COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Southeastern Conference’s beasts of the East aren’t going away anytime soon.
After sweeping its Eastern Division opposition last season for the first time since divisional play within the league was created in 1992, Georgia produced quite the statement victory Saturday afternoon with a 41-17 throttling of South Carolina before an announced crowd of 83,140 inside Williams-Brice Stadium. The No. 3 Bulldogs and No. 24 Gamecocks were picked to finish first and second in the East at the annual SEC Media Days in July, with Georgia receiving 271 first-place votes and South Carolina eight.
They looked that far apart again Saturday, with Georgia setting a program record for points inside Williams-Brice.
“We haven’t played all the other teams in our division, obviously, but we started off the right way for sure,” junior running back Elijah Holyfield said after leading Georgia’s 271-yard rushing attack. “This gives us more confidence to believe in what we’re doing and to continue to work as hard as we have worked. This gives us a lot of confidence moving forward.”
Holyfield rushed for 76 yards on nine carries, with D’Andre Swift adding 64 on 12 and Brian Herrien 45 on seven. All three ran for touchdowns, with Holyfield and Herrien tallying their scores in a third quarter in which Georgia outscored South Carolina 21-0 to go ahead 41-10.