Georgia football looks to stay perfect against scrappy Gamecocks

Georgia football faces off against the South Carolina Gamecocks Saturday afternoon. Here you can find how to watch/listen and an in-depth preview.

Georgia football game against the South Carolina football team is taking place Saturday at noon.

The game will be broadcasted by ESPN and the expert analyst will be former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who has a brilliant football mind. You can also stream the game on the ESPN app.

If you find that you can’t watch the game, you can listen to the game on the radio. The game is featured on many different radio stations depending on where you happen to be during the game, but you can find the list by clicking here.

The Georgia Bulldogs are an undefeated 5-0, while the South Carolina Gamecocks are currently sitting under .500 at 2-3.

At this point in the season, the Gamecocks are still trying just to become bowl eligible. The Bulldogs, however, are fighting for a spot in the College Football Playoffs and will have to beat to Gamecocks to keep that dream alive.

South Carolina

South Carolina is the No. 79th overall passing offense in college football, averaging 228.6 yards per game and 10.3 yards per completion.

The passing game is not their strong suit, as their rushing game is much better, comparatively.

That ranks 38th overall, where they have ran for 1,019 yards on 168 rushing attempts, which comes out to be 6.1 yards per attempt with 13 touchdowns and 203.8 yards per game as a team.

South Carolina’s offense is led by freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski who has played admirably, still looks like a newcomer.

In four games, he has thrown for 912 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions, and has completed 61.1 percent of passes. He has looked for a freshman, but his play has still left something to desired thus far into the season.

The Gamecocks have an elite wide receiver in Bryan Edwards who has been the main target in their offense.

Edwards has 27 receptions for 348 yards and three touchdowns. Georgia’s shutdown corner, Eric Stokes, will have his hands full.

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The Gamecocks have two other players they seem to like getting the ball in their hands.

Receiver Shi Smith has 18 receptions for 220 yards and one touchdown. They also like to target tight end Kyle Markway, who has caught 14 passes this year for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

South Carolina has three 100 yard receivers on the year. Two receivers have 15 or more receptions, while five receivers have 10 or more catches, and seven receivers have five or more receptions.

Carolina’s rushing game is led by running back Rico Dowdle, who has rushed for 370 yards at a clip of 6.6 yards per carry and four touchdowns.

Dowdle has also been active in the passing game, where he has 72 yards through the air for 9 yards per reception. He is the best running option the team has, but there is another option on the team that the coaches seem to prefer when throwing the ball.

That guy is running back Tavien Feaster. Feaster has recorded 10 receptions for 64 yards, which is good for 6.4 yards per catch.

While Dowdle has been the more efficient passer, Feaster has proven to be the preferred option in the passing game out of the backfield.

On the ground, Feaster has ran for 290 yards and three touchdowns, for an average of 5.8 yards per carry.

The Gamecocks seem determined to split the backfield, but Dowdle has been the most efficient option out of the backfield and is the bigger threat to the Georgia defense.

South Carolina’s pass defense ranks 97th in the nation, giving up 251.8 yards per game through the air.

They have given up 10 touchdowns through the air while intercepting just five interceptions. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 59.1% of passes against them and 7.2 yards per attempt.

Their pass defense is led by defensive backs Israel Mukuamu and RJ Roderick. Those two DBs have combined for 51 tackles, one sack, two passes defensed, and two interceptions.

The Dawgs offensive line has been great to this point so far but will have a challenge in the form of star defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw and fellow lineman Aaron Sterling.

Kinlaw has acquired 14 tackles, four sacks, a pass defensed, and two fumble recoveries.

Fellow lineman Sterling has similar numbers, though not the same hype, with 14 tackles, a pass defensed, three sacks, and a forced fumble/fumble recovery.

The Bulldogs offensive line will also need to make sure they block well against this lineman for star running back D’Andre Swift.

Georgia should find a good footing against the Gamecock defense as they rank  53rd against the run this year.

The Gamecocks are giving up 139 yards per game on the ground and have allowed two touchdowns on the ground.

Georgia has had four runners cross the 100-yard rushing mark on the season, and one other guy has 99 yards on the ground and will likely get that 100th yard Saturday.

Georgia

The Georgia pass defense is not necessarily an elite unit, but the Dawgs can hold their own. They give up just 219 yards per game and have also only allowed 5.9 yards per attempt, and 57.8 percent of passes completed against them.

