3: Dawgs cannot cough up the football
While it may seem obvious to avoid turnovers, I bring this up because the last time South Carolina came to Athens in 2019, they left with a double-overtime victory.
The catalyst for that upset was turnovers.
Late in the second quarter, the score was tied at 10, and Georgia was at midfield with the ball. Jake Fromm then threw an interception to Israel Mukuamu, and he returned it for a 53-yard touchdown.
Fromm finished with three interceptions on the day, all three of which came from Mukuamu. Luckily Mukiamu won’t be an issue this season as he is playing for the Dallas Cowboys now.
Georgia finished that game in 2019 with four turnovers — Fromm’s fumble was the fourth. Every turnover was in South Carolina territory. That should prove to anybody that you can lose any game to any opponent, especially in the SEC, if you cannot protect the ball.
So far in 2021, Georgia has been good at protecting the ball. JT Daniels had one interception against Clemson, and Carson Beck had one interception against UAB. The Bulldogs need to protect the ball and not allow South Carolina to have any hope of pulling another upset.
On paper, Georgia is better than South Carolina, there is no doubt about that, but as the saying goes, another team could come in and win any given day. Instead of hoping the Gamecocks fall flat, the Dawgs need to push the throttle down and force them to call it quits.
Dominance is the theme this year, and setting the tone with an impressive win in the first SEC game of the season is crucial in maintaining that that the world knows you won’t lay off no matter what.