What a difference a week makes.

Seven days ago, Georgia repeatedly ran into a brick wall. In Saturday’s 45-16 win over South Carolina, the offensive line opened up hallway-sized holes for the running backs to sprint through. On the ground, the Bulldogs did any and everything they wanted, to the tune of 332 rushing yards.

Obviously, South Carolina is a bad team nearing the end of an awful season. This was a game Georgia should have won and dominated, which it did from the onset—outside of a brief period when the Gamecocks scored 10 consecutive points to cut a 21-0 lead to 21-10. Otherwise, the game was never in question, and the Bulldogs took care of an overmatched opponent employing an interim head coach.

In addition, the Gamecocks have dealt with opt-outs, injuries, and Covid-19 issues, which included defensive lineman Kingsley Enagbare testing positive and being unable to play Saturday night. Unlike last week, when Mississippi State was shorthanded, Georgia made the Gamecocks pay with the absence of players in the ground game. Mississippi State focused its attention on Georgia's rushing attack, not knowing what quarterback JT Daniels was capable of.

Perhaps Daniels throwing for 401 yards and four touchdowns made Mike Bobo think twice about how to defend this new-look Georgia offense.

The offensive line did an excellent job creating the openings for the backs. But you have to credit the backs for displaying great vision. From the start, Zamir White, James Cook, and Kenny McIntosh made the right reads and cuts to pick up chunk plays on the ground. Cook led the way with 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and did so on only six carries.

White once again earned the tough yards, but had his big runs as well, totaling 84 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. McIntosh, who totaled nine carries for 79 yards, was also involved in the run game’s success. Later, it was Daijun Edwards closing the game with 14 carries for 77 yards.

It was a throwback performance from a new-school offense—the perfect game plan, filled with spectacular execution.

And this came a week after Georgia was held to only 8 rushing yards against Mississippi State. Facing the Gamecocks, the backs and offensive line played as if they wanted everyone to forget what took place a week ago, even if the game against Mississippi State resulted in a win.

After his prolific debut, Daniels took a step back on the stat sheet by completing 10 of 16 passes for 139 and two touchdowns. Daniels wasn’t asked to do nearly as much this time around. And that’s something the USC transfer is fine with, having said that if the game flow dictates a heavy rushing attack, he’s happy to hand the ball off.

Even so, his deep 31-yard touchdown throw in the fourth quarter to freshman receiver Arian Smith was yet another beautiful pass to add to his highlight reel. His lone interception wasn’t his fault, being the product of a dropped pass that South Carolina safety Jammie Robinson was able grab after Kearis Jackson could not hold on.

While the 2020 season is highly unlikely to feature an appearance by UGA in the SEC Championship, it’s clear the Bulldogs have a quarterback they can feel good about heading into 2021.

South Carolina may not have been good enough, or well-coached enough, to do what Mississippi State did a week ago, which was to key on the run and to force all the offense to go through Daniels’ arm. Obviously, when the run game is working, and you’re able to hit explosive plays on the ground, it’s a tool you want to use, especially after building a lead.

Georgia might be positioning itself to catch up to the rest of college football by installing an offense under Todd Monken that is built on stretching teams vertically. But if the run game is working, there's no reason to veer from it. The Bulldogs have an excellent stable of backs who, after games against Florida and Mississippi State, finally had a chance to show off their skills in a major way.

In addition, what made this week’s game against an inferior opponent a complete change was how Georgia played defensively. Last week, Mississippi State dinked and dunked its way down the field and didn’t turn the ball over in a one-score contest. South Carolina, with Luke Doty starting at quarterback, dinked and dunked its share, but couldn't push the ball near the end zone nearly enough. The Georgia defense sacked Doty four times and held him to only 190 passing yards. Cornerback Tyson Campbell recorded his first career interception. South Carolina's run game was stifled to just 83 yards.

Although he was referencing his quarterback play after the Florida loss, head coach Kirby Smart mentioned earlier this month that you have to make the layups when they're presented.

Saturday night's complete performance marked such an occasion where Georgia made its layups over and over again.