Georgia’s given up five touchdowns, but have also managed to corral five interceptions against their opponents.

The Bulldog passing defense should have enough tape to come up with a good plan for stopping the freshman quarterback.

Georgia’s defensive line is led by edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, who has gathered three and a half sacks on the year but has also affected many other plays with his ability to pressure the opposing quarterback.

The secondary is led by the starting safeties Richard LeCounte and JR Reed, who have 22 tackles each, four passes defended, and two interceptions between them.

Reed also has a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and is a leader for the defense that can make a big play at any moment.

The Bulldog rushing defense will have a formidable duo to face off against this Saturday.

However, Georgia’s rush defense is not going to be an easy task for the Gamecock offense to run against on Saturday.

Georgia defense is ranked fifth overall against the run, and they are  that way for a good reason. Through five games, the Dawgs have given up just 298 yards on the ground and 59.6 yards per game while allowing no touchdowns on the ground and 2.33 yards per carry.

They will need a good performance from their stout linebackers, Monty Rice and Tae Crowder. Together they form the backbone of the defense and combined for 44 tackles and a fumble recovery.

The Dawgs will need to make sure they fill their gaps and perform their responsibilities Saturday in sound fashion. As long as they play up to the level that they can and have shown the ability to, the Bulldogs defense should be able to hold them to a respectable amount of points.

But make no mistake, this offense has plenty of weapons and will find their way into the end-zone more than once. But the Bulldogs should be able to make the best of their situation.

On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs have a top 50 passing offense and a top 15 rushing offense. The Bulldogs average 250 yards per game on the ground and 262 yards per game through the air.

Star quarterback Jake Fromm has been as close to perfect as one can get this year.

Fromm has completed a whopping 77.5% of his passes for 1076 yards at a clip of 9.7 yards per attempt and 12.49 yards per completion. He has thrown eight touchdown passes and has a passer rating of 182.7 this year, according to ESPN.

Fromm has an assortment of weapons at his disposal as four receivers have gone for over 150 yards through the air on the year and six receivers who have gone for over 100 yards on the season.

In addition to that, four receivers have caught over 10 passes on the year and a whopping nine receivers have caught five or more passes on the year.

The leader of the wide receiver group is transfer Lawrence Cager who has emerged as Fromm’s most trusted wideout.

Cager has caught 15 passes for 197 yards (13.1 yards per catch) and three touchdowns. He has been outstanding for the Dawgs, and at least two of his scores have been game-changing.

Dominick Blaylock has great speed and has used that speed to become an effective deep threat as he averages almost 20 yards per reception. Blaylock has gone for 179 yards on the year on just nine receptions for two touchdowns.

Fellow freshman George Pickens has been phenomenal this year. Pickens has caught 12 passes for 185 yards at a clip of 15.4 yards per catch.

He has caught two touchdowns and has been a reliable target for Fromm. Pickens can still stand to improve in areas but seeing as how he’s only a freshman, there is no doubt he will develop into a game-changing wideout.

The Dawgs have three running backs who will make a good impact against the Gamecocks.

It all starts with running back D’Andre Swift, who has 460 yards on the ground for four touchdowns and seven yards per carry. Swift can do everything you want a back to do, and he can do it all at an elite level.

He also has a nasty dead leg move that can leave the best of the nation’s defenders in the dirt, wondering where he went.

Swift anchors a dangerous running backs corp that also features the likes of Zamir ‘Zeus’ White and Brian Herrien. White averages 7.6 yards per carry, while Herrien averages 6.3 yards per carry.

The Georgia offense will most likely try to shove the ball down the Gamecock’s throat with the variety of ball carriers they have at their disposal.

Fromm has shown the ability to sling the ball around and win the game for the Bulldogs if needed. However, this game just feels like a game that is meant to be a domination by the Bulldog running backs.

The Georgia offense will be able to move the ball against the Gamecocks defense as long as they can execute up front and run the ball effectively against South Carolina.

Fromm will be able to drop in some accurate passes against defense off of play-action, and the mix should be enough to put up plenty of points against the Gamecock defense.

Defensively, the Bulldogs need to make sure they out forth a good showing against the running game of the Gamecocks. If they do that, they should be able to contain the threat Hilinski poses and come out on top by a comfortable margin.

The Georgia Bulldogs come out on top of the South Carolina Gamecocks by a score of 41-21.