Georgia football successfully defends no. 1 ranking against South Carolina

For the first time in nine years, Georgia football entered a Saturday afternoon as the no. 1 team in America and exited the day with a win over South Carolina.

Despite the 24-point spread and other outlets picking Georgia football as heavily favorites over South Carolina, fans new better. A trap game against a 6-2 team who sees us as their second biggest rival, in a rivalry where games are always close, the Bulldog Nation knew to expect a tough battle.

And fortunately, Kirby Smart and the no. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs did as well as they took care of business Saturday with a 24-10 win between the hedges. Nick Chubb led the effort with 102 yards on 20 carries. Jake Fromm completed 16-of-22 passes for 196 yards with a pair of stellar touchdown passes.

From the beginning, Georgia was the more aggressive team. Smart called for an onsides kick to open the game, but South Carolina recovered to start near midfield. However, the defense forced a field goal attempt that the Gamecocks missed. Georgia took over and marched downfield, but Terry Godwin fumbled inside the five-yard line.

That wouldn’t hurt the team as they marched back down the field on their next drive. Sony Michel finished the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run out of the Wild Dawg formation. Michel initially ran into his own line, but he bounced outside and got a block from Fromm on the goal line to walk into the end zone. Michel finished with 81 yards on 16 carries.

South Carolina responded with a long drive of their own and a heavy dose of Jake Bentley. He led them straight to the end zone to tie the game at seven-a-piece. But again, their defense was outclassed by Georgia.

The Bulldogs drove the ball 75 yards and Fromm found Javon Wims on the edge of the end zone for what was at first ruled an incompletion. A review showed that Wims secured a catch while dragging his foot on the ground. The officials overturned the call and awarded Wims with the touchdown. Wims caught five passes Saturday for 46 yards.

Georgia started the second half with possession and immediately extended their lead to 21-7. A run heavy drive with Chubb, Michel and D’Andre Swift took Georgia to the red zone. Then Fromm threw a jump ball to Mecole Hardman who made the catch in the end zone for the touchdown.

Next: How did our prediction compare to the actual result?

Both teams scored field goals in the game’s final 20 minutes. Georgia improves to 9-0 on the season and 7-0 in SEC play. The Bulldogs won the SEC East Championship just under an hour later with Kentucky’s loss to Ole Miss. This is Georgia’s first SEC East Championship since 2012 and their first game in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.