South Carolina football: 5 areas where Gamecocks are better than Georgia
The home team has won five of the past six meetings in the South Carolina-Georgia series, including 2012 and 2014 in Columbia.
In fact, in 2014, Georgia was a 5.5-point favorite coming to South Carolina following a big win over Clemson. The 2012 meeting featured two top-6 teams, but the Gamecocks ran away with a 35-7 win over the Bulldogs, who later represented the SEC East in Atlanta. That game was also the last time South Carolina hosted a top-5 SEC opponent.
Some concerns for the Gamecocks, namely at linebacker and in the secondary, were answered in Week 1 with the return of Bryson Allen-Williams from a shoulder injury to have a solid game against Coastal Carolina. And the emergence of freshman starter Jaycee Horn at cornerback, one of the bigger surprises of the preseason, was encouraging.
Here are five areas where South Carolina is better than Georgia:
Wide receivers
Even without Deebo Samuel, the Gamecocks boast Bryan Edwards, Shi Smith and OrTre Smith, who each had at least 300 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2017. And obviously Samuel is back.
Georgia’s Riley Ridley had a banner national championship game, but was tough to find the rest of the season. He didn’t have a catch in seven games, and had fewer than 50 receiving yards in three others.
The Gamecocks return three receivers who had at least 30 catches last season, and that doesn’t include Samuel. Georgia, meanwhile, can only count Terry Godwin in that category. He’s been out with a lingering knee injury but is expected to return this week. Samuel who missed last year’s game, made four catches for 90 yards against the Bulldogs in 2016.
Special teams
This comes down largely to a comparison of Deebo Samuel and Mecole Hardman because there’s a push at punter and placekicker. Samuel delivered considerably more production on a per game basis in 2017, with two touchdowns in three games. Hardman, though electric in the open field, couldn’t break through for a score all season on kickoff or punt returns. That’s a big reason Samuel was named first-team All-SEC by the coaches this preseason. Samuel is an All-American candidate as a returner, and Georgia fans could relate that his impact is akin to Isaiah McKenzie or even Todd Gurley returning to Georgia.
Quarterback
Jake Bentley had the same completion percentage (62.2) as Jake Fromm despite having considerably more attempts in two fewer games. Bentley was 245-for-394 for 2,794 yards, compared to Fromm’s 181-for-291 for 2,615 yards, putting him ahead in completions, completion percentage, yards and yards per game. After injuries to Samuel and some running backs, Bentley had to do more with less, and that’s one reason he led the team in rushing touchdowns in 2017. Fromm had plenty more help, especially late last season.
Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive coordinator
Will Muschamp likes to say that Bryan McClendon’s more than a recruiter, but his recruiting haul is tough to top. In his career at Georgia and South Carolina, he’s reeled in some all-time greats, being the primary recruiter for Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley, Jamyest Williams and Jaycee Horn. And those Gamecock players hail from the heart of metro Atlanta’s recruiting hotbed. Who was the primary recruiter for star Georgia freshman QB Justin Fields? Not offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, but running backs coach Dell McGee. Of Georgia’s top four assistants, Mel Tucker, Sam Pittman, James Coley and Chaney, it was Chaney who received the lowest bump in salary this past offseason.
Depth at running back
Georgia’s depth at running back took a couple of serious hits the last two weeks with the injury to Zamir White and the first-half suspension to James Cook. All of a sudden a backfield that was expected to have four or five options is down to mainly D’Andre Swift, Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien. South Carolina, meanwhile, is expecting the return of Mon Denson, to go with Rico Dowdle, who didn’t play against Georgia last season, Ty’Son Williams and A.J. Turner.
There appear to be some serious stretches here. I am looking forward to the game though.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. We’ll see how it plays out. The X-factor is that W-B crowd. Take them out early and it should be a comfortable day. I suspect a big part of the game plan is geared towards exactly that. Let the Cocks hang around and have that house jumpin’, it could get messy.
