Columbia has not been friendly to Dawgs as of late

This weekend, the Dawgs seek to have better success in Columbia.

Even though Georgia has dominated the overall rivalry, Columbia, S.C., has not been a comfortable place to play for Georgia Football over the last several years. After all, Georgia has not won at South Carolina since Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and A.J. Green led the Bulldogs to a narrow 14-7 victory over the Gamecocks in 2008.

Since then, Georgia has struggled when playing at South Carolina. In 2010, freshman Aaron Murray started his first SEC game on the road, and the Bulldogs were outclassed. Running back Marcus Lattimore had a breakout game against UGA and rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns to give the Gamecocks a 17-6 win.

Georgia actually lost the next year in Athens as well. But in 2012, the Bulldogs entered Columbia undefeated as the No. 5 team in the country. South Carolina was also undefeated and was No. 6 in the nation.

The Gamecocks, led by quarterback Connor Shaw, Lattimore, Jadaveon Clowney and a suffocating defense, destroyed the Bulldogs 35-7. Aaron Murray, Todd Gurley and the rest of the Dawgs picked themselves up after this loss and were yards away from beating Alabama in that year’s SEC Championship Game and reaching the national championship. That made the South Carolina victory all the more stunning.

The last time Georgia was in Columbia was 2014 in a game in which the Bulldogs were easily favored. However, South Carolina played their best game of the season by far as the Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier and crew eked out a 38-35 victory (thanks to a fourth down conversion, somehow, on a quarterback sneak by Dylan Thompson, which iced the game) over a Georgia team, led by stud running back Todd Gurley that was a lot better than them.

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This year, Georgia first-year head coach Kirby Smart will enter into this game and seek to get a victory over former college teammate and head coach Will Muschamp and his Gamecocks. First-year coaches at Georgia have tended to struggle in their first game against South Carolina.

This year’s game in Columbia will be a bit unusual. With the current weather conditions due to Hurricane Matthew, the game was moved to Sunday afternoon. We do not know exactly what the field conditions will be, although it is going to be sunny on Sunday according to the Weather Channel.

This game presents a new challenge for the Bulldogs and somewhat of an unknown. However, we do know that Williams-Brice Stadium should be rocking as it always is. The Bulldogs need to put the rough environment and crazy weekend aside and play to their ability.

Kirby Smart would love to get his team back in the winning column after back-to-back losses and change the Bulldogs’ recent history in Columbia. To say this game is a must-win is an understatement. Let us hope the Dawgs, indeed, get a much-needed victory.

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