Dawn of the Dawg
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Three takeaways from Georgia’s win over South Carolina

By Kyle Funderburk

Oct 9, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (16) makes a catch and drags South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back D.J. Smith (24) towards the end zone during the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Georgia won 28-14. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (16) makes a catch and drags South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back D.J. Smith (24) towards the end zone during the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Georgia won 28-14. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports /
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Georgia beat South Carolina 28-14 Today to win their first game in Columbia since 2008.

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For the most part Georgia dominated South Carolina on route to their victory. The run game was back in full force, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel eclipsed 100 yards while Brian Herrien added 82 yards.

The defense was efficient and they continued to cause turnovers. Marshall Long is becoming the best part of Georgia’s special teams with a few really good punts that left the Gamecocks with bad field position.

But Georgia allowed South Carolina to stay in the game with questionable play calls and a rough day from Jacob Eason.

But a win is a win and right now Georgia is 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. They snapped a two-game losing streak and following Tennessee’s loss to Texas A&M they know they aren’t out of the SEC East race yet.

Here is what was noticeable from Georgia’s win that fans should keep an eye out for in the future.

The running game is back

After a pair of 80-yard performances last week from Michel and Herrien, the Bulldogs took advantage of a much weaker run defense in South Carolina. Nick Chubb rushed for 121 yards with two touchdowns, his first 100-yard game since opening weekend.

Michel added 133 yards and Herrien rushed for 82. Georgia was only 18 yards away from having three 100-yard rushers for the first time in school history. Considering how much Eason struggled today, it’s surprising that Jim Chaney didn’t abandon the pass altogether because the trio could not be stopped, contained or even slowed down.

The next two defenses Georgia plays are Vanderbilt and Florida and they are a lot better than South Carolina. But the run game has regained its rhythm and confidence. Florida and Vanderbilt would much rather be defending Georgia’s running game from mid-September than what they’ll be facing now.

Eason struggles when he’s not needed

To this point Jacob Eason has displayed maturity passed his years. He has thrown a pair of go-ahead touchdown passes late in two games. He was very composed against Ole Miss despite the players around him letting him down.

But against South Carolina when Georgia didn’t need anything like that, he didn’t live up to those performances. Eason went 5-of-17 with only 29 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He drastically overthrew passes including one to a wide open Terry Godwin around the goal line late in the second quarter.

Some can blame the wind and it was definitely windy, but South Carolina’s Perry Orth went 26-of-36 with 288 yards.

It’s hard to believe that just last week he was delivering clutch passes to almost upset Tennessee and this week he can’t even reach 30 passing yards against the Gamecocks. It could be that he needs to get in a rhythm which is understandable for a true freshman. The effectiveness of the run game led to more run plays being called, which would keep Eason of getting into a rhythm.

Either way, Georgia is fortunate that Eason’s worst game came when they didn’t need him to be great.

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Herrien has already been mentioned, but two more freshmen and a sophomore stood-out in some fashion Sunday.

Freshman defensive end Tyler Clark was in on two sacks on Orth and helped shut down the Gamecocks running game for just 31 total yards.

Sophomore cornerback D’Andre Walker was beaten deep once but besides that he had a pretty good game. He started his first game last week after a month of Juwaun Briscoe starting opposite of Malcolm Parrish.

Lastly, freshman punter Marshall Long had a great game. Three of his punts were downed inside the 10-yard line, two of them were downed inside the 5-yard line.

His other three punts left South Carolina at the 22-yard line, and the 26-yard line twice. Georgia’s place kicking game needs work, but Long is blossoming into one of the SEC’s best punters.

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