No. 24 South Carolina will be hosting No. 3 Georgia in an early season divisional matchup between the two schools.
The Gamecocks will be hosting the Bulldogs at Williams-Brice Stadium. Georgia has won the last three matchups against South Carolina, and won last season’s game 24-10. Although Georgia was able to get the victory, it was one of the Bulldogs’ closest conference games last season.
Georgia is led by sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm, who completed 12-16 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns against Austin Peay last weekend. Freshman quarterback Justin Fields also might get some action for the Bulldogs. Fields went 7-8 last weekend for 63 yards and a touchdown. Georgia might look to utilize his legs in the run game, as he also rushed for 33 yards against Austin Peay.
The Bulldogs have a strong backfield highlighted by sophomore D’Andre Swift. Swift had 43 yards and a touchdown last Saturday, and showed promise as a true freshman last season. Juniors Brian Herrien and Elijah Holyfield also will get some touches out of the backfield. Georgia will have to do without running back James Cook in the first half, after he was ejected in the second half of the Austin Peay game. The talented freshman had 66 yards last week prior to leaving the game.
Defensively, Georgia is led by a veteran secondary duo in Deandre Baker and J.R. Reed. The Bulldogs did have to replace some key players from last season’s team, so it will be interesting to see how they step up in a conference game.
Junior quarterback Jake Bentley will look to have a big game against Georgia. Bentley passed for 250 yards last week in the Gamecocks season opener against Coastal Carolina. Bentley completed 22-29 passes along with four touchdowns. If he can continue the success Saturday, it certainly improves South Carolina’s chance to win.
Deebo Samuel is another key player for the South Carolina offense, as the senior is Bentley’s favorite target and one of the best wideouts in the Southeastern Conference. While he didn’t play against the Bulldogs last season due to injury, he had 56 receiving yards and a touchdown last weekend.
With this game being one of the first SEC matchups of the season, the conference will be watching to see how this one turns out.
