Georgia Football: Bulldogs vs Gamecocks by the numbers

Georgia football visits Columbia this week, looking for some revenge.

Georgia football fans have waited a long time for this game. Last year South Carolina inched out a win against Georgia in Sanford Stadium. This year the rematch goes down in Williams-Brice Stadium, but without Will Muschamp who was recently let go. Instead, the coaching match up will be between longtime friends Kirby Smart and Mike Bobo.

Last year, after beating Georgia, some of the South Carolina players tore up the hedges in Sanford Stadium. That makes this matchup personal between the two division foes. The difference between South Carolina and Georgia is Smart won’t let his players tear up their hedges. Instead, Georgia will focus on getting their revenge on the scoreboard.

Minus the hiccup last year Georgia football has owned this series, both recently and overall. The Gamecocks are pretty much an afterthought in the SEC East and as far as Georgia is concerned. In fact, it was the first time South Carolina has beaten Smart in their five matchups against him. Here is a look at how the series has gone between the Bulldogs and the Gamecocks.

Overall series: Georgia leads, 47-18-2
Record when both teams are ranked: South Carolina leads, 6-4-0
Record when both teams are in the top 10: South Carolina leads, 1-0-0
Record when only Georgia is ranked: Georgia leads, 20-7-0
Record when only South Carolina is ranked: South Carolina leads, 1-0-0
Longest winning streak by Georgia: 10 games
Longest winning streak by South Carolina: 3 games
Most points scored by Georgia: 52 (1970-10-31; 1974-09-28; 2015-09-19)
Most points scored by South Carolina: 45 (2011-09-10)
Largest margin of victory by Georgia: +38 (1911-10-07)
Largest margin of victory by South Carolina: +28 (2012-10-06)

Georgia football vs South Carolina in 2020

The emergence of JT Daniels has completely changed the outlook of Georgia’s offense. Even though they rushed for only eight yards against Mississippi State, they torched the imposter Bulldogs for 401 yards through the air. With Gamecock defensive backs Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu opting out of the season expect Georgia to pass early and often Saturday night.

Look for Daniels to target Jermaine Burton who went off for 197 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi State. This connection could be huge against the Gamecocks. You also cannot forget about George Pickens, with him healthy and matched up against South Carolina’s third or fourth cornerback he could have his best game of the year.

Mississippi State held Georgia football to just eight yards on the ground, as previously mentioned. However, don’t expect South Carolina to do the same. Now that Georgia has shown that they have a vertical passing game, loading the box to stop the run isn’t going to be an effective defensive strategy. Expect Zamir White, James Cook, and Kenny McIntosh to have big games.

Rushing Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 149.86 (No. 75)
South Carolina – 162.38 (No. 68)

Passing Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 236.7 (No. 62)
South Carolina – 196.9 (No. 97)

Total Offense (National rank):
Georgia –  386.6 (No. 77)
South Carolina – 359.3  (No. 92)

Scoring Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 29.3 (No. 60)
South Carolina – 25.1 (No. 89)

Georgia football’s defense has been trending in the wrong direction. They have given up an average of 34 points a game in their last two games. The secondary is the main problem when it comes to Georgia’s defense. They have given up 810 yards passing over the last two games or 405 yards a game.

The pass rush isn’t being much help either, but they have been a little bit better at their job. Georgia football’s pass rushers have tallied 38 quarterback hurries over the last two games, but have only taken down the opposing quarterback three times. This is the least amount of sacks the defense has accrued over any two-game stretch this season.

Georgia football’s run defense seems to be just fine though as they have allowed just 119 yards rushing over the last two games. They allowed just 22 rushing yards to Mississippi State. This is saying a lot with the likes of Jordan Davis and Julian Rochester not being available. Jalen Carter, Devonte Wyatt, and Zion Logue have done an admirable job trying to fill in.

Rushing Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 74.14 (No. 3)
South Carolina – 166.38 (No. 66)

Pass Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 273.3 (No. 101)
South Carolina – 277.6 (No. 105)

Total Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 347.4 (No. 29)
South Carolina – 444.0 (No. 94)

Scoring Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 21.3 (No. 22)
South Carolina – 34.3 (No. 93)

South Carolina is a program in shambles right now so don’t expect this game to be close. Even though Georgia football’s defense has been struggling as of late expect them to get back on track against the struggling Gamecocks. That goes for its struggling running game as well. This is the perfect matchup for the Dawgs to get their confidence back.

Dawgs on top by a large margin.