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Georgia Bulldogs Beat USC in Dominant Fashion, 52-20

By Adam Greene

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It was one of those sunny days in Athens where the name Steve Spurrier is seldom spoken. The old Head Ball Coach has a knack for coming into Sanford Stadium and causing trouble for the Dawgs. However, today was not one of those days as the Georgia Bulldogs played a complete game.

In the first quarter, the South Carolina Gamecocks received the ball first. After a quick first down, they punted it away on their second set of downs. Georgia came away from the quarter with a solid kick from Marshall Morgan to go up 0-3. South Carolina would eventually tie up the game off a booming 45 yard kick from Elliot Frye.

-= Related: Sony Michel: Difference Maker vs. USC? =-

Early in the second quarter, the Georgia Bulldogs began its string of touchdowns as Heisman hopeful Nick Chubb scored on a 2 yard run to make it 3-10. Sony Michel would be the next RB to score for the Dawgs as he broke off a 21 yard run to then go up 3-17. Perry Orth, the former QB walk-on for the Gamecocks would lessen the Dawgs lead after a short 4 yard run to make the score 10-17.

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Greyson Lambert for the Dawgs finally showed us why he has earned the starting job, as he hooked up with Malcom Mitchell for a 5 yard touchdown towards the end of the second quarter. Elliot Frye would again show off his leg with a 51 yard blast as time expired to end the half, taking the score to 13-24 with the Dawgs on top.

Out of the gate in the second half, the Georgia Bulldogs marched down the field and Lambert hooked up with Sony Michel for an 11 yard pass. Michel truly shined in this game, as he was able to attack the defense with stellar running and passing all game. He would also get another score in the third quarter to take the game to 13-38 for the Dawgs.

From the start, this didn’t look like a typical Steve Spurrier led team. The fight and aggression wasn’t there for the Gamecocks as it usually is. It’s no secret that Spurrier is not a fan of UGA, but it seemed that Mark Richt had carried some hard feelings into the game and took out his frustrations of being out-coached in recent years by Spurrier. To say that it wasn’t the same game that its been in recent years is a gross understatement, as UGA dominated early and often.

This was the kind of game that UGA fans needed to see from Greyson Lambert, and lets also give him credit because he needed to find success in this game, after struggling for much of the contest last week against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Going into this week, I believed that after the shoddy QB play last week from both Lambert and Ramsey, that Faton Bauta should get some looks behind center. However after seeing Lambert’s play this week, he assured the Bulldog Nation that he is ready to get it done.

Sep 19, 2015; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Sony Michel (1) runs with the ball against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Greyson Lambert broke multiple long-standing UGA records of both continuous completions set by Mike Bobo, and completion percentage set by David Green in 2001. His completion percentage record was also not only a UGA record, but an NCAA record. He finished up the game with a stat line of 24/25, 330 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Another thing to note about the game is the outstanding play of both Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. It’s refreshing watching Chubb play, because he’s show patient in the way that he constantly follows behind his blockers, and then using his strength when needed. In a recent segment by Holly Rowe, she noted how Chubb has been a devote weight lifter since high school, so while he may not have a bigger physic than most backs in the SEC, he constantly shows that he is defining himself as a sound running back with great fundamentals.

With a few touchdowns on the day, he showed us that he’s still in the running for the coveted Heisman Trophy this year. It will be exciting to watch him continue his campaign as the year goes on against some very tough SEC defenses.

But lets talk about how Sony Michel also shined in this game. Michel was the dominant bruising back that you like to see in the SEC. In the Georgia Bulldogs Pro-Style Offense, he showed us this weekend that he’s not afraid to pound the ball and that he’s going to force you to bring him down.

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If there’s any negatives to take away from this game for UGA, its that they struggled to bring down South Carolina receivers on 3rd downs. Jeremy Pruitt will have to get better about getting offensives off the field on critical downs. We’ve seen that with the running backs that UGA has, they can control the game as they did with South Carolina.

With a final score of 52-20, UGA showed that they have moved on from their struggles against Vanderbilt, and are ready for the rest of the SEC. With several teams struggling in the SEC East, it could be the Georgia Bulldog’s to lose. But this is the SEC, and we’ve seen all too often that any team can seize any Saturday, despite how great one team can look a week earlier.

All in all, the Bulldogs won a very dominant game against a South Carolina squad that is visibly struggling. Steve Spurrier has been quite blessed with some immense talent in recent years, so maybe we are finally seeing the decline of the Old Ball Coaches reign against the Bulldogs. We can only hope for that, and that we see more of what we did from the Dawgs going forward.

Next: Georgia Bulldogs Host Rival South Carolina

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