In what wound up being a South Carolina rout, the Georgia Bulldogs showed that they were capable of maintaining their elite level of production against SEC competition. Georgia saw almost no dropoff in performance against South Carolina, scoring 48 points and allowing 7 (in garbage time against the Dawgs’ second-string defense).
On offense, Georgia was calling anything they wanted. Brock Bowers was running the ball and got a touchdown. Ladd McConkey almost threw one. Stetson Bennett was blocking at some point!? It’s easy to say Todd Monken was not holding back and to be frank, there’s no way we’ve seen all that the offense has to offer yet.
The only thing holding them back was Stetson Bennett’s “overhydration.” During the first half, you could see Bennett make an errant throw aimed at Kenny McIntosh, which ended up killing a drive. And if fans thought that was awkward enough, even Coach Kirby Smart believed it was out of character for his veteran quarterback.
But, in an attempt to combat the heat that Williams-Brice Stadium is infamous for, Bennett drank too much water and felt sick dry heaving, and even vomiting on the sideline. Regardless, he still took the field and wanted to play, bouncing back in the second half, scoring passing and rushing touchdowns.
Aside from another stunning Stetson performance, Brock Bowers was able to show off just how special he is with a 78-yard catch-and-run touchdown to start the second half. But that wasn’t all that he did against the Gamecocks. He also had a rushing touchdown off of a sweep play and a touchdown where he mossed a defender and toe-tapped for a score.
Switching over to the other side of the ball, the Dawgs proved again why they are the best scoring defense in the country. The team was able to cash in on their opportunities this go ‘round and came through with three interceptions.
The only thing the defense couldn’t do was keep the Gamecocks out of the end zone towards the end of the game. Though the mantra Kirby Smart preaches to his players is whenever you’re on the field, you’re a starter, it was the second-string defense that let one slip through the cracks as Coach Shane Beamer and his team were struggling to put at least one offensive drive together.
The Georgia Bulldogs are picking up steam right now. There’s no doubt that they’re worthy of their “No. 1 in the country” status. Something to think about now is during the offseason, Coach Smart preached that this team couldn’t be complacent because they never won anything themselves. Well, now they are. Their schedule doesn’t toughen up until the Florida-Georgia game, so in the meantime, let’s hope that Kirby and the rest of the coaching staff can keep the guys in check. And, more importantly, keep them hungry.