Georgia Bulldogs fall to South Carolina Gamecocks in game of inches
The Georgia Bulldogs never gave up, and with the exception of the a record-setting field goal from Marshall Morgan in the first quarter, the Dawgs trailed the entire day. With that, they eventually came up short, both by centimeters and by three points, of defeating Ol’ Ball Coach and the South Carolina Gamecocks, bringing UGA back down to Earth a little bit after riding high following their season opening victory against Clemson.
The Dawgs were outscored in the first half, and trailed at halftime 24-13, but UGA managed to outscore the Gamecocks 22-14 in the second half, making it a really good ballgame towards the end. And, honestly, it wasn’t even that UGA fell off that much from week one. Sure, the bye week didn’t help, but it was more so South Carolina stepping up and proving getting shellacked by Texas A&M to open the season was a fluke.
If there’s one good take away for UGA fans, it was none other than Todd Gurley, who racked up 131 yards on 20 carries and a key late touchdown, proving once again just how much of a man he is. Mark Richt used fullback Quayvon HIcks in the fourth quarter, and he proved useful, taking three carries for 30 yards, and helped fool the entire South Carolina defense on a goal line stand that brought the Dawgs, thanks to a two-point conversion, to within three, and that’s where the score would stand. It wasn’t too shabby of an afternoon for Hutson Mason, though, as he completed 16 of 22 attempted passes for 191 yards and two TD’s, with four of his passes going to Chris Conley, who finished the night with 49 yards.
Another positive for UGA comes on the defensive side of the ball, in which the run defense didn’t allow a single 100 yard rusher, although Brandon Wilds came close, rushing for 93 yards on 14 rushes.
Oh, how could I forget? Remember that record I alluded to in the intro? UGA kicker Marshall Morgan set an SEC record for consecutive field goals hit at 19, but he would seem to freeze after that and missed two huge opportunities, including the potential game tying FG with 4:24 left in the game. This wrapped up what was a gut-wrenching loss for Georgia, as it certainly felt like the game was there for the taking.
The final verdict on the Dawgs is to not panic. I REPEAT GEORGIA FANS; DO NOT PANIC. The Dawgs will face the Sun Belt’s Troy University next week, so there’s that, and (not that I need to tell you guys) South Carolina has had Georgia’s number over the past couple of seasons. It’s also two games into the season, so any faults that Georgia have can certainly be corrected. It’s not too late.