Georgia will certainly need no motivation for this year's game at South Carolina.

It was the Gamecocks who handed the Bulldogs their only regular-season loss with a 20-17 overtime win back on October 12. Georgia will be anxious to return the favor when the two teams meet back in Columbia on Nov. 7.

Can Kirby Smart's crew get the job done?

For more on South Carolina:

Versus Georgia: Nov. 7 (Columbia)

Head Coach: Will Muschamp

2019 Record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 in the SEC East

In talking with colleagues who covered South Carolina last fall, 'stagnant' was a description used more than once to describe the Gamecocks' offense.

Enter Mike Bobo, who has been charged with making the proper corrections for South Carolina after being fired as the head coach of Colorado State.

There're plenty of reasons head coach Will Muschamp decided to bring his old friend onto the staff.

South Carolina ranked fourth from the bottom in the entire country in yards per completion, while ranking just 96th out of 130 teams in total offense. In the SEC, only Tennessee and Vanderbilt were ranked lower.

Making matters worse, the Gamecocks converted just 32 percent of their third downs and scored a total over just 24 points over their final three games, numbers Bobo will be intent on improving.

Quarterback Ryan Hilinski is back for his sophomore year after throwing for 2,357 yards and 11 touchdowns once he took over for Jake Bentley, who subsequently transferred to Utah.

Hilinksi is not only big and strong but moves around pretty well for a guy his size. With Bobo's history of developing quarterbacks, Hilinski could become of the better ones in the SEC.

But he's going to need some help.

The Gamecocks have their fingers, or make that spurs, crossed that five-star freshman Marshawn Lloyd will be the answer to last year's running game woes that saw South Carolina held to under 80 yards rushing in five of its 12 games - all losses.

There's also a need for some youngsters to step up at receiver with leading wideout Bryan Edwards (and his team-leading 71 catches) now playing for the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.

The Gamecocks do return senior Shi Smith (43 catches in 2019), but after that, there's not a ton of experience returning.

Left tackle Dylan Wonnum will anchor an offensive line that has some question to answer once fall camp gets underway.

Defensively, Gamecock opponents are thrilled to know that defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw is now playing in the NFL. Kinlaw was one of the most dominating defensive tackles in the entire country last year, and replacing him won't be easy, especially with DJ Wonnum and Kobe Smith no longer around, either.

There is some talent, returning, however, as the Gamecocks believe sophomore Zacch Pickens has a chance to be special. Aaron Sterling and Kingsley Enagbare are two capable veterans. Don't forget five-star Jordan Burch, who makes his debut this fall.

All total, six of South Carolina's top eight tacklers are back, including linebacker Ernest Jones. The Gamecocks will feature a strong secondary with Jammie Robinson, RJ Roderick, JC Horn and Israel Mukuamu (three-interception performance against Georgia) back for another year.

1. Only three of South Carolina's full-time assistants return to the same position that they held last year - offensive line coach Eric Wolford, defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson and outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson.

2. If, for whatever reason, Hilinksi doesn't work out at quarterback, keep an eye on Collin Hill, who matriculated with Bobo from Colorado State.

3. Muschamp’s son Jackson is a walkon quarterback at Georgia.

4. There are huge questions at tight end as the Gamecocks return two redshirt freshmen in Traveon Kenion KeShawn Toney and count just one veteran (seldom-used Will Register) among its only healthy scholarship tight end options.

5. Will Muschamp enters this season 26-25 as the Gamecocks' head coach.