The Bulldogs are 2-0 to start the season and they have started 2-0 in each season since 2015. Georgia will face South Carolina on Saturday to begin their conference action. Just like the 2-0 stat, the last time the Dawgs lost a confernce season opener was in 2014 and that was courtesy of the Gamecocks. Overall, the Bulldogs have done very well against the Gamecocks as you see in this edition of Stats Crunch.

Georgia and South Carolina started playing against each other in 1894. Georgia won that contest 40-0 in a game played in Columbia. The 40-point margin is still the largest by either team in the series. South Carolina was Georgia's ninth-ever opponent and it was just the second game that Georgia left the state to play. Except for a few little small bumps, it has been the Bulldogs that have controlled the series.

Last week, Georgia defeated Samford 33-0. It was the Bulldogs ninth shutout since Kirby Smart took over in 2016. That is the most in the FBS in that time period.

Georgia knows a thing or two about shutting out South Carolina. Georgia shut out South Carolina six times in their first ten meetings. Georgia has shut them out 11 times in all with the last one being in 2006. That 2006 shutout was special for many reasons. It came against Steve Spurrier and was the day after that former Georgia defensive coordinator Erk Russell passed away. As for South Carolina shutting out Georgia - it has happened twice (1903 and 1904).

The Bulldogs have allowed just three points in their first two games which is their second fewest combined total since 1950. The lowest total occurred in 1969 and that season's third opponent was South Carolina.

Stetson Bennett is making his first career start against South Carolina. He was just 1-fo-3 passing against the Gamecocks last season and one of those passes was an interception. Bennett has started the first two games for Georgia this season. It was just the third time in seven seasons under Smart that the same quarterback started games one and two for the Dawgs.

That 2021 game against the Gamecocks for Bennett was the last time that he threw under fifty percent in a game. Bennett this season has completed 49-of-65 passes and is currently 11th in the nation with a 75.4 completion percentage. For his Georgia career, Bennett is second all-time in completion percentage completing just under 64 percent.

Speaking of completion percentages, former Georgia quarterback Greyson Lambert had a field day against the Gamecocks in 2015. Lambert completed 24-of-25 passes for a NCAA Record completion percentage of 96 percent.

Bennett has also been doing it was his legs. He has had a touchdown rush in each of his first two games this season. His two is tied for the team lead this season and the six he has in his career is tied for fourth among Georgia quarterbacks since 1990.

Two Georgia quarterbacks also have shined against South Carolina with their legs. Kirby Moore had a 87-yard touchdown run against the Gamecocks in 1967. That is the third longest touchdown run in Georgia history. Not too far behind that distance was James Ray's touchdown run of 84 yards in 1971.

By the way, Bennett's grandfather Buddy was a South Carolina quarterback from 1958 to 1960.

Last week, the duo of Bennett and fellow quarterback Carson Beck completed 29 passes. A total of 15 different Dawgs caught at least one of those 29 completions. While no official record exists in Georgia's media guide, the Bulldogs most recently had 13 different players catch a ball in the 2019 game against Arkansas State. In the 2000s, the 15 different players by the Dawgs is tied for the most by an SEC team.

Georgia's main weapon catching the ball this season has been Kenny McIntosh. McIntosh has rushed for just 33 yards, but has two scores this season and his receiving numbers have been outstanding. He has a team-leading 14 receptions and 178 yards receiving after two games. The 14 receptions is the third most in the SEC. The 14 is also third most in terms of most receptions after the first two games by a Georgia player since 1989 (one of the players ahead of him is a current teammate).

Individually, Georgia running backs have had great games carrying the ball against South Carolina. Herschel Walker rushed 43 times for 219 yards in 1980 in an epic showdown with future Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers. Nick Chubb had three games with over 100 yards rushing against the Gamecocks and Todd Gurley had two. Robert Edwards, in his first collegiate game as a running back (he played cornerback in his first two seasons), had four rushing touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown in 1995. In the 1978 tilt, Willie McClendon had an 81-yard touchdown run.

Georgia is averaging just under 130 yards on the ground this season. Last season, they had under that average just twice (121 vs. Clemson and 109 vs. Alabama in SEC Championship). Last week, South Carolina allowed 295 rush yards to Arkansas. Going against South Carolina has been very successful in terms of running the ball under Smart and not just running the ball - defending the run. Check out these interesting numbers...

Defensively, Samford only had three first downs against UGA last Saturday. That is the fewest by an SEC team since 2017 when Mississippi State allowed only two against Charleston Southern and Alabama allowed three to Vanderbilt. Samford was 1-for-13 in third down conversions against Georgia.

Georgia has had just one sack in its first two games combined, and that was by freshman Mykel Williams.

Another freshman had three sacks in his collegiate debut back in 1995 and it happened against South Carolina. His name was Kirby Smart. Two seasons later, Smart had two interceptions against the Gamecocks. Overall, Smart's teams were 3-1 against South Carolina when he played in the Bulldog secondary from 1995 to 1998.

Smart will be facing former Georgia tight ends and special teams coach Shane Beamer this week. There are a lot of ties between the two teams in the coaching staffs. Current Bulldog co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp was in Columbia from 2016 to 2020. However, Muschamp was fired with three games remaining in 2020. Current Bulldog offensive analyst Mike Bobo finished the season including losing to Smart and the Bulldogs. Wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon was the offensive coordinator there for four seasons, too.

South Carolina's offensive line coach Greg Adkins was Georgia's defensive line coach in 1996 before switching to the O-Line from 1997 to 2000.