Gameday Guide: Gamecocks vs Georgia

South Carolina (2-0) at Georgia (2-0)

When: Saturday, Sept 18, 2021 - 7:00 PM ET

Where: Sanford Stadium - Athens, GA (92,746)

Broadcast: ESPN (Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Molly McGrath)

Local Radio: Gamecock IMG Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Jamar Nesbit)

National Radio: Learfield CFB Saturday Night (Kate Scott, Mike Golic)

Satellite Radio: Sirius 135/XM 201

Odds: Georgia -31.5 (O/U 47.5)

Weather: 78 degrees, 24% chance of rain

Week 3 is officially here as South Carolina travels to Georgia this Saturday for its first SEC game of the season.

The Gamecocks (2-0) and Bulldogs (2-0) are set to kick off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

That makes for an easy viewing experience as ESPN is available on all the major satellite, cable and streaming services and usually as part of the basic package. Check your local listings for the specific channel.

There are options to stream the game, including once again on the ESPN app, but viewers will need to be logged in within the app with a TV provider and package that already includes ESPN.

ESPN is available on all the major streaming TV providers such as YouTubeTV, Hulu Live, DirecTV Stream, FuboTV and SlingTV.

Sean McDonough will handle play-by-play duties from the booth where he will be joined by Todd Blackledge with Molly McGrath patrolling the sidelines.

Todd Ellis and Tommy Suggs will handle the call for the Gamecock Radio Network with Jamar Nesbit on the sidelines. Check for your local radio affiliates at this link.

Carolina Confidential - Final thoughts

Storylines to watch: Georgia

Breaking down the keys: South Carolina vs. Georgia

Smith stepping up in first two games

Recruiting battles: Gamecocks and Dawgs

Education key to avoiding penalties for Gamecocks

RECAP: Carolina Calls with Shane Beamer

Beamer gives encouraging Doty update

Vegas View: USC prediction, Week 3 picks

The GC Roundup, Ep. 6: It Ain't Over 'Til it's Over

How South Carolina's preparing for UGA's run game, offensive line

Listen to Gamecock Central Podcasts on these platforms: Apple iTunes Podcasts | Spotify | PlayerFM | SoundCloud | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | Spreaker | YouTube

ALSO: more episodes | GC Radio app: App Store - Google Play

CAROLINA VS. GEORGIA: This is the 74th meeting between these two bordering flagship state universities. Georgia leads the all-time series by a 52-19-2 margin, including a 29-9 mark in Athens and a 21-10-2 advantage in Columbia. Since becoming SEC Eastern Division rivals in 1992, the Bulldogs own a 19- 10 lead in the series, including a 9-5 mark in Athens.

CLOSER IN THE MORE RECENT PAST: Georgia holds a slim 6-5 advantage in games played since 2010. Carolina won three-straight from 2010-12, its longest winning streak in the series, and won again in 2014 and 2019. Georgia countered with a win in 2013 and four-straight from 2015-18 before winning in Columbia last season.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: The No. 13/10 Georgia Bulldogs put up 21 first-quarter points and never looked back in a 45-16 win over South Carolina on Nov. 28, 2020 in the Gamecocks’ season home finale. Georgia did most of the damage on the ground, rushing for 332 yards on 46 carries, a 7.2- yard average. True freshman Luke Doty made his first career start and responded by connecting on 18-of-22 passes for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception. With Shi Smith sidelined, tight end Nick Muse stepped up with the best game of his career, an eight-catch, 131-yard, one-touchdown performance.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET IN ATHENS: In the high point of the 2019 season for Carolina, the Gamecocks went into Athens on Oct. 12 and knocked off the No. 3/3 Bulldogs by a 20-17 mark in double overtime. Israel Mukuamu was the star of the game, intercepting three Jake Fromm passes, including a 53-yard pick-six in the upset win. Parker White connected on a 24-yard field in the second overtime, before Rodrigo Blankenship missed from 42, providing the winning score. Georgia outgained Carolina 468-297 on the afternoon, but four turnovers proved costly for the Dawgs. The win matched the best road win for Carolina in school history.

BEEN HERE, DONE THAT: Georgia enters this week’s game ranked second in the Associated Press poll. Four of South Carolina’s top eight wins in school history according to the A.P. have come against Georgia: No. Date Opponent AP Rank Score 1. 10/09/10 vs Alabama 1 35-21 2. 10/24/81 at North Carolina 3 31-13 10/12/19 at Georgia 3 20-17 4. 09/24/09 vs Ole Miss 4 16-10 5. 10/06/12 vs Georgia 5 35-7 10/26/13 at Missouri 5 27-24 7. 09/24/88 vs Georgia 6 23-10 09/13/14 vs Georgia 6 38-35 9. 10/04/07 vs Kentucky 8 38-23 11/21/87 vs Clemson 8 20-7 11/14/53 at West Virginia 8 20-14

BEAMER SEES RED: First-year South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer returns to Athens where he served on Kirby Smart’s staff as the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator in 2016 and ‘17. This is the seventh time Coach Beamer has been on the sidelines for Carolina-Georgia. He has been on the winning sideline in four of the prior six meetings.