I would not call WBS an “X” factor stadium. Honestly, that home field is middle of the pack at best…
Obviously you’ve never been to Williams Brice for a big game.
I’m certainly no SC fan, but if you don’t think their stadium can be a factor, you haven’t been there or you’re kidding yourself. I’ve always given their fans props, they can show up, make some noise and support their team even when they’re having a less-than-stellar season.
On an average Saturday, no it’s not Death Valley at night. But UGA at Columbia is not an average Saturday to Gamecock fans. I have never heard a louder crowd than UGA’s visit there in 2014.
Been to all SEC stadiums but (Mizzou/Ark/Vandy). We hold our own. The best was Ole Miss…great atmosphere and fans…the coolest (but you have to have thick skin because they literally get in your face),LSU. The biggest asses, Auburn.
yeah i think we all can agree Bentley is talented and a ton of potential but def cant firmly give SC the edge at Qb at this point in time..
that all being said Deebo is gonna dice the dogs up
With UGA’s cornerbacks, Deebo will grab a few catches but will probably have a quite day. That will, however, likely open up chances for other USC receivers.
Deandre Baker didn’t give up a TD last year. Deebo is definitely someone that can break that streak but I’m putting my money on Baker.
Gamecocks have a CB by the name of Rashad Fenton who also gave up 0 TDs last year.
Yeah, all of these are debatable at best, and some of the arguments presented aren’t even the best ones available.
Definitely some stretches. I might give SCAR the advantage on WR just based off of previous production. Special teams is a push. QB is a push or UGA with Fromm and Fields. Even with Zamir out and James Cook missing the first half UGA still has RB depth.
It should be a good game but this article is reaching
Major MAJOR reaches here.
I could make an argument for WR, but I’ll leave that alone. The rest of this is garbage trying to cater to what a fanbase wants to hear. Reality will show itself on Saturday and we can put all of these delusions to bed.
WR- SC, have a handful of legit wideouts
ST- toss-up, Blankenship is a hoss, we have better return guys/punter
QB- UGA
OC- UGA
RB- SC
I don’t think ST is a tossup TBH. Mecole is a dude on KR and PR, and our coverage is much much better. While you do have more depth, for the first half anyway, I still wouldn’t trade our RBs for yours. You won’t find a better 3-deep in the SEC, and I doubt the country.
agree to disagree but many would say Deebo is one of the best KR guys in country, although i know he was hurt a lot of last yr. our Punter is v good. Hot-rod is lights out tho and our kicking was abysmal last yr
Deebo definitely is elite, I’m not gonna argue that. But I think that the difference is in the coverage. Punt and kick coverage is all about size and speed, and you have to admit that UGA has that edge on USCe.
Although I realize he’s only been in one game, watch our frosh punter, Camarda through the season. I think he’s gonna be a great one. I’m not gonna compare him to anyone yet, because it’s obviously a bit early for that.
How many returns for TD has he given you against power 5 teams? Deebo has 3 in basically 9 games. Please.
I hope you are joking when you suggest that South Carolina, home to a stable of mediocre backs that would never see the field in Athens, has an advantage over Georgia there. Rico Dowdell and Mon Denson didn’t even average 4 ypc last year, and you’re suggesting they comprise a better unit than all of Georgia’s blue chip recruits? Give us a break.
Darviathar, I’m glad you cherry-picked our injured RB and 4th stringer in your equation. When Rico Dowdle returned for the Michigan bowl game, he put up decent numbers and a TD against a stout Michigan defense. He also averaged over 11 yards per play receiving and had over 100 receiving yards in an injury-shortened season.
Mon Denson did not play a down until after Dowdle’s injury and had limited carries during the season. AJ Turner and Ty’son Williams both averaged 5.0 yards or better per rush last season.
No argument that Deebo is solid but when comparing ST, in this instance, it’s kicker vs. kicker and punter vs. punter. Blankenship was 8 for 8 touchbacks and only 2 of 8 landed in the endzone. Unless Deebo has someone take a running leap out of the back of the endzone and flip him the ball – he’s not going to have a decent shot at a kickoff return.
