One of South Carolina’s biggest tests of the year comes early in the season when the Georgia Bulldogs, the defending SEC champions, travel to Columbia in September. Georgia recently finished just short of a national championship in one of their best seasons in recent history. With that season to live up to, the Bulldogs are locked in for another strong year in season two of the Kirby Smart era.
Even with the losses of major contributors on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, the Bulldogs have an immense level of talent. Between new recruits and players waiting to take their turn on the field, the Bulldogs have reloaded. They lead the conference with 12 players on the Preseason Coaches’ All- SEC team. The Gamecocks will have their hands full looking to pull off an early season upset of the AP preseason No. 3 team in the nation when Georgia comes to town.
Led by second-year quarterback Jake Fromm, Georgia’s offense is looking to repeat its dominance from years past. The team will likely use its popular run heavy strategy which wears teams down as the game progresses.
With the loss of two of the nation’s best tailbacks from last season, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, the Dawgs’ rushing attack will take a hit from an individual standpoint. However, the players that are slated to step up and fill their roles are no slouches.
Sophomore running back D'Andre Swift saw his fair share of playing time as a freshman, even with two NFL caliber running backs in line in front of him. With limited snaps, he produced last season. As a starter this season, he will garner full attention from every defense that the Bulldogs will face.
Following Swift in the stable of backs that Georgia has become accustomed to having are the likes of junior Elijah Holyfield and five-star true freshman James Cook (brother of NFL and former Florida State standout, Dalvin Cook). These standouts will look to makeup for the loss of former No. 1 player in the country and five-star running back, Zamir White, who is out for the season after suffering an ACL tear.
These backs will undoubtedly be the focus of the Bulldog’s offense, especially since they will be running behind one of the best offensive lines in the nation. The offensive line returns four of five starters from last year’s championship team and adds a trio of five-star freshman linemen to the mix.
The receiver position for the Bulldogs is the most questionable out of the offensive groups. That being said, there are guys that can make a play whenever needed for the Dawgs. Losing big-bodied receiver Javon Wims is a hit, but an extra year of development and more targets will be just what the duo of Terry Godwin and Mecole Hardman need to turn into even bigger playmakers than they were last year. Tight end Isaac Nauta will benefit from another year of learning the system as well and should see more opportunities as the season advances.
How the Gamecocks matchup:
The biggest causes for concern for South Carolina will be dealing with Georgia's offensive line and curtailing the athletes coming out of the backfield. While stopping the Georgia rushing attack seems to be a daunting task, the Gamecocks have the players in place to contain and prevent an excess of big plays from the position.
Junior inside linebacker T.J. Brunson will be an X-factor in the matchup. Brunson’s knack for tracking down ball carriers and making the tackle in open space will be vital to South Carolina’s chance at keeping the Georgia rushing attack in check. Coming into his third year, Brunson is the voice of Gamecocks’ defense and will be the catalyst of whether the group is on it’s A-game.
"T.J. is the leader of our defense, I want to make sure I let that be known," said Bryson Allen-Williams, a fifth-year senior linebacker. "T.J. has come so far just from seeing him come in as a freshman to him about to enter his junior year and seeing his development and understanding of the calls. He diagnoses and makes the checks, so it's his defense."
The secondary matches up well with the playmakers of the Georgia offense, and the physicality of the Gamecock defense with the likes of Steven Montac anchoring the group will give an edge to the home team in this matchup.
The Gamecocks have an array of weapons that will be able to match up with any receiving threat thrown at them. Assets come in the form of big bodied defensive backs that make up a trio of freshmen all over six-feet. Israel Mukuamu, Jaycee Horn and Jaylin Dickerson are all expected to play with an in-your-face mentality. The Gamecocks can also rely on the skills of senior graduate transfer corner Nick Harvey and 2017 SEC All-Freshman selection Jamyest Williams.
When it comes down to it, defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson will have ample bodies capable of matching up against whoever Kirby Smart decides to throw on the field come Sept. 8.