The defending SEC champions threatened to run upset-minded South Carolina off their own field early in Columbia, but South Carolina has fought back to make a game of it. At the break, Georgia holds a 20-10 lead.
South Carolina’s game plan to pull off this would-be program-defining upset has been clear: the Gamecocks want to wear down Georgia’s defense, but they don’t have the horses to line up and run the ball down the Bulldogs’ throats. (Does anyone?) So South Carolina has put the ball in Jake Bentley‘s hands, play after play after play, with a series of short throws.
The problem: Georgia came out acutely aware of that, so as South Carolina opened the game by throwing, Georgia teed off on South Carolina receivers. The Gamecocks’ first series ended when a Bentley pass to running back Rico Dowdle was deflected and returned for a Georgia touchdown.
Immediately after South Carolina’s next possession, a three-and-out, Georgia glided up the field on a 4-play, 76-yard touchdown drive to grab a 14-0 edge on a 17-yard D’Andre Swift run at the 11:50 mark of the first quarter.
Facing a credible threat of a blowout, South Carolina put together a do-or-die drive, moving 75 yards in 11 snaps, the last of which was a 13-yard pass from Deebo Samuel to Bryan Edwards.
South Carolina had a great chance to tie the game immediately after that score when Rashad Fenton intercepted Jake Fromm and returned the ball to the Georgia 34, but South Carolina turned the ball over on downs and Georgia regained control with a 45-yard Rodrigo Blankenship field goal.
South Carolina answered that field goal with one of their own, a 26-yard Parker White boot with 5:57 to go before halftime. Bentley threw the ball 31 times in the first half, completing 18 for 146 yards. Ty’Son Williams led South Carolina’s ground efforts with six carries for 26 yards.
South Carolina attempted to cut into Georgia’s lead just before the break, but the Gamecocks’ drive ended near midfield and Joseph Charlton punted the ball just 18 yards, setting Georgia up at the 33 with 42 seconds and two timeouts at its disposal. Fromm maneuvered the Bulldogs to the South Carolina 27, allowing Blankenship to kick Georgia’s lead back to 10 with a 44-yard field goal as time expired.
Swift leads all runners with 39 yards on half-a-dozen carries, while Fromm completed 9-of-12 passes for 79 yards with an interception.
Georgia will receive to open the second half.
