COLUMBIA, S.C. – The third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs traveled to Williams-Brice Stadium for their Southeastern Conference opener and a 41-17 rout of the 24th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in front of a CBS nationally televised audience on Saturday. Temperatures on the field reached over 100 degrees.
The game figured to be an early test of whether Georgia, which lost stellar NFL players like linebacker Roquan Smith and tailbacks Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, could build and move forward from its College Football Playoff run in 2017.
With an efficient 15-for-18 clip, 194 yards and a touchdown, sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm guided Georgia (2-0, 1-0 SEC) to its highest point production in Columbia, dating back to 1894.
Five more Bulldogs joined Fromm with trips to the end zone: senior linebacker Juwan Taylor, running backs D'Andre Swift, Elijah Holyfield, Brian Herrien and wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who also led the receiving group with six completions for 103 yards – both career bests.
On the defensive side, red shirt junior J.R. Reed and senior Deandre Baker registered an interception apiece, with sophomores Richard LeCounte and Monty Rice pacing the defense with career-highs of 10 and eight tackles, respectively.
The Georgia defense produced the first Bulldog points. A deflected pass from Jake Bentley intended for running back Rico Dowdle found Baker, who returned it for 55 yards but fumbled inches before the end zone. Taylor trailed it and completed the touchdown, and Blankenship's extra point secured the 7-0 margin.
Heading into No. 3 Georgia’s marquee SEC East matchup with No. 24 South Carolina, the Bulldog defensive front set a lofty goal for itself when it came to stopping the Gamecocks’ ground game.
The Bulldogs allowed just 54 rushing yards to South Carolina on Saturday, rendering the Gamecock offense totally one-dimensional. The Gamecocks averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and the longest rush came from quarterback Jake Bentley when he scrambled for 11 yards.
The smothering run defense allowed the Bulldogs to control the game and force the Gamecocks into a large quantity of passing plays.
Bentley threw the ball 31 times in the first half and 47 times on the night. He averaged just 5.7 yards per attempt and when coupled with the inefficiencies in the run game, South Carolina struggled to sustain any form of offense.
Georgia’s defense had many questions to answer coming into Saturday. The Bulldogs lost nine key contributors from their elite 2017 defense and were not tested greatly in last week’s opener against Austin Peay.
But on Saturday, the Bulldogs’ run defense stonewalled a South Carolina team’s run game, offense and hopes for dethroning Georgia atop the SEC East.
Next, the Bulldogs return to Athens, Georgia for a meeting with Middle Tennessee, slated for 7:15 p.m. on ESPN2.
-- Adapted articles
Jake Helm was at the helm in Saturday's 41-17 win over the Gamecocks.
photo by Rebecca Wright