COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Georgia Bulldogs attempted 17 passes during Sunday afternoon's 28-14 win at South Carolina.
"That was probably 17 too many," Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said.
The Bulldogs ran it early and ran it often before an announced paid attendance of 77,221 at Williams-Brice Stadium, repeatedly demoralizing the home crowd with junior tailbacks Nick Chubb and Sony Michel and freshman Brian Herrien. The trio combined for an eye-popping 336 yards on 46 rushes, with Michel leading the way with 133 yards on 21 carries.
"We were all on the same page as far as how physical we wanted to be today," Michel said. "Seeing everybody have success kind of brings the competition, because you see one guy do a thing, and you want to go out there and do it, too. We've got some younger backs who are really pushing us older guys."
Chubb rushed 16 times for 121 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 15 and 1 yards, while Herrien had nine carries for 82 yards, nearly giving the Bulldogs three 100-yard rushers. Georgia rushed for 326 yards as a team, the program's highest total since a 367-yard outburst in a 66-0 spanking of Troy in 2014.
The Bulldogs improved to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Gamecocks dropped to 2-4 and 1-4.
"We challenged them to be physical and to dominate the line of scrimmage, and I thought they tried to do that," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said, "but we certainly made it more interesting than it needed to be."
South Carolina pulled within 21-14 with 1:40 remaining on Rico Dowdle's 1-yard run, but the ensuing onside kick was snagged by Bulldogs receiver Terry Godwin, who raced 43 yards to cap the scoring.
"We have been practicing that every Thursday, and our kicker has been giving us that high-bouncing stuff like that one," Godwin said. "Their kicker made a perfect kick, but I fielded it and looked up, and I saw my front line block everybody out. It was a giant hole, and I had to score.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I doubt that will ever happen again."
Godwin was grinning throughout his description of the game's final score, but his coach wasn't nearly as pleased. Smart felt Godwin should have immediately hit the ground.
"Did you see the Tennessee-Texas A&M game, when the guy (Malik Foreman) runs down and gets it punched out?" Smart said. "It worked today, and everybody bases it on results, but I would suggest getting down."
Getting Georgia's runners down proved too tough a task for the Gamecocks, who won four of five against Georgia from 2010 to 2014 but have lost the past two by the combined count of 80-34.
Georgia was dominant out of the gate, taking its opening possession 73 yards on seven plays, with 64 of that on the ground. Chubb and Michel each had 18-yard runs on the inaugural drive, which Chubb capped with a 15-yard touchdown run.
"It was important to go out there and get the head start on them and to jump on them," Chubb said. "Our offensive line played outstanding and did a great job of getting push. We worked all week on getting that momentum."
A Malkom Parrish interception of Perry Orth on the first play of the second quarter gave the Bulldogs possession at South Carolina's 28-yard line, and they used eight rushing plays to score, grabbing a 14-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Michel.
South Carolina's biggest play of the first half was a 33-yard completion from Orth to Deebo Samuel to Georgia's 46-yard line, but Dowdle fumbled on the next play and Deandre Baker recovered.
The Gamecocks committed three first-half turnovers and rushed for just 20 yards. They finished with 30 rushing yards, 296 fewer than their counterparts.
Georgia hosts Vanderbilt at noon Saturday in a game that will be televised by the SEC Network.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.