‘Becoming a rivalry.’ What Georgia thinks of South Carolina
Georgia’s Larry Munson Trophy Room, named after its legendary broadcaster, pays homage to some of the greatest moments and figures in Bulldogs football history. You can find Herschel Walker in there, Champ Bailey and David Pollack. There’s a tribute to the 2018 Rose Bowl win and Uga, voted the nation’s No. 1 mascot in 2017.
The Governor’s Cup, a golden trophy that’s topped with a ball-carrier throwing a stiff-arm, is enclosed in one corner. It’s there to highlight Georgia’s annual clash with Georgia Tech. “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” is the name given to a game that’s been played every year since 1925. The Bulldogs are the current holders of the hardware after last season’s 38-7 win in Atlanta.
So count one rivalry for UGA. It also has the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” with Auburn and another with Florida that used to go by the official title, “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”
So where does South Carolina fit in?
The Gamecocks and Bulldogs play for a 71st time Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. Only Clemson has played USC more. The No. 24 Gamecocks (1-0) and No. 3 Bulldogs (1-0) are both ranked entering this game for a 10th occasion.
South Carolina coach Will Muschamp, a former Georgia safety, said Tuesday that USC-UGA has “been a great rivalry through the years. And I expect another outstanding game on Saturday.”
Stakes in this one might heighten the sense of the series’ overall magnitude. Georgia, reigning SEC champions, was picked in the preseason to win the league’s East Division. USC, coming off a 9-4 year and Outback Bowl win, was pegged second.
The Bulldogs and Gamecocks outscored their Week 1 opponents by a combined 79 points.
A division title on the line in Week 2?
“I think it’s becoming (a rivalry),” said senior UGA defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter. “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.
“Like I said, everybody’s going to come out and give it their best. We’re going to get South Carolina’s best. And they’re going to get our best. It’s going to be a great football game.”
Muschamp and Georgia coach Kirby Smart were Bulldog teammates. They’ve twice been on the same coaching staff.
“Obviously I have a relationship with Coach Muschamp, and they do a tremendous job over there,” Smart said. “Watching them progress their program over the last couple of years, they’ve gotten better with each season.
“We had a hard-fought battle two years ago on the Sunday game, and then 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’s high praise of the Gamecocks has echoed since he called them a “force to reckoned with” following last year’s 24-10 UGA win in Athens.
His players has followed suit.
“They will throw a lot of stuff at us because they have a good football team,” Ledbetter said. “It is what it is.”
“They’re a very big, physical team,” said safety J.R. Reed. “I know they probably have the same mindset. With their coach they have, Muschamp, him and Kirby, those guys are boys. They definitely are physical like us and they practice just like us, so it’s going to be a physical game.”
Sounds like a rivalry.
“We got a lot of respect for their program,” Smart said.
This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 10:47 PM.