Georgia was supposed to play Vanderbilt twice last year, only to have both games “cancelled” due to Covid-19.

The game was never made up.

This angered many fans, most upset that Georgia seniors, who had a chance to become the winningest class in Bulldog history, wouldn't have the opportunity to play a final game at Sanford Stadium.

With Saturday’s game less than week away, many have wondered if the Bulldog players might want to serve the Commodore "a little something-something" for missing out on last year’s game.

If they do, the players are keeping that info to themselves.

“We know Covid put a lot of teams in difficult situations, and I know they had things going on,” safety Christopher Smith said. “But we’re looking forward to playing them this week. It’s another SEC East opponent, and it’s important for our journey.”

Linebacker Adam Anderson sang a similar tune.

“The only thing about that is, every game helps you see where you’re at,” Anderson said.

So, revenge? Smith said that won’t be in the cards. The Bulldogs just want to win.

“It was pretty disappointing that we didn’t get that last game for the seniors,” Smith said. “But we took it in stride and got ready for the next game.”

…Smart on Sedrick Van Pran: “Sedrick is a guy we've always thought was really talented, and we went and recruited him out of New Orleans. He's got a wonderful family and he's got relatives right in the Cobb County area that have come to games. I know his family comes up and stays. So, he's an exciting—really a great kid—very, very sharp kid who processes information really well, makes decisions and protections, makes points, does a lot of good things for our team. His growth was fast-forwarded through Warren (Ericson) being injured. He would have gone a lot with the twos anyway, but he got thrown in with the ones, got a lot of good work in, and grew, and got better. His accuracy with snaps has continued to improve and must continue to stay at a high rate, because the number one thing to success from an offense is getting the snap, and he's done a nice job of that.”

…On the depth of the defense: "We promote depth and really our whole special teams, we share time on offense. We play a lot of players on defense, so I mean it's not just a defensive thing. We sell that as a team because it helps morale. It helps conditioning, especially during the hot months we're still playing in, and if you've got players that are good enough to play, they deserve to play. We play a lot of guys, and here's how we practice—if you're a two and you're not going to get enough reps, you go down on the other field and you get them,” Smart said.

“When you've got players in your program texting you, 'Coach, can I get some good work against Warren Ericson and Jamaree Salyer?’ That's when you know you got a good culture, because they're trying to get reps against better people rather than staying down with the defense and getting three of eight—they go down to the other field and get five of eight. And you may think that's minute, but for me, that's everything we're about, that's what our culture is built on—it's built on how you go against better players so that you get better, and that's how we get depth, because they practice against good people."

…JT Daniels feeling fine: "I think JT (Daniels) came out of the game pretty clean. They had the one sack, but he was down before he got hit. I'll know more today as far as his health. I would think he's progressed along and is doing a nice job in terms of his health. And that always goes back to how they practice, and how the guys practice,” Smart said. “He certainly showed that he was healthy enough to play, and he played with a high efficiency. Still a couple of decisions there that he's got to make better with the ball, but you can’t argue with how he played on third down. He was efficient with the ball, made good decisions. The one pick was late. He did some good things. So again, it'll be based on day to day, how he practices, and how guys practice, because practice matters."

…Smart wants to see more players step up leadership-wise: "It's up and down. There are days it could be better; there's some days it's really good and it's a work in progress. In terms of player-led leadership events, and conversations, it's never as good as I want it to be. It's never as bad as the worst it's been, so that's a hard measuring stick. It's day-to-day, and it's something we are constantly trying to grow,” Smart said.

“You develop leaders, you develop them on what you do in the off-season, how much time you spend on investing in them as a staff, and on an individual basis with each player, letting them know what's important. You get that in return on investment with the time they spend with the team and when they lead the team when you're not around. We're probably not where we need to be in that regard, but it's something we'll always work on."

…Blessed to have Will Muschamp: "He has added experience and value. There is no price tag you can put on being a previous head coach at two schools in the SEC, being a defensive coordinator, and winning national championships. Going to coach at Auburn and coaching all over. There's no price tag you can put on the value that he adds in terms of that,” Smart said. “That's experience gained on our staff. That's relationships with players. He does a tremendous job of keeping our players confident and improving their skill set. not to mention what he brings to the table in terms of recruiting. He can fill a lot of roles and he's a talent coach. He's very loyal. I appreciate all that he does."

…Smart pleased with run game improvement: "I thought we had a really good run game plan going into the game. Really you can say every run. The thing we emphasized going into the week was IDs, communication, and pad level. That improved tremendously. We had two times when we just didn't block the right people, or we didn't block somebody,” Smart said.

“Those cannot happen. Those moments when it's like, 'Oh, my God, we didn't even block the guy.' You take those out and it's really good. But to rush for what we rushed for, and get our hats on the right people. I think we're going to have to continue to work really hard on creating movement, displacement, and being creative in our run game. Our guys ran the ball well. They (South Carolina) have a good defensive line. Good players, a lot of players that we recruited. We've faced better defensive lines, but they have a good defensive line. I thought our guys did a better job with pad level and a better job with IDs and Communication, but nowhere near where it needs to be.”

The Saturday, Oct. 2, between Georgia and Arkansas in Athens will kick off at 12:00 noon ET and be televised by ESPN, according to an announcement Monday by the SEC office.

Georgia’s all-time record on ESPN is 54-34-1.

Linebacker Nolan Smith and freshman receiver Adonai (AD) Mitchell have earned Southeastern Conference weekly honors, according to a league announcement.

Smith was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week. He shares this week’s honor with Alabama linebacker Will Anderson. Mitchell was named the SEC Freshman Player of the Week.

Smith also forced a fumble in the third quarter that was recovered by the Bulldogs and led to Georgia’s fifth touchdown of the game.

Mitchell, a native of Missouri City, Texas, posted career highs of four catches for a team-high 77 yards and his first career touchdown during the victory over the Gamecocks. He hauled in a career-long 38 yarder for a score from JT Daniels to give the Bulldogs a 21-6 edge in the second quarter. Mitchell’s other three catches went for first downs, including two on third-and-long situations.