Gamecocks fall flat in SEC rivalry game
COLUMBIA, S.C—In rivalry games, especially those against top five teams, it's hard to storm back after early deficits. South Carolina found that out the hard way, getting behind quick and eventually falling to SEC East rival Georgia 41-17 Saturday.
The No. 24 Gamecocks have lost the last four consecutive match-ups with Georgia and five out of the last six. The last win came in 2014 when the No. 24 Gamecocks upset then No. 6 Dawgs 38-35.
They've lost the last four games by an average of 21 points.
Saturday's 24-point defeat was the worst since losing by 32 points in 2015 in Athens and worst home loss to Georgia since losing by 24 in 1971.
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The Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1 SEC) spotted Georgia 14 points out of the gate with Bentley throwing a pick six on the first drive of the game and Georgia going 76 yards in four plays for a touchdown on its first offensive possession, capped by a 17-yard run by D'Andre Swift.
It looked like the Gamecocks could make it a game, getting a touchdown on a trick play with Deebo Samuel finding Bryan Edwards for a touchdown pass, and picking off Jake Fromm on the next drive to start in enemy territory.
The Gamecocks got one yard on the ensuing drive and Georgia scored 27 of the game's final 34 points.
Parker White added a 26-yard field goal late in the first half but the Bulldogs drove almost the length of the field to end the first half and tacked on a field goal to make it a 10-point game at half.
No. 3 Georgia would go on to score its first three drives of the second half to essentially put the game away as the Gamecocks couldn't muster enough offense to come back.
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The Gamecocks scored on one of their four second half drives with Bentley connecting on 44-yard touchdown to Edwards. The junior tied a career high with two receiving touchdowns Saturday.
An offense that preached having to run the ball effectively to win this week, South Carolina struggled to get a consistent ground game Saturday. They picked up just 54 yards on 20 carries, averaging 2.7 yards per rush.
It was the lowest rushing performance since picking up just 43 yards on the ground last year against the Bulldogs.
Offensively, the Bulldog run game couldn't be consistently stopped. Georgia backs combined for 275 yards—167 coming in the second half—and scored three of Georgia's five touchdowns.
The Gamecocks' only had two drives cross midfield in the second half, with one getting all the way down to the UGA five yard-line before a Jake Bentley interception on fourth down.
The other was the touchdown pass to Bryan Edwards, a 44-yard completion.
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Player of the game: Bryan Edwards was targeted nine times and came down with seven catches, one shy of a career high. He caught for 111 yards and had two touchdown receptions, tying a career high.
Team leaders: Jake Bentley, 269 yards; Ty'Son Williams, 26 yards; Bryan Edwards, 111 yards; Montac, 7 tackles
Up next: South Carolina has its final of three home games, hosting Marshall at Williams-Brice. Kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.