SEC Network’s Tim Tebow and Laura Rutledge, in Columbia ahead of Saturday's SEC East showdown, think South Carolina could have a chance against Georgia.
“To be honest, I think South Carolina matches up the best with Georgia this year that they have in a long time,” Tebow said. “I just think with their weapons offensively and with Georgia being really good and talented, and I think that Georgia is one of the best teams in the country, but I think with out of all their games this year, this is one of the scariest.”
Both teams will bring a strong run game to Williams-Brice on Saturday, making for an interesting battle on offense.
Despite Georgia’s powerful offense, Rutledge says that head coach Will Muschamp's confidence in his team could go a long way towards giving his team an important moral boost.
“One of the reasons why I think that confidence is so high is because of Deebo Samuel and to me, it’s one of the greatest stories in college football because this guy's back on the field this year," Rutledge said. "Without him, they were pretty good. They’re going to be excellent with him.”
This game will be a pivotal moment for both the Bulldogs and the Gamecocks in determining what is to come for the SEC Conference.
The pair agreed that South Carolina struggled last year to find strength in its offensive scheme, but they think the depth and maturity of this year's team could make a difference.
“This is kind of the first time where you think, Jake’s a veteran, Deebo’s back, you’ve got enough guys, kind of got some of the parts on defense, probably missing that one x-factor on defense but you have young guys that could step up, but it’s there," Tebow said. "We can actually contend for the East ... this is it, this is the game.”
The former Florida quarterback and current professional baseball player believes that South Carolina will have a chance to at least make it a long game, take lots of shots and speed up the tempo. Tebow thinks Georgia’s Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift and Mecole Hardman will be South Carolina’s hardest competition to stop.
Regardless of statistics and mentalities, Tebow and Rutledge know that this tenacious matchup will determine what is to come for both Georgia and South Carolina down the road in the SEC East.
"I think for Georgia to have to face this South Carolina team that's been on this resurgence ever since Will Muschamp got into control," Rutledge said. "This is a tough road test. We know what this stadium is like when they’ve got a big time opponent and what it’s like anyway, and so I think it's going to be a huge one. I expect it to be really close.”