Georgia’s loss to South Carolina Saturday afternoon shows us that we never know what we think we know until the game is played.

The narrative all week leading to kickoff was that the Gamecocks had been underwhelming in each of its first two games and had no shot against a Georgia team that used a dominant second half to power past Clemson in its opener. What unfolded between the lines was very different.

Let’s grade the ‘Dawgs performance in each phase of the game:

Offense: A-

Mike Bobo’s offense moved the ball easily against South Carolina. The Bulldogs amassed 408 yards of total offense and put 35 points on the board. There were some key spots in which Bobo elected not to give Gurley the ball (ahem, first and goal at the Carolina 4-yard line after a Damian Swann interception), but quarterback Hutson Mason and the Bulldog offense proved they can score as well as anyone in the SEC and can overcome several punches in a tough road environment to keep their team in the game.

Defense: D-

Did you watch the game I watched? The coverage was awful and the front seven got no pressure on Dylan Thompson. The only highlights, and I mean the ONLY highlights, were the two turnovers the ‘Dawgs forced and the fact that they were able to get off the field on third down. But that’s it. We saw shades of a potentially great unit in the second half of the Aug. 30 opener against Clemson, but those memories were long gone as Thompson and Brandon Wilds torched the Bulldogs.

Special Teams: C

Marshall Morgan missed two field goals after setting the SEC record with 20 straight field goals made, and that would prove costly to the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. Georgia punted just twice, so Morgan’s two missed kicks would ultimately prove to be the biggest part of the special teams game for the ‘Dawgs.