First half observations from The Daily Gamecock Sports Editor, Will Helms, on the South Carolina-Georgia game:
On Georgia’s first drive, the first Nick Chubb-Skai Moore hit occurred. Moore became the first non-lineman I’ve ever seen to single-handedly push Chubb back.
Perry Orth worked the middle of the field nicely, completing his first three passes of the night — all between the numbers.
Georgia’s run defense was outstanding in the first half. The Bulldogs loaded the box and dared Orth to beat them.
The Gamecocks’ first issue with the crowd noise occurred at the 2:30 mark of the first quarter when head coach Steve Spurrier was forced to burn a timeout.
The Gamecock cornerbacks continued to play well off the line-of-scrimmage, and Georgia quarterback Greyson Lambert went 14-15 with 190 yards and a touchdown in the first half. However, the Gamecocks held Chubb somewhat in check. The sophomore gained 68 yards on 12 carries.
Georgia threw at 5-foot-11 cornerback Al Harris Jr. quite a bit in the first half. The 163-pounder was overmatched at best by Georgia’s physical receivers.
The Gamecock special teams units dominated the Bulldogs. Elliott Fry was 2-2 on field goals including a career long 51-yarder. Returner Shon Carson set him up with a long kick return with 7 seconds left on the clock. Carson averaged 35 yards a return on 3 kickoff returns. Punter Sean Kelly put two kicks inside the 20 and the All-SEC returner was held to just 34 yards on two kick returns.
Spurrier adapted to the new-look Gamecock offense with a slew of zone-reads, options and unconventional running plays. True freshman Lorenzo Nunez started the Gamecocks’ only scoring drive at quarterback and played well though he has yet to attempt a pass in his young career.
Center Alan Knott sprained his ankle midway through the second quarter. True freshman backup Zack Bailey played well, all things considering.
