Preview: No. 1 Georgia at South Carolina

WHERE: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.

WHEN: Saturday, Noon

RECORDS: Georgia 2-0, 0-0; South Carolina 1-1, 0-1

TV/RADIO: ABC (Sean McDonogh, Todd Blackledge, Molly McGrath); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Eric Zeier, DJ Shockley). Sirius/XM – 158-192-80.

It’s the SEC opener for Georgia, which travels to Columbia to face a South Carolina team that was rocked last week at Arkansas.

The Bulldogs have won six of the last seven games against the Gamecocks, including a 45-16 victory the last time the two teams met in Columbia in 2020.

When Georgia trots onto the field at Williams-Brice Stadium, not only will it do so as the defending national champions, but they will do so as the nation’s top-ranked team after moving to No. 1 in this week’s Associated Press top-25 poll.

It’s easy to see why.

Although the Bulldogs came away from last week’s 33-0 win over Samford disappointed in their red-zone performance after settling for four field goals, Georgia has been nothing short of dominating two games into the current campaign.

Georgia ranks first nationally in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 1.5 points per game, while averaging 525 yards of offense per game.

That includes an average of 395 through the air by Stetson Bennett (49 of 65 for 668 yards and three touchdowns) and Carson Beck (10 of 13 for 123 yards and one touchdown).

On the ground, Georgia is averaging 129.5 yards per game, but that’s a number that could go up, considering the Gamecocks are last in the SEC in rushing defense two games in, allowing 247.5 yards in contests against Georgia State and Arkansas.

RB Andrew Paul – ACL, out for the year

WR Arian Smith – Ankle, out

CB Nyland Green – Hamstring, doubtful

OL Earnest Greene - Hamstring, questionable

WR AD Mitchell – ankle, doubtful

Offense

QB Stetson Bennett—Off to a great start, completing 49 of 65 passes for 668 yards and three touchdowns.

RB Kenny McIntosh—Leads Georgia in receiving with 14 catches for 178 yards.

RB Kendall Milton – Bulldogs’ leading rusher with 18 carries for 135 yards. Rushed 10 times for 85 yards against Samford. Could be in for a big day against the Gamecocks.

TE Brock Bowers— Has five catches for 95 yards, but still looking for his first touchdown of 2022.

TE Darnell Washington—Devastating blocker is also playing a bigger role in the passing game with four catches for 68 yards.

WR Ladd McConkey—Has six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Has also rushed two times for 16 yards and a score.

LT Broderick Jones—Finally reaching his potential. Consistently grades out among the highest of Georgia’s offensive linemen

RT Warren McClendon—Underrated by some, many believe McClendon is the best offensive lineman on the team. Showed his versatility by playing both right and left tackle against both Oregon and Samford.

C Sedrick Van Pran—Quarterback of the offensive line is becoming one of the best at the position in the SEC. Laid out some devastating blocks against Oregon.

Defense

DT Jalen Carter—Although he only has two tackles through two games, leads Georgia with five quarterback pressures.

DE Mykel Williams—Started his second straight game against Samford and picked up his first career sack, Georgia’s one and only of the year.

LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson—Anchors the defense at middle linebacker with four tackles and one quarterback pressure.

LB Smael Mondon—Has started two straight, with seven tackles, including 1.5 for losses of four yards.

OLB Nolan Smith—Registered a career-high eight tackles in last year’s win over South Carolina.

CB Kelee Ringo—Sophomore cornerback has rarely been thrown on two games into the season.

CB Kamari Lassiter—Has been solid opposite Ringo. Can be expected to be challenged by Gamecock quarterback Spencer Rattler.

S Christopher Smith—Veteran is the eyes and ears of the secondary. Picked off a pass against Oregon, almost taking it to the house. Enters play with seven tackles

S Malaki Starks—True freshman is off to a great start. Made his first career start last week against Samford. Leads Bulldogs with eight tackles to go with his interception against Oregon.

Create havoc for Spencer Rattler: Georgia only has one sack through two games, but some of that is due to the fact that neither Oregon quarterback Bo Nix nor Samford quarterback Michael Hiers spent much time holding onto the ball. If Saturday’s game against Arkansas is an indication, more chances should be coming Georgia’s way. Although Rattler can run, he was sacked six times, and there were occasions when he held onto the ball too long while making questionable decisions under duress.

It helped Arkansas that the Razorbacks were able to shut down South Carolina’s running game (29 rushes for 40 yards) to make the Gamecocks one-dimensional. That’s a formula the Bulldogs would love to concoct for themselves.

Defend the middle of the field: When it comes to defending Rattler, it’s good to focus on defending the middle of the field, meaning a lot is going to be on the plate of Georgia’s linebackers and safeties.

Like Georgia, the Gamecocks have an excellent tight end room led by Austin Stogner, but also love to get the ball on underneath and crossing routes to receivers like Josh Vann and James Madison transfer Antwane Wells Jr. Against Arkansas, Rattler was 19 of 22 on passes across the middle of the field, with each of his completions coming from 20 yards and in. How effective Georgia is at disrupting the timing of Rattler on these particular routes will be key.

Do better in the red zone: This was probably the biggest gripe the Dawgs had after their 33-0 win over Samford, and rightfully so.

Georgia was forced to settle for field goals on its first two trips inside Samford’s red zone, ultimately scoring touchdowns on just three of its six times inside the 20.

That’s not the percentage Smart wants, and no offense to kicker Jack Podlesny, but the Bulldogs can’t afford to settle for field goals.

Smart and the players we spoke to deem those mistakes correctable, so it will be interesting to see if there is improvement Saturday against South Carolina.

…Gamecocks are coming off a game in which they allowed 295 yards rushing to Arkansas.

…Offensive line allowed quarterback Spencer Rattler to be sacked six times.

…Bulldogs will obviously have to account for wide receiver Josh Van, who hurt Georgia last year. But keep an eye on James Madison transfer Antwane Wells Jr., who last week was targeted 10 times by Rattler, catching eight for 189 yards and one touchdown. He has receptions of 64 and 62 yards against the Razorbacks.

…South Carolina will be without two defensive starters Saturday against No. 1 Georgia after outside linebacker/edge rusher Jordan Strachan and middle linebacker Mo Kaba suffered season-ending ACL injuries last week in the 44-30 loss at Arkansas. Gamecocks also have several injured players in their secondary.

Despite Saturday’s loss to Arkansas, Shane Beamer appears to have South Carolina trending in a better direction, and quarterback Spencer Rattler certainly has the ability to make some big plays. However, he’s going to need to be more consistent than what he’s been thus far, and the Gamecocks’ offensive line is going to have to do a much better job keeping Georgia defenders off his backside after the Razorbacks sacked the former Oklahoma quarterback six times.

Offensively, Georgia is rolling, and running backs Kendall Milton and Kenny McIntosh are no doubt licking their chops after seeing Arkansas rush for 297 yards last week and Georgia State gallop for 200 in the season-opener.

Back at SEC Media Days, SEC Network analyst Takeo Spikes predicted a South Carolina win. Uh, no … Prediction: Georgia 45, South Carolina 14.