Agreed, Blankenship is better than our kicker, who struggled mightily with FGs throughout the year last year. With the new college rule, most KR’s will fair catch anywhere near the end zone anyway to start at the 25 yard line.
Jeeze, hope the Dawgs can keep it close!
Most of this is what Saban refers to as rat poison. I think it will be a good game. Georgia has recruited very well and has some great weapons. Additionally, they know what is required to maintain a high level of proficiency. Kirby Smart is no Mark Richt. Coach B Mac is no Spurrier either. These are very different teams. Should be fun to watch.
The guy who wrote this article, he needs to put the crack pipe down more often.
It will be a good game, but UGA is more talented and a better coached team. UGA by 14.
Memo to writer – Mark Richt is now at Miami, not UGA. And if you watched LSU vs Miami then you know what that means.
Kirby Smart is 2-0 vs SCAR.
Made me quite happy to see Coach O and LSU sht stomp the overranked Miami. especially as a 3.5pt dog
Memo to DawgsofWar – Muschamp inherited a complete rebuild whereas Kirby walked into a 9-10 win team. Using your logic, I will be interested to visit the UGA page the week you play Vanderbilt so I can add that Derek Mason is 1-1 against Smart, therefore Vandy has a chance to win.
Physically SC matched up last year with UGA with UGA having an obvious offensive advantage from a talent perspective. Losing that big senior class has averaged out the talent gap.
Comparing QB’s is kind of tough to do. Bentley survived last year with 3 OL out, top receiver gone and top returning rusher out. We know losing one player doesn’t make a difference because of all the success UGA had when Chubb went down, right?
Stadium environment? Maybe not at the top of the SEC, but Gurley and Murray will never forget they played there. No hurricane distractions this year, WB stadium will be electric.
The talent gap has averaged out, huh? Guess I missed where South Carolina has ever signed a top 10 class? Not sure how anyone thinks South Carolina is close to UGA talent wise 1-85, or even 1-22. Would you say the same about South Carolina’s talent vs Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, or even Auburn, Southern Cal, and Penn State?
Maybe you meant the experience gap has averaged out. That I can buy into.
I think they probably would try to convince you that USCe’s talent is actually on par with Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State. Why not? If they think it is on par with Georgia, it is obvious that facts don’t matter.
Fair point agdawg, experience translates to talent as well. UGA losing such a huge senior class took a lot of experience out of the program. Sure, you restocked with a top class. I don’t equate a high school 4* coming to school for a summer with a 3* kid that has been in a college program for a number of years.
No I am not delusional enough to believe USC is on par with the top programs talent wise. I see UGA as being different because of the number of young players on the roster.
How many Freshmen do you think are starting? the difference is that USC has 3 stars that have been in a program for a number of years, and UGA has 4 and 5 star guys that have been in the program for a number of years everywhere except for Cornerback where they have a 5 star freshman. All those 4 and 5 star freshmen are going to come into the game to provide depth, UGA certainly isn’t leaning on them just yet to win football games… but they could.
Kickers are a push? You’re comparing anyone to Rodrigo Blankenship as a push? You’re drunk, go home.
If anything on your list is a push, it’s WR. The speed that the Dawgs bring to bear with Godwin, Ridley, Hardman, and now Robinson is second to none in the conference. That you don’t even bring up Hardman or Robinson shows how little you know.
McClendon may be better than Chaney. I’ve made no secret of my dislike of Chaney, but McClendon is also unproven.
Your trash about Bentley being better than Fromm based on more attempts is just that; trash.
The Chickens and their former players and now even their bloggers are a little too cocky, pardon the pun. Time for a Dawg beatdown to remind people that no, this is not a rivalry. This is an ownership.
