadn’t beat the last three years. They also have a huge rival in Auburn coming up next weekend. It’s only natural for them to play down a bit between such games. Though we won’t go as far as calling this a trap game, it is one that calls for a slow start from the home team.
South Carolina has all the confidence in the world right now. They weren’t supposed to be this good this soon, and they’re going to come out playing loose against Georgia. They have a running game that is rapidly exceeding expectation. Sophomore RB A.J. Turner has lit up the stat sheet in consecutive weeks, compiling 7.1 YPC.
Georgia’s defense will be way harder to run against than those of Vanderbilt and Tennessee. But it does offer an extra element to an offense that needs it. Quarterback Jake Bentley hasn’t been the same without No. 1 WR Deebo Samuel. But this quarterback offers more than Feleipe Franks or Malik Zaire did for Florida last week against the Dawgs.
Between Chubb, playmaking No.2 back Sony Michel, and De’Andre Swift, Georgia has too many yardage-eaters to not pull this out. South Carolina has a pretty capable run D, but they’ve faced nothing like this yet. Still, they have the capabilities to hold the Bulldogs better than any team Georgia’s faced since Notre Dame.
UGA may still win by 17-20 points. But given which games this is sandwiched in between, don’t be surprised if it takes Georgia a little while to get the well-oiled machine moving again.