Right guard Warren Ericson did not sugarcoat his answer.

Yes, he was thrilled with Saturday night’s 40-13 win over South Carolina. He was not particularly pleased with the way the Georgia offense finished the game.

“Absolutely,” Ericson said. “An emphasis all during the week was how we finished the game, how we finished each practice, how we finish each rep, how we finish each drill. We always try to finish, so I’m disappointed we didn’t go out and finish the game like we wanted to do.”

For example, it looked like the Bulldogs would be well on their way after Derion Kendrick came away with an interception of a screen pass to give Georgia the ball at the Gamecock 33-yard line.

Two quick runs by Zamir White resulted in Georgia’s touchdown, followed later by a 4-yard touchdown pass from JT Daniels to James Cook for a 40-6 lead.

However, that would be the end of Georgia's offensive scoring.

An interception by Daniels and a fumble by Kendall Milton ruined what looked to be a pair of promising drives for Georgia, which still finished with 491 total yards.

Smart said the mistakes—three total turnovers—and a lack of focus were issues he was not pleased to see.

"Just execution of plays. There are things you work on during the week and then there are things you work on that they just beat you sometimes. You get beat one-on-one—I'm not going to lose my sleep over that. They threw some one-on-one balls and beat us,” Smart said. “We will not be a successful team if we turn the ball over three times. I don't care if we get three. We can't throw two interceptions and fumble one and beat good football teams. That's a fact. That will keep me from being satisfied or pleased."

The Bulldogs completed Saturday night’s game without any obvious injuries.

…Tight end Darnell Washington (foot) and defensive back Tykee Smith (foot) were without their protective boots but did not play.

… Kearis Jackson saw his first game at wide receiver after only returning punts the first two. He made his first catch midway through the first when his 7-yard reception picked up a first down.

… Arian Smith dressed but did not play after suffering a leg contusion last week.

Speaking of Podlesny, his 36-yard field goal on the final play of the first half helped a lot of people’s feelings.

First, it no doubt boosted the confidence of the St. Simons native after missing kicks in each of the first two games.

Not this time.

Podlesny’s kick split the upright from 36 yards out, extending the lead to 26-6.

“Pod is a great kicker, and it was great getting him back on track in the second half,” Smart said. “I’m proud of the guy.”

The kick was part of a five-point swing in the second quarter that saw the Bulldogs score a safety that led to Podlesny’s field goal and a 26-6 halftime lead.

“Ameer Speed and Jake Camarda started that whole thing with downing the ball inside the one, which is just elite," Smart said. "We practice that really hard. We practice that all camp, and Ameer made a huge play, Jake made a huge play, and the defense made a huge play, and the special teams made a big play.

"Then, we were able to save our timeouts, and it was really big to get those pass plays to set up the field goal. I thought it was a really good sequence to steal five points."

After struggling on the ground for the first two games, Georgia rushed for a season-high 184 yards against the Gamecocks.

“We rushed for 184, and it didn’t seem like we struggled running as much as we did last week against UAB,” Smart said. “Statistically, I was proud of our ability to run the ball. I thought our backs made some people miss, so I’m not down on the run game tonight. I thought we improved. I do think the timing and the pass pro was good, but to be an elite team, we’ve got to be good at both."

It was a shared effort.

Milton led the way with 10 carries for 66 yards, with White and Cook chipping in with 51 each. Bulldog backs averaged 6.7 yards per carry.

Nolan Smith’s Georgia career got off to a solid enough start.

However, for a former five-star, there were those who wondered if the Savannah native would ever live up to his lofty rankings.

He appears to do be doing just that.

Saturday saw Smith lead the Bulldogs’ defense with eight tackles, including 1.5 sacks. In three games, Smith now has 2.5 sacks, second to Adam Anderson and his team-leading three.

… Kendrick's interception of a screen pass on South Carolina’s first possession of the third quarter was his first for the Bulldogs.

… Backup offensive lineman Clay Webb dressed out for the first time this year.

… After not scoring an offensive touchdown in the opener against Clemson, Georgia has five touchdown passes of over 35 in the past two games.

… Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt returned to action after missing the UAB game due to disciplinary reasons.

… Georgia had one first-time starter tonight in freshman wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. The captains were senior nose tackle Jordan Davis, junior receiver Kearis Jackson, and senior inside linebacker Channing Tindall. South Carolina won the toss and elected to defer possession until the second half.

… Broderick Jones received some reps at both right tackle and left tackle in the fourth quarter. Ericson received some fourth-quarter reps at center, with Xavier Truss getting looks at right guard.

… South Carolina was limited to 13 points, tallying 310 yards on 63 plays. The final stop came on fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line. Georgia finished with one interception, three sacks, and six tackles for loss. With 10:55 left in the contest, South Carolina scored a 36-yard touchdown pass from Luke Doty to Josh Vann, which marked the first TD allowed by the Bulldog defense this season. In the first half, South Carolina was held to six points on 131 yards (8 rushing, 123 passing) on 28 plays.

… Georgia scored 14 points off Kendrick's pick as well as a forced fumble (Smith on a sack) while the Gamecocks got 10 points off two of the three Bulldog miscues (Daniels' interceptions, Milton's fumble).

… Camarda finished with three punts for a 51.7-yard average with one touchback and one downed at the 1-yard line that eventually resulted in a safety. He also had five kickoffs with four touchbacks, and one returned for 12 yards.