GEORGIA ON MY MIND: Carolina offensive line coach Greg Adkins served on the Georgia coaching staff from 1996-2000. DFO George Wynn started for three years at Georgia and served as a team captain as a senior, graduating in 1992.

OLD FRIEND ALERT: Will Muschamp joined the Bulldogs as a defensive analyst during the 2021 preseason. He served as the Gamecocks’ head coach from 2016-20, posting a 28-30 record.

IT JUST MEANS MORE: Twenty players on Carolina’s active roster claim Georgia as their home state. That figures to 17 percent of the Gamecocks’ 118-man roster. The list includes: Rashad Amos (Fayetteville), Jordan Davis (Fairburn), Kingsley Enagbare (Atlanta), Hot Rod Fitten (Atlanta), Colten Gauthier (Bethlehem), B.J. Gibson (Marietta), Cole Hanna (Norcross), Kevin Harris (Hinesville), Joey Hunter (Atlanta), Juju McDowell (Leesburg), Zeb Noland (Watkinsville), Rico Powers (Atlanta), Will Rogers (Hampton), David Spaulding (Riceboro), Aaron Sterling (Atlanta), Jordan Strachan (Kingsland), Jazston Turnetine (Ellenwood), Josh Vann (Tucker), M.J. Webb (Rutledge) and Dylan Wonnum (Tucker).

Collyn Taylor: If Vegas isn’t always right, it’s usually pretty close, which means the over 30-point spread might be realistic. The Gamecocks upset the Dawgs last time in Athens as an over 20-point underdog, but that game was at noon. This one is near primetime with a much better Georgia team. I think the Gamecock defense will be able to limit Georgia some early but the run game and offensive line is too good to be kept quiet all night, and there are questions—regardless of who starts at quarterback—of how the offense will move the ball and score. South Carolina covers, but it will be close. Georgia 38, South Carolina 10

Michael Sauls: Georgia’s defense is one of the best in country, if not the best, and whoever is at QB for the Bulldogs will play well. If South Carolina’s offense is anything like it was last week 14 points is a generous prediction. The offensive line will need to buy Zeb time to settle in the pocket if the Gamecocks want to keep this one competitive. Georgia 35, South Carolina 14

Kendall Smith: Both South Carolina and Georgia average 33 points scored per game and are ranked 5th and 6th in the nation in pass defense respectively (112.5 and 115 yards allowed per game), yet the two teams are on completely different levels. Could a miracle happen again in Athens for the Gamecocks? Sure. Anything can happen! Georgia's defense however has only allowed 354 total yards on the season and allows an average of 5 points per game, so if South Carolina fails to open up the run game and fails to generate explosive plays on offense, they can forget it. Marcus Satterfield needs to get creative to keep this Georgia defense on their toes and he needs to do it right off the bat. Playing in Sanford Stadium at night on ESPN Primetime against one of the best teams in the country is an incredibly tough task for Coach Beamer and the Gamecocks. It will take the game of a lifetime to defeat Georgia, which is why I have the Bulldogs handing South Carolina their first loss of the Shane Beamer era with a final score of 34-10. Georgia 34, South Carolina 14

Chris Clark: There's reason to believe that this South Carolina defense - despite facing subpar competition the first couple weeks - is pretty good. That's particularly the case up front on the defensive line, which means that perhaps South Carolina can limit a Dawgs offense that may not have hit its stride yet. Offensively is where the even greater challenge lies for South Carolina. Georgia's been elite there and has speed, depth, and talent. On the other side, South Carolina has not been explosive and hasn't gotten the run game on track. It's hard to envision the Gamecocks being able to move the ball and score enough to keep pace, and that could put its defense in some poor spots in terms of field position throughout this game. Georgia 31, South Carolina 10

Wes Mitchell: South Carolina is going to need to play far better than it did last week to have a chance in this game and I'm sure they're well aware of that. We find out quite a bit about this team this week and potentially about Georgia as well. Ultimately, the Bulldogs are just too talented, particularly on defense, to pick anything other than a UGA win at this point in the process for the Gamecocks. Georgia 34, South Carolina 17

Michael Beckham: Until the Gamecocks figure things out on offense, they won't be remotely competitive in games like this. I believe they have a good defense and special teams, but the gap is just too wide on the other side of the ball. I believe this game will be closer than the astronomical spread, but the lack of offense will cause the South Carolina defense to wear down. Georgia will pull away in the second half to a convincing win over the Gamecocks. Georgia 38, South Carolina 10

FOLLOW US: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | iTunes

----

• Not a subscriber? Learn more about Gamecock Central here!

• Watch our live show and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

• Sign up for Gamecock Central's FREE news alerts and daily newsletter.

• Subscribe to our podcast on whatever podcast platform you prefer!

• Follow us on Twitter: @GamecockCentral, @GCChrisClark, @WesMitchellGC, @CollynTaylor.

• Follow Gamecock Central on Instagram @GamecockCentral.