Georgia flexes muscle, powers past South Carolina

The No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs traveled across the border to play the No. 24 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in a place where they have lost four out of the last five times they have played there.

It was the SEC season opener for both teams. South Carolina was a team that was billed as a possible threat to Georgia in the SEC Eastern Division, but after the dust settled, the Bulldogs came away with a very convincing 41-17 victory over the Gamecocks in front of a full house at Williams Brice Stadium.

Georgia scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the game, one on defense and one on offense, and led 14-0 before the South Carolina knew what hit it. The Gamecocks were never able to fully recover from their start, but were able to cut the Georgia lead to 14-7 on an 11-play, 75-yard drive resulting in a trick play 13-yard touchdown pass from Deebo Samuel to Brian Edwards.

The turning point of the game just before halftime with the Gamecocks trailing, 17-10, and driving for a possible field goal or tying touchdown. The Carolina drive stalled at midfield with 43 seconds remaining and the Gamecocks looked to punt to run the clock out, but a poor 18-yard punt gave the Bulldogs good field position and Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm led his team down to a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the half giving the Bulldogs momentum and a two score lead, 20-10.

In the third quarter, the Bulldogs got the ball first and score on their first three possessions of the second half, while the Gamecocks had three straight three-play and punt possessions. What was a close game at the half had become a 41-10 blowout at the end of the third quarter.

Gamecock Coach Will Muschamp said after the game that he felt like Georgia dominated his team up front on both sides of the ball. He also said that the Gamecocks needed to run the ball better. Carolina only had 54 yards rushing on 20 carries, while Georgia had 271 yards on 52 rush attempts.