Georgia coach Mark Richt didn’t sound all that worried about the state of his passing game as the Bulldogs prepare to host South Carolina on Saturday.

“I know what we have skill-wise,” he told reporters during Tuesday’s weekly press conference. “I know how we protect, I know how these guys can play QB. I’ve got faith we’ll be fine.”

The questions about his team’s quarterback play come on the heels of last week’s game at Vanderbilt, where Dawgs quarterback Greyson Lambert struggled mightily in the first half before settling down in the second.

Lambert, a Virginia graduate transfer, misfired on his first seven passes and did not complete a pass until early in the third period. He finished the day 11 of 21 for 116 yards, but hardly looked all that comfortable in pushing the ball downfield.

The Commodores did their best to stack the line of scrimmage in an effort to thwart Georgia’s running game led by tailback Nick Chubb, and a tougher Gamecocks defense is sure to do likewise this coming weekend.

Richt sounded confident that Lambert will be able to make plays with his arm to keep the defense honest.

“If you just went by the second half alone, nobody would have said a thing about how we catch it and throw it,” the coach said.

Richt acknowledged the early issues last week, but was quick to note that Lambert went 8 for 12 the previous week against Louisiana-Monroe, with two of his incompletions being intentional throwaways and two others being batted down balls.

“The other eight were on the money,” Richt said.

But the Commodores were a noticeable step up from ULM, and the South Carolina defense Lambert will be facing is more formidable than that he faced in Nashville last week.

Backup Brice Ramsey played a lone series in the second quarter of last week’s game at Vanderbilt, but Richt obviously felt comfortable with going with Lambert the rest of the way.

“He’s going to be fine,” the coach said of Lambert.

Richt said his team’s passing game has looked good in practice this week, and he anticipated that carrying over against the Gamecocks on Saturday night.

South Carolina has won four of the last five meetings against Georgia.

In other press conference news:

  • Richt gave credit to South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier for continuing to coach at age 70, saying, “I think the older you get, the more you realize you’ve got some juice. Coach Spurrier is still doing a great job.”
  • Richt said that the school has asked fans to come dressed in red and to come out in force to the Dawg Walk prior to the game to help make the atmosphere even more electric on Saturday night.
  • Georgia will recognize former SEC Commissioner Mike Slive on Saturday as part of Prostate Cancer Awareness. The Dawgs will also wear a helmet sticker in support of Curing Kids Cancer as part of September’s National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.