Wide Receiver is the only thing listed here that is probably correct — but even then it’s debatable. Deebo on special teams in conjunction with Mecole not breaking free for a touchdown in 2017 is the stupidest and most amateurish way to compare special teams. Losing to Kentucky and the impotent showing against Tennessee last year provide plenty of arguments for why Bentley is not better than Fromm; the combination of sterilized statistics and buying into hype make for poor support. Not having Deebo is not nearly sufficient enough of a response to excuse/explain Bentley’s resounding mediocrity last year. And in what world on complete lunacy are you going to seriously state that McClendon is better than Chaney? Are you kidding?
The running back comparison is so crushingly asinine that it doesn’t require a response.
Does SDS just pick random sports fans from across the country to write articles? Oh, Mr. Farner is a “freelance” writer. Got it. An unemployed hobbyist who posts frequently to forums about his college football musings.
Was Chaney the OC when Kirby lost to Freeze, Butch Jones, Dereck Mason, Jim McElwain, and the option man at GT? You lost a lot of players, and after all it is about having players.
Defense was more of an issue those game than the offense. But I wouldn’t read too deep into how the first year of Kirby’s tenure unfolded. Because Chaney is also responsible for hanging 40+ on Jones and McElwain (McElwain then was immediately fired), 54 on Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, and made the much heralded Todd Grantham look overrated and helpless.
How did McClendon do last year? Oh, right. He wasn’t even an OC yet.
Chaney hung 41 on your defense. Had UGA not taken its foot off the pedal, another few TDs could have been scored.
This reads like a rah-rah piece for the home team.
There’s more to playing QB than Completion percentage. Fromm’s QB rating of 160.09 is almost 30 points better. Fromm threw more TD passes, 24 to 18 for Jake Bentley and with 103 fewer attempts.
Receivers: I would have to give SC the best receiver, barely, but after that I’d take UGA’s 2-5 over SC’s all day, every day. That receiver core is vastly under-rated. But they won’t be for long.
OC: McClendon is essentially an unproven freshman. Chaney is a proven veteran.
Special teams: Hot Rod Blankenship is the SEC’s best kicker.
Mecole Hardman lead the SEC in Punt returns and was 2nd in kick off returns. UGA’s punter is a true freshman but has looked good and was 2018’s top rated punter. Slight edge to UGA.
Depth at RB: I would have to see that to believe it.
Also, UGA true freshman Jake Camarada had three punts for a 55 yard average.
There’s not enough stats yet, but that would likely lead the conference, and would out-pace last years best average by almost 7 yards per.
Georgia’s Special teams looks to be as good or better than last year…
LOL.
Deebo > Ridley
Edwards > Simmons by a long shot
Shi Smith > Hardman
Otre Smith > any 2nd string UGA WR
I’ll give you Deebo being better than Ridley, but pump the breaks on the rest. Shi Smith isn’t better than Hardman and I love how you completely left D-Rob and Godwin out of the conversation.
This dude has no idea what he’s talking about. Ridley is probably the 4th, maybe 5th best WR we have (Kearis Jackson didn’t play last week). There isn’t a spot on the field that SCar is better than UGA this is a joke.
Deebo had less than 40 yards all game. Wow, so impressed.
Sounds as though Mr Farner knows how to touch the nerve of the UGA fans. Thank you. You’ve shown that while our mascot is “Cocky”, that’s not the only cocky going around.
I suppose if his objective was to rile up the UGA fan base, mission accomplished. If on the other hand it is to have his analysis taken seriously, he struck out.
So Chaney getting the lowest bump in salary at the end of last season is an advantage for South Carolina this Saturday?
*pins article to locker room door*
Thanks!
LMAO!!
Interesting how Bentley had to do “more with less,” but the rest of the article points at the depth at the WR and RB positions.
A+ writing
A point was made, and it was good
I’m not saying Jake Bentley is bad, but an important stat that was left out was his INT number last year. 24-7 is way more preferable to 18-12.
This is hope article lol bc S.Carolina doesnt have anything on UGA. No part of that team is better than UGA.
