Home invasion: South Carolina historically bad in blowout loss to No. 1 Georgia
College football welcomes the wacky, invites the incredible, urges on underdogs. Yet, Saturday’s 75th meeting between border rivals in Columbia bucked the ever-wild nature of the sport with 60 minutes of downright dominant chalk.
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer insisted earlier this week that fans rise early to accommodate their tailgating plans ahead of a scheduled 12:12 p.m. kickoff. There wasn’t enough free-flowing pale ale in the Williams-Brice Stadium frat lots to justify those garnet-and-black-clad fans stay through halftime of No. 1 Georgia’s 48-7 romp of South Carolina.
“I want to apologize to our fans,” Beamer said postgame. “We challenged them in the press conference during the week to show up and they did. ... They were fantastic. Sorry we didn’t coach better and play better for them.”
Down five starters on defense, the Gamecocks were sliced and diced by the defending national champions en route to the worst loss in the history of the USC-Georgia series — outdoing a previous low-point that dated back to a 40-0 Georgia win in the teams’ first ever meeting in 1894.
Sixth-year senior Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett operated with the surgical efficiency befitting of a player who’s spent enough time in college to earn a PhD. He finished the first half 13 of 20 for 166 yards and a score, guiding the Bulldogs to a 24-0 halftime lead.
Georgia do-it-all tight end/cyborg Brock Bowers backed up the Bulldogs’ signal-caller with a trio of touchdowns over the first 35 minutes of the contest. Bowers’ first score of the afternoon came on a 6-yard pop pass from Bennett that he curled around the right side of the South Carolina defense to pay dirt.
The California native promptly flashed his Baryshnikov-esque footwork with a toe-tapping grab in the back left corner of the end zone for a 6-yard score that most any 6-foot-4, 230-pounder ought not be able to complete.
Those brave few South Carolina fans who soldiered on into Saturday’s second half were rewarded with Bowers’ third touchdown of the day. Bowers put the finishing touches on Georgia’s throttling with a 78-yard reception over the middle from Bennett, dipping and dodging his way past the beat-up USC secondary on the Bulldogs’ third play of the third quarter.
“He’s an explosive guy and he can make plays,” Gamecocks linebacker Brad Johnson said of Bowers. “That’s what it comes down to. When it’s time to get him the ball. He gets it in in his hands and he executes.”
Where the Gamecocks defense struggled to coalesce without the bulk of its starters, the offense looked the part of its anemic 2021 self against a Bulldogs defense that has now allowed just 10 points three games this year.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler tossed a pair of interceptions to sink what little momentum the Gamecocks had in the first and third quarters. Rattler finished the second home loss of his college career with just 125 yards on 13-of-25 passing.
Receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells — who exploded for 189 yards and one touchdown a week ago at Arkansas — saw just two targets and zero catches through the first three quarters. South Carolina was out-gained in those frames 472-197.
Backup quarterback Luke Doty gave the smattering of fans who remained by game’s end a reason to cheer when he connected with tight end Traevon Kenion with under a minute to go for South Carolina’s only score of the game.
“That’s probably the best defense in the country,” Rattler said. “They put us in some bad situations.”
South Carolina announced an official attendance Saturday of 78,297. By the time Georgia mercifully ended the early afternoon decimation of the hometown squad, the student section laid nearly empty. Those alums who remained in the steel bleachers scattered around the stadium donned far more red than garnet.
The internet was awash with complaints that the annual meeting between Gamecocks and Bulldogs wasn’t slotted for a night contest.
By the final whistle at 3:24 p.m. on Saturday, Georgia gave South Carolina fans every reason to want to be anywhere but Williams-Brice Stadium.
Of note
South Carolina punter Kai Kroger recorded the third completion of his career when he connected for a 20-yard pass to Traevon Kenion on a fake punt in Saturday’s first quarter.
Kroeger previously threw a touchdown pass to Payton Mangrum in last year’s loss at Tennessee on a fake punt.
Key Stats
2 — Spencer Rattler tossed a pair of interceptions in Saturday’s loss, his second multi-pick game at South Carolina
41 — South Carolina’s 41-point loss was its worst loss since a 56-6 drubbing by Florida in 2008.
Next USC football game
Who: South Carolina (1-2) vs. Charlotte (1-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC
TV: ESPNU
Box score, stats summary
First Quarter
UGA—Bowers 5 run (Podlesny kick), 8:20.
UGA—Milton 1 run (Podlesny kick), 4:42.
Second Quarter
UGA—Bowers 6 pass from S.Bennett (Podlesny kick), 11:25.
UGA—FG Podlesny 42, :30.
Third Quarter
UGA—Bowers 78 pass from S.Bennett (Podlesny kick), 13:21.
UGA—S.Bennett 11 run (Podlesny kick), 8:23.
UGA—Delp 28 pass from Beck (Podlesny kick), 5:58.
Fourth Quarter
UGA—FG Zirkel 21, 8:57.
SCAR—Kenion 13 pass from Doty (Jeter kick), :53.
—TEAM STATS—
- First downs: UGA 30-17
- Total yards: UGA 547-309
- Rush yards: UGA 208-95
- Pass yards: UGA 339-214
- Time of poss: UGA 32:49 to 27:11
—INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS—
RUSHING—Georgia, S.Bennett 3-36, Edwards 4-33, Robinson 6-32, Milton 10-32, Beck 2-25, McIntosh 4-20, McConkey 1-13, Morrissette 1-8, C.Jones 1-8, Bowers 1-5, (Team) 2-(minus 4). South Carolina, McDowell 8-33, Lloyd 9-22, Doty 2-18, Rattler 2-8, Beal-Smith 5-6, Miller 1-4, Joyner 1-3, Adkins 1-1.
PASSING—Georgia, S.Bennett 16-23-0-284, Beck 5-6-0-55, Vandagriff 0-1-0-0. South Carolina, Rattler 13-25-2-118, Doty 5-8-1-76, Kroeger 1-1-0-20.
RECEIVING—Georgia, Bowers 5-121, McConkey 4-52, Milton 2-40, Delp 2-32, C.Jones 2-11, Blaylock 1-19, Rosemy-Jacksaint 1-15, D.Washington 1-15, McIntosh 1-14, Speer 1-12, K.Jackson 1-8. South Carolina, Brooks 5-53, Kenion 2-33, McDowell 2-32, Brown 2-27, Legette 2-9, Lloyd 2-4, Bell 1-46, Stogner 1-12, Joyner 1-(minus 1), Vann 1-(minus 1).
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
This story was originally published September 17, 2022 at 3:24 PM.
