SEC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE: Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight, who threw for 239 yards, rushed for 110 and totaled five touchdowns in the 45-38 double overtime win over Tennessee. DEFENSIVE: Alabama cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick, who had five tackles and tied a single-game school record with three interceptions, returning one 100 yards. SPECIAL TEAMS: Alabama punter JK Scott, who punted four times in a 49-30 win at Arkansas and averaged 51.5 yards. Scott had a long of 63 and placed two inside the 20. FRESHMAN: Texas A&M running back Traveon Williams, who compiled 273 yards of total offense. Williams rushed for 217 yards and a touchdown, averaging 7.8 per carry. FRESHMAN: Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts, who had a 228.54 passer efficiency rating by going 13-of-17 for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He also raan for two scores. OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Kentucky center Jon Toth, who had nine knockdown blocks on a unit that paved the way for 258 rushing yards during a 20-13 win over Vanderbilt. DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: Auburn defensive end Carl Lawson, who matched a career high with two sacks and caused a fumble that Montravius Adams returned for a score. - David Paschall
Georgia's 28-14 win at South Carolina on Sunday afternoon was just a few minutes old when Bulldogs players were trying to get a grasp on the unique week ahead.
"We usually have a 24-hour rule, but it's probably shorter than 24 hours now," sophomore inside linebacker Roquan Smith said after racking up a career-best 11 tackles. "Maybe we can enjoy this for one night before focusing on Vanderbilt."
The Bulldogs (4-2, 2-2 SEC) will face the Commodores (2-4, 0-3) this Saturday in Sanford Stadium, and they've been given one less day to prepare. The one-day postponement of the game at South Carolina due to Hurricane Matthew is resulting in the first shortened week for Georgia since the start of the 1982 season.
Georgia opened that year on Labor Day night, defeating Clemson 13-7 in Athens in a matchup of the 1980 and 1981 national champions. The Bulldogs were at home again five days later against Brigham Young and prevailed 17-14.
The Bulldogs faced Georgia Tech on a Friday in 1994 and on Thanksgiving in 1995 but had open dates the week before.
"It will be different, but I feel like our guys will be able to handle it," sophomore inside linebacker Natrez Patrick said.
Georgia players typically have Sunday off, but there is no off day in this atypical week. The Bulldogs spent Monday going to class and then did what coach Kirby Smart calls "stretch and stride" in the afternoon.
The Bulldogs also started watching video on the Commodores, who have suffered close conference losses to South Carolina (13-10), Florida (13-6) and Kentucky (20-13).
"The recovery of the players is what concerns me," Smart said. "Practice will be important, because we need Tuesday and Wednesday to be very physical, and it's harder to do that when you've got a shortened week, so we've got to be smart about what we do."
Reducing the 24-hour rule shrank the amount of time the Bulldogs could celebrate a win in which they rushed for 326 yards and allowed just 30 rushing yards. Georgia's rushing total was the most against a league foe since compiling 328 against Ole Miss in 2007.
Bulldogs defenders were pleased as well, especially after going up against the high-octane attacks of Ole Miss and Tennessee the previous two weeks.
"I think the defense, as a whole, is coming together," Patrick said. "Guys are learning the plays more and are knowing where to go, and I just feel like we're all getting better. Stopping the run levels everything out, and we were able to do that."
Said Smith: "You can hang your hat on a good performance, regardless of who you play. This was a great, physical game, and I thought we came out and played great defense."
An unlikely move
Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity told the SEC Network on Monday that it would be "impractical" to move the game against Florida in Jacksonville up a week to Oct. 22, which would allow Florida and LSU to make up their game on Oct. 29. Officials with Florida and LSU have been working with league commissioner Greg Sankey to reschedule the game that was scratched last week due to the threat of Hurricane Matthew.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.