(Photo by Sean Taylor)
[su_spacer size=”40″] Despite a history of mediocre performance, the Gamecocks have always found a little extra for UGA, and that has been especially true since Spurrier has been at the helm in Columbia. A loss at home to South Carolina would take much of the luster off of the Alabama game (2 weeks later in Athens), put the dogs in the familiar position of having to rely on others to win the SEC East title and loose the hellhounds of internal discontent in the fan base.
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Most of you won’t agree with the importance of ‘The South Carolina Game’ on the practice field at Georgia in August, but rest assured the Bulldogs’ Week 3 opponent is circled several times in red inside the locker room. College Football Playoff hopes — and SEC Championship talk — will end before it starts for Mark Richt’s most talented team in years if the Bulldogs don’t take care of business at home on Sept. 19. Equipped with the best running back in the SEC and a healthy mix of run-stoppers and pass rushers within the front seven on defense, there’s no legitimate reason Georgia should fall during the season’s first month (considering the opposition) other than this team proving it’s not ready for the main stage.
The Bulldogs haven’t found an answer for South Carolina’s offense over the last five years (four losses) and it has ruined Georgia’s shot at controlling its own destiny in the division down the stretch. Most will tell you Georgia’s quarterback situation is the primary storyline entering the season with a third player recently added to the mix in Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert, but setting up an executable game plan to beat the Gamecocks should be the first priority whereas the starter under center is a space-filler on a rush-heavy unit.
Source: Predicting the biggest fall storyline for every SEC East team