1. WRs are at worst a push for UGA. Article leaves out D-Rob who proved himself as a solid deep threat as a Freshman at Cal. Also what kind of numbers do you expect from a team who ran the ball 68% of the time?Bottom line, UGA has 3 5-star receivers and very, very high quality players behind them.
2. You mean to tell me that a kicker who was 14 of 25 and 4 of 14 outside of the 40 is a push with the first team all-SEC kicker? Also Deebo might not be the same explosive returner he was before he broke his leg.
3. lol.
4. Literally there is nothing you can say about Jim Chaney doing his actual job, you can only talk about his salary bump? I can’t by any means say that McClendon is a bad coordinator but Jim Chaney really did a lot to improve from year one to year two making the proper adjustments and really running a smooth offense, especially on 3rd downs.
5. I would take UGA’s top back over USC’s top back. I would take UGA’s second back over USC’s Second back. I’d take UGA’s third back over USC’s third back. I would take U… you get the point.
I would take UGA’s 3rd back over USC’s top back. This writer is a moron.
It seems that this article was written for the purpose to generate clicks and comments. Mission accomplished. Other than that, it’s trash.
It’s not really trash but just designed to get people here to comment and read their advertisers, as all publications have to do.
I don’t buy the argument that USC’s WR group is that much better than UGA’s. In terms of talent and potential, give me Hardman, Ridely, D-Rob, Godwin, Simmons, and Crumpton over Deebo, Edwards, and the others.
I imagine if you stick USC’s group in an offense with Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, and D’Andre Swift those numbers go WAY down.
One area UGA is clearly better: Coaching. Muschamp is good but he is no Kirby Smart. It will be a very tough game but this atmosphere is nothing new for UGA who won in week 2 last year at South Bend and at Pasadena.
You are dumb
I can’t tell if this is a troll job, but I’ll respond with my thoughts anyhow.
SC WRs – A tough call, but UGA has serious depth.
Special teams – It is about much more than just Deebo vs. Mecole. Blankenship is a pure advantage over SC’s career 56% place kicker. Camarda is a very talented punter. UGA special teams coverage is also some of the best in the business. If SC is better in special teams, it has a very special unit. You smoking.
Bentley vs. Fromm/Fields – Nothing wrong with SC fans liking their guy more – he’s good – but UGA wouldn’t swap with SC in a million years on this one. Call it a wash if you really want to, but, nah.
Offensive coordinator – UGA has recruited more talent than SC on offense. Jim Chaney has been a successful OC for decades. McClendon has had one full game and an interim game of sorts in the bowl game last year. What you smoking?
Depth at RB – Holy sh*t. Just, holy sh*t. Good luck, SC. You are fixated on Chubb and Michel moving on. Muschamp knows better, and others in the SC community will see soon enough.
SC is a good team. Playing at home and relying on the knowledge Muschamp and Smart have about each other, sure SC has a chance. They don’t really have any paper advantages though. That’s just how it is.
Pretty accurate. Except they missed D-line. Georgia has a weak D-line.
Weak D-line? How’d the chicken’s running game do?
No bias or anything, but SCar is going to get a beat down on Saturday and then it’s back to reality.
Clemson fans can’t help but comment on South Carolina games that don’t involve them. By the way, how is Howard’s Rock after YOUR OWN FAN broke into the stadium and chipped off a chunk of the rock. Hilarious!! South Carolina doesn’t need to prank Clemson, their own fans do it for us!!
Anybody else think that comparing skill positions to each other is idiotic? What matters is how do the receiver’s match up against the other team’s DBs. And for that matter, having great WRs won’t matter much if your QB is on his back all day. This article is just typical Saturday Down South dribble. I only end up here when I’m linked to it from better sites.
This article is now infamous around the internet for how laughable it is. Keith really churned out a pile this time. Hopefully he gets paid per click and not for putting out a decent product.
Hey Keith Farner, so how did those advantages work out for the chickens? Wasn’t this supposed to be the best chance to upset UGA? Instead the chickens lost by the largest margin in years.