Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker (18) takes an interception toward the end zone during the first quarter of Saturday’s win at South Carolina.Georgia’s current ownership of Southeastern Conference Eastern Division foes is having a significant effect in opposing stadiums.
South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium was the latest SEC East facility to empty way before the final horn, with Georgia’s 21-point ambush in the third quarter of the league’s marquee matchup Saturday resulting in a 41-10 lead on the way to a 41-17 win. The Gamecocks produced the final points of the contest with 9:59 remaining, but only a fraction of the announced crowd of 83,140 remained as witnesses.
“When you go on the road in the SEC, you’ve got to take the crowd out of the game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said afterward. “You do that by being physical and dominating the line of scrimmage. When you do that, the stands will be empty in the fourth quarter, and that’s what we pride ourselves on doing.”
Georgia’s gashing of the Gamecocks – the Bulldogs rushed for 271 yards and allowed just 54 – marked its eighth straight triumph over an SEC East foe dating to November 2016. The streak started with a 27-24 win at Kentucky that was sealed by a Rodrigo Blankenship field goal at the buzzer, but the past seven have been by at least two touchdowns and with no regard to location.
The Bulldogs began flexing their road dominance with last September’s 41-0 win at Tennessee, which represented the worst loss ever for the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Georgia then followed that with a 45-14 win at Vanderbilt, a 42-7 win over Florida at the annual neutral site of Jacksonville and this past weekend’s blowout.
Georgia’s 41 points Saturday are its most in a single game at Williams-Brice, and Smart was quick to define the identity of his team’s latest performance in the moments that followed.
“I would say it was physicality,” Smart said. “That’s the most important thing, being physical and dominating the line of scrimmage and not flinching. You want to be able to run the ball and stop the run.”
Georgia remained No. 3 in The Associated Press poll released Sunday and will now turn its attention to this week’s game against visiting Middle Tennessee State.
Smart was pleased with the adversity, minimal as it was, that Georgia faced after building a 14-0 lead in the first four minutes. The Gamecocks pulled within 14-7 with an impressive 11-play, 75-yard drive, then intercepted Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm at midfield, with Rashad Fenton returning the ball to Georgia’s 34.
Four plays later, however, South Carolina had managed a single yard and yielded the ball back on downs. Georgia’s defense wound up playing 46 first-half snaps and only sacked Jake Bentley once, which had Bulldogs senior defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter expecting better days ahead.
“That one touchdown at the end was still unacceptable,” Ledbetter said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and can’t get beat on stuff like that, because that can affect us later in the season. We’ve got to tighten down and play better coverage and better rush.
“We didn’t get enough pressures in this game, so we’ve got to get back in the lab and find ways to affect the quarterback more.”
A better Georgia down the road this season doesn’t bode well for the rest of the East, especially with longtime divisional rivals Florida and Tennessee already having shown there will be no quick fixes under their new coaching regimes.
The Bulldogs went through some adjustments Smart’s first season in 2016, but they have been the SEC East’s most physical team since, and they continue to show that it’s not even close. After South Carolina’s final touchdown, the Bulldogs ran out the clock.
“It’s hard to win a game without being able to run the ball,” Smart said. “When you control the line of scrimmage in this conference, you’ve got an opportunity, and that’s what we want to do week in and week out.
“We didn’t play great in the secondary and gave up some plays we shouldn’t have, but if we can control the line of scrimmage – I can promise you that most teams would rather run the ball than have to throw it.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.