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.
The Bulldogs had 236 yards on 21 third-quarter plays, with South Carolina going three-and-out twice during Georgia's three-touchdown surge.
"At the end of the day, we just wore them down," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "We stopped them with two three-and-outs, and I think that was the back breaker. Those two long drives by us just took it out of them. You could see the air coming out of them as we drove down."
Said South Carolina coach Will Muschamp: "They are massive on the offensive line."
Georgia rushed for 271 yards while holding South Carolina to 54, and the Bulldogs now have 839 rushing yards in their past three series meetings while yielding 127.
Georgia sophomore Jake Fromm was plenty efficient through the air, completing 15 of 18 passes for 194 yards and a score before coming out of the game with 13:25 remaining. Fromm went 6-for-6 in the third quarter for 115 yards and a 34-yard scoring strike to Mecole Hardman, who had 103 receiving yards and a 30-yard run.
Asked after the win what he learned about the Bulldogs, Fromm said: "I learned that we're kind of here to stay. At Georgia, we play a physical brand of football, and I'm super proud of the way we finished that game. We'll come back, get better and keep this thing rolling."
South Carolina outgained Georgia 191-183 in the first half, but the Bulldogs built a 20-10 lead on the strength of two touchdowns within the first four minutes. The Gamecocks were almost at midfield on their opening possession when a Jake Bentley pass sailed off the fingers of running back Rico Dowdle and into the arms of Bulldogs cornerback Deandre Baker, who raced down the right sideline for an apparent touchdown.
Baker, however, dropped the ball before crossing the goal line, but linebacker Juwan Taylor recovered it in the end zone for a 7-0 lead. Taylor was credited for finishing the interception return, and Baker said Smart was waiting for him on the sideline.
"He was mad," Baker said. "He told me to run through the pylon and then I could celebrate."
After the Gamecocks went three-and-out on their second possession, the Bulldogs needed four plays to cover 76 yards and take a 14-0 lead. Hardman had his 30-yard run, which was followed by a late-hit penalty, and Swift covered the final 17 yards.
South Carolina countered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with receiver Deebo Samuel throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Edwards to pull the hosts within 14-7. It was a 17-10 game when a 33-yard punt by the Gamecocks late in the half gave Georgia the field position it needed to drive 40 yards in five plays to take a 20-10 lead on a 44-yard Rodrigo Blankenship field goal.
"That was a big momentum deal for us," Smart said. "We did a good job of managing the clock there."
The Bulldogs will be back at their Sanford Stadium this Saturday night when they host Middle Tennessee State.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.