10 things Georgia said about South Carolina during rivalry week
Kirby Smart is a fan of the Will Muschamp-era South Carolina Gamecocks. The Georgia head coach – and former college teammate of Muschamp’s at UGA – has reiterated that fact for a while now, especially after last year’s hard-fought Bulldogs win over the Gamecocks at Sanford Stadium.
The line then – “They will be a force to be reckoned with” – didn’t change much Monday when Smart had his latest opportunity to talk about USC ahead of Saturday’s showdown in Columbia.
“They do a tremendous job over there,” Smart said during his weekly news conference. “Watching them progress their program over the last couple of years, they’ve gotten better with each season.“
South Carolina (1-0 in 2018) went 6-7 in Muschamp’s first season and followed with last season’s 9-4 mark. No. 3 Georgia (1-0) is 22-7 in two-plus years under Smart, including an SEC and Rose Bowl title in 2017.
Before the two coaches battle each other at Williams-Brice Stadium, they’ll likely try to out-compliment one another in front of a microphone this week.
Here are 10 noteworthy quotes from Georgia as its 71st all-time meeting with South Carolina looms:
“Last year’s game was probably one of the most physical we played in. It was a really tough, physical game. A lot of breaking the wheels when it comes to running the ball, them and us.” – Smart
The 2017 game came at a time when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 1. The Gamecocks were within a score at halftime before UGA’s star running back combination of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel helped the Bulldogs pull away for the 24-10 win.
“Bryan (McClendon) was a player here and did a tremendous job for us. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him as a leader, really good recruiter. He did a great job with receivers when he was with those guys, and now he’s calling plays. He called it in the bowl game, and I thought for a guy that started off slow in the bowl game, he was very patient, committed, called a great game, especially the second half; kind of won that job by the job he did and got a great amount of respect.” – Smart
South Carolina offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon was a senior receiver at Georgia when Smart was the Bulldogs’ running backs coach in 2005. Last January, after given a chance in the Outback Bowl, McClendon was promoted to full-time OC. He debuted last week in USC’s rout of Coastal Carolina.
“He’s probably the most underrated player in all of college football, because I don’t know that everybody in the country knows what the SEC knows about Deebo Samuel. I mean the guy is phenomenal.” – Smart
If he stays healthy, expect Deebo Samuel to get this kind of praise from opposing coaches all season. USC’s electric receiver/kick return man could be the difference-maker the Gamecocks need Saturday.
“I don’t compare this to Notre Dame because our fan base felt like 50 percent of the fan base (at Notre Dame Stadium). It won’t be that way in Columbia, let me assure you. OK? Their fan base will be turned out and have a lot of people there. So that environment is probably not a good analogy for what we’re going into. Because I know, I’ve been there, I understand.” – Smart
Saturday’s game marks a second straight season in which the Bulldogs are on the road in Week 2. They beat the Fighting Irish, 20-19, last September before a crowd of 77,622 in South Bend, Indiana. It was estimated afterward that nearly half of that crowd was clad in red and black. Chances are the Bulldogs won’t see that many friendly faces at Williams-Brice. UGA has dropped three of its last four games in Columbia.
“It’s just a situation where there’s no plan. You know, we gotta go with how things go and how the flow of the game goes. I thought (Justin Fields) did a good job Saturday in the game, handled things well, but I don’t know what this game is going to dictate, what this game is going to bring. So we’ll see.” – Smart on UGA’s QB situation
Georgia played two quarterbacks in its Week 1 win over Austin Peay. Jake Fromm started and got the Bulldogs out to a 10-0 lead before Fields, a freshman, made his debut. Fromm, a sophomore who played in the national title game last season, will likely start again, but Fields, a highly-touted recruit, could see significant time as well.
“He reminds me of our Jake, Jake Fromm. He’s very smart, he’s very competitive and he’s going to play really hard out there for that team, put it all on the line.” – Georgia safety J.R. Reed on USC quarterback Jake Bentley
Bentley, a 21-game starter, completed 21 of 35 passes for 227 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in last year’s loss to UGA, his lone career appearance against the Bulldogs.
“I heard it’s one of the best, if not the best place to play in. I heard they have a great home fan section. I heard them and LSU are like the top places to be at.” – Reed on WBS
South Carolina last hosted Georgia on a Saturday in 2014. A crowd of 84,232 showed up to see a 38-35 Carolina win. Two years earlier, over 85,000 were there for a 35-7 Gamecock rout of the Bulldogs.
“I knew they blew out Coastal Carolina. You really couldn’t pick up anything. I know it’s similar, but we’ll definitely see when we get out there.” – Reed
One expected difference between Carolina of 2017 (with Kurt Roper as OC) and Carolina now? A more sped-up attack.
“It’s becoming that (a rivalry). It’s definitely one of the tougher, more physical games that we play. Especially coming over these past years and how the tables have been turned and we’ve been going back and forth. I think it’s a game that we take very seriously. They’re doing the same thing.” – Georgia defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 50-18-2. A win Saturday and they give one side four straight victories for the first time since UGA beat USC five straight times from 2002-06.
“Muschamp, him and Kirby, those guys are boys.” – Reed