Georgia 24, South Carolina 14: Bulldogs Wake Up To Stop Cocks’ Crowing

I am a firm believer that there are two types of people in this world: Drive-By Truckers fans and everyone else. Within the subset of DBT devotees there are two additional groups: Patterson Hood people and Mike Cooley people. Most everyone who is devoted to the band likes both, but in the end you probably hew a little more closely to one than the other (with the occasion Isbell aficionado thrown in).

I’m more of a Cooley man myself. While all write lyrics that speak to me, few DBTs lyrics speak to me more than those in the song Carl Perkins’ Cadillac. One of his sage observations in that song is that in the end, “life ain’t nothing but a blending up of all the ups and downs.”

That sentiment applies to college football too. You play an entire season and the outcome is nothing but an amalgamation of the high points and low points. Let’s all hope that the first half of this game was one of the low points. Because if it was one of the high points, it’s going to be a very long year.

Georgia slumbered and stumbled its way through a drizzly, dreary first half in Athens and went to the locker room trailing the underdog Gamecocks 14-3. But they found some energy (and even a running game) in the second half, scoring 21 unanswered points to down the visitors 24–14.

This one had a little bit of everything that makes a Coach (or fan) pull his or her hair out. Special teams miscues. Poorly timed penalties. Coverage breakdowns. Lack of physicality on both lines. This one could have ended a lot worse than it ultimately did, and if it had, the Bulldogs would have no one but themselves to blame. There were plenty enough mistakes to absolutely torpedo the Athenians if they’d been playing a better football team.

That’s not to cast aspersions on Shane Beamer’s team. The Garnet and Black came out gunning, with Spencer Rattler completing his first 10 passes. Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains called a very well-timed screen game and Rattler did a great job in the downfield passing game.

That was probably a good thing, as the Gamecocks only managed 53 yards on the ground. Georgia on the other hand ran the dang ball with an effectiveness we haven’t seen so far this season. The Dawgs churned out 189 yards on 44 attempts, most of them in the second half. The result was a whopping 20:09 to 9:51 time of possession advantage for Georgia in the second half, which in turn kept the defense off the field and fresh to harass Rattler un mercilessly after the intermission.

Carson Beck on the other hand looked a good bit less bothered after the break than he had before. He finished 27 of 35 passing for 269 yards. 177 of those yards came in the second half, after I presume Mike Bobo reminded him that the downfield receivers could be thrown to as well. At times early Beck continued to look unsure, as if finding the check down receiver had become his entire personality. That’s a worrying pattern, though it’s a little less worrying when the running game puts him in 2nd and 5 or 3rd and 2.

The biggest difference in that running game was obviously Daijun Edwards, who went for 118 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in his first action of the season. Edwards’ patent refusal to lose yardage on any carry, under any circumstances, is something I cherish almost as much as my family and personal liberty. I suspect it’s going to be something we really thank our lucky stars for a lot this season.

The Bulldogs forced two turnovers defensively, which was nice. But balancing that was freshman kicker Peyton Woodring’s two missed field goals. One was from 28 yards out. The other was from 43. Neither was particularly close. Woodring appeared to simply rush his approach and hook the 28 yarder, which gave the Gamecocks a solid shot of momentum.

Bulldog fans have learned to take field goals from inside 40 yards almost for granted since at least Rodrigo Blankenship’s sophomore season. He and Jack Podlesny each missed so infrequently, and usually in such inconsequential situations, that it never really mattered. With this offense, that may not be the case in 2023. Woodring absolutely has the leg to kick in the SEC. He bombed at least one 61 yarder as a senior in high school. Here’s hoping things slow down for him and that he finds his stroke before one of those misses truly matters.

The ‘Dawgs return to action in Sanford Stadium next week for the last of four season-opening home games against UAB. One would have hoped that by this point it would be clear that they had simply reloaded rather than rebuilding after two consecutive titles.

That’s sadly not the case. There continue to be questions in all phases of the game, but most acutely on offense and in the kicking game. This feels like a team that could find itself in a lot of trouble against an offense that can find the plays to score. That being said, there were also some questions after the Bulldogs struggled with Missouri last season. Ultimately you have to win your clunkers, and even championship teams usually have one or two. Again, let’s hope this one was a learning experience we don’t repeat, rather than a recurring nightmare. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!