Georgia football: Know your enemy South Carolina Gamecocks

Georgia Football is set to square off against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Most of the Know Your Enemy posts have been about the two minor teams Georgia has played. But today, it is about South Carolina, who we all know. The Gamecocks are not on my list of rivals, but for some reason, Georgia is next to Clemson on the rivalry list for the Gamecocks.

I never really hated South Carolina until I went up last year to see the Dawgs play them. The Dawgs went on to crush the Gamecocks. However, several of their fans truly believed they would beat the Dawgs. I don’t know how you can be so delusional, but the more I hung around the Gamecock fan base, the more I realized they were all like that.

So, let’s break down the Gamecocks! PS: Columbia, South Carolina, is the closest place on Earth that feels like the internal temperature of Hell. It is a hot and flat town that is a giant parking lot.

South Carolina has played football since 1892 and won only one conference title in 1969. That lone title came in 1969 and in the ACC. The best coach South Carolina has ever had was Steve Spurrier, and the Old Ball Coach claims Florida, not South Carolina. South Carolina calls themselves USC, which is confusing because USC is the University of Southern Cal. Maybe the administration wants to confuse people with USC because the actual USC is successful and full of rich history.

Georgia and South Carolina started playing each other in 1894. Georgia won that game 40-0 and has won 53 more times since then. All told, this “rivalry” has been played 75 times. South Carolina has only won 19 times.

Both teams have played on an annual basis since 1992. However, this will be the last time these two teams play yearly. With Texas and Oklahoma (ruining the SEC) coming to the conference in 2024, Georgia and South Carolina will not play each other. Again, why was it not kept if the rivalry was so important? Just pointing that out, is all.

Shane Beamer leads the Gamecocks. He is the son of the legendary coach Frank Beamer. Shane Beamer once coached at Georgia as the tight end and special teams coach from 2016 to 2017. Then he left for Oklahoma for some reason; Beamer took a lateral move, head-scratching.

Anyway, Beamer Ball took over South Carolina in 2021 when South Carolina fired our now co-defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, in 2020. Side note: Mike Bobo was the offensive coordinator in 2020 for the Gamecocks. Funny how that works, right?

Beamer has been there since 2021 and posted a 15-12 record, just a little over .500. Beamer is the right guy for the Gamecocks, I think. With Spencer Rattler and Juju McDowell returning, South Carolina has the playmakers to win games in the SEC.

I wrote in my Georgia season preview that the biggest question for the Cocks is: will they be good enough on the lines of scrimmages?  Two games into the season, the answer is no. The o-line for the Cocks gave up nine sacks in the North Carolina game. Nine sacks! Whew, that is awful.

On defense, the Gamecocks lost their best lineman, Jordan Burch, who is now at Oregon. Also, they are breaking in a new offensive coordinator. They were the second-worst run defense in the SEC last year, and so far, it does not look like they improved any.

However, the Gamecocks have their backs against the wall with a loss already against North Carolina. A game they lost 31-17. A game that was not even that close, even though the scoreboard said it was. Even though the Gamecocks are a 24.5-point underdog, expect the Gamecocks to play inspired football. They might want to, given that Sanford Stadium will be out for blood on Saturday.