Now, with both #12 South Carolina (1-0) and Georgia (0-1) eying the SEC Eastern Division Crown once again, the 'Dogs will look for revenge this Saturday "between the hedges" in Athens.
South Carolina and Georgia will kickoff their annual border showdown at 4:30 pm ET on ESPN and ESPN3.com.
South Carolina started off the season with a controversy at the quarterback position. Both 5th year senior Stephen Garcia and sophomore Connor Shaw had played well throughout the preseason and had competed vigorously for the right to lead the defending SEC East Champions into their most anticipated season ever. Spurrier eventually decided to let both quarterbacks show what they had to offer against ECU, but gave the starting edge to Shaw.
"Both of them have done well but Connor has very much, statistically and everything else, played a little bit better than Stephen has," Spurrier said on his call-in radio show last week.
Well, what a difference a week makes.
After an atrocious first quarter and a half for the Gamecocks, Shaw and South Carolina found themselves in a 17-0 hole against ECU.
When Garcia entered the game in the 2nd quarter, things turned around for Carolina.
The 5th year senior led his team back from an early deficit to eventually win the game 56-37, with the help of two rushing touchdowns and one more through the air. After his performance in the season opener, it was clear who the leader of this team was.
"I don't know if this was my best game as a Gamecock, but we needed this win, for sure," Garcia said after the victory, "especially for us to come back and win after that first quarter."
With Garcia under center this Saturday, the Gamecocks will be looking to take an early edge on the SEC East race in a place they have not won since 2007, when Blake Mitchell led the Gamecocks to a 16-12 win over Matthew Stafford and the Bulldogs.
Georgia will be trying to bounce back after a tough loss to begin the season to #5 Boise State in a so-called "neutral site" game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
After climbing out to an early 7-0 lead on a Brandon Boykin 80 yard touchdown run, the Bulldogs lost the momentum and never regained it. Led by starting QB Kellen Moore, Boise State scored at least one touchdown in every quarter, and defeated Georgia 35-21.
For Georgia to be successful against South Carolina they will need to put last week behind them. A tough loss to begin the year can either fire up a team or demoralize them. It will be interesting to see how the 'Dogs respond after being beaten in their own territory.
They will also need to find a way to establish the running game. Brandon Boykin's one carry for an 80 yard touchdown was enough to make him the leading rusher in week one for Georgia. The Bulldogs need to get freshman RB Isiah Crowell involved early and try to open up the Carolina secondary, who looked vulnerable in week one against ECU.
Lastly, Georgia needs to stop South Carolina's running game and force the game into Garcia's hands. Last year, Lattimore ran the show for Carolina and won the game single-handedly as Georgia could not find a way to stop him. If Georgia can make Garcia try to win this game, they will have a good chance to come out on top.
On South Carolina's end of the playbook, they will need to make sure that Georgia's crowd does not have a reason to get fired up early. Carolina will need to score quickly and take the crowd noise out of the game so that the energy of Sanford Stadium does not interfere with what the Gamecocks need to do to win this crucial match-up.
Carolina will also need to create some turnovers on defense. When ECU was able to move the ball up and down the field early in the game last weekend, Carolina's defense looked winded and did not look as if they could keep up. When the defense started forcing some fumbles later on in the game, including one by Antonio Allen that was returned for a touchdown, the momentum shifted quickly to their side. If the Gamecocks can create those turnover opportunities, they should have control of this game.
The Ole Ball Coach will want to make sure he has plenty of Marcus Lattimore in the gameplan. Even last week against ECU, when it seemed like the plan was to choose a quarterback rather than try to win the game, Lattimore remained steady and dependable. He finished the game with 23 carries for over 100 yards and three touchdowns. If the Gamecocks can keep him involved and use him successfully throughout the game, they should find themselves on the winning end when the clock hits 0:00.
Prediction:
#12 South Carolina 27 Georgia 21
i think we will do much better with garcia starting off this week and we jump out ahead early and go to the running game late and keep running it Gamecocks 31-17
ReplyDeleteI think defense will be the key. We have to force turnovers and keep Georgia's QB and offense in check. Who ever plays QB for USC will have to make timely throws and get the running game going. Gamecocks 17 - 10
ReplyDeleteCoach Wood Garrett Tech