The setting and the timing screamed out “upset special.” For No. 3 Georgia, it was an early conference game on the road against No. 24 South Carolina, which is probably the second-best team in the SEC East, and it was sure to be a very hostile environment.

The Gamecocks were a trendy pick on the Saturday morning pregame shows. But none of that mattered to the Bulldogs. They are on a mission this year, and that means no one — absolutely no one — stands in their way.

The Gamecocks sure didn’t. Georgia crushed them 41-17, and it really wasn’t that close.

Statement made.

“Georgia football didn’t go anywhere, that’s the statement,” Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker said. “A lot of people have been talking about all the players we lost, but we’ve got new recruits and players who were backups last year and a lot of other players who can help us. So we just want to play and compete.”

Compete they did. Here are five things that I liked, and three things that I didn’t like:

What I liked

1. Jake Fromm earning his starting role: All this talk about a quarterback battle has been interesting preseason fodder, but what it’s done is make sophomore starter Jake Fromm even better. He played so well Saturday that he kept Justin Fields on the bench until the outcome was no longer in doubt. He’s been  that good. He was 15-for-18 passing (83 percent) for 194 yards and a touchdown. Mostly though, he ran the offense like a veteran and never panicked. He’s one cool customer.

2. This Georgia defense is well-coached: Granted, there are plenty of athletes on Georgia’s defense, but it was very clear Saturday that they were also well-prepared. They were ready for South Carolina’s pace, and they lined up and smashed  them in the mouth when they had to. An early defensive score set the tone for a big Saturday for the Dawgs.  “When you score on defense, your probability of winning goes up about 80 or 90 percent,” Georgia Kirby Smart said. “So that was a big plus for us.”

3. A good start helps, but finishing is what they do best: Georgia was ahead 7-0 before the offense even took the field. The first half was a wash after that, but then the Dawgs came out and dominated the second half. They had a modest talent edge, but a huge edge is depth and durability.  “We pride ourselves on being a four-quarter team, [and] we love late in the game to start moving people and mashing the ball,” Fromm said. “Our guys are just bigger and stronger, and were outlasting their guys, and I think that’s a testament to our strength staff and the way we prepared.”

4. Stopping the run still best way to win games: The numbers simply don’t lie. South Carolina had only 54 yards on 20 carries and that tells me two things. One, they couldn’t run the ball, averaging only 2.7 yards per carry. Two, they knew coming into the game that they probably couldn’t run it. That’s why they threw 48 passes.

Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

5. And running the ball does, too: What an impressive performance by the Georgia running backs and the offensive line. The Bulldogs ran for 271 yards and everyone contributed. Five different guys had 30 rushing yards or more, with Elijah Holyfield leading the way with 76 yards.  “They’re very good on the line of scrimmage. They’re massive in their offensive line,” South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said. “Then we just got whipped in the second half. We got moved off the line of scrimmage, we did not tackle as well, and we did not get lined up a couple times.”

What I didn’t like

1. Deandre Baker’s fumble at the 1-yard line: We’ve talked a lot about the importance of Baker’s early interception and how it led to the first touchdown. What we didn’t say was that it was Baker’s touchdown. We don’t because it wasn’t, since he hot-dogged it and dropped the ball on the 1-yard line, showing off. This happens far too much, and why? It didn’t matter, of course, but maybe someday it will. Cross the goal and and then hand the ball to the official. It guarantees the six points.

2. Getting fooled on the Deebo Samuel touchdown pass: Georgia knew going in that anytime Deebo Samuel went into motion that something bad could happen. They prepared well for jet sweep and exotic pass plays, but they got completely fooled when Samuel took a handoff and then threw a touchdown pass. There was a breakdown there, something that hopefully gets cleaned up.

3. Anything else? I’ve got nothing: That’s two weeks in a row of not being able to find three things. Keep up the good work, Dawgs.