South Carolina Gamecocks (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (2-0 SU, 1-1 ATS)
College Football Week 3
Date/Time: Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 6PM EST
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia
TV: ESPN
By Loot, NCAA Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: SOCAR +17/UGA -17
Over/Under Total: Off
The South Carolina Gamecocks come to Athens to face the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in a SEC battle. Georgia has won their first two games, including a 31-14 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday. With Georgia, it's more or less a case of "so far, so good." Such is not the case with South Carolina, who is licking their wounds after a tough 26-22 home loss to Kentucky where they lost their starting quarterback for what might be the whole season.
On Saturday, the Gamecocks fell behind to the Wildcats, 24-7, at halftime. They worked their way back into the game after Connor Mitch went down with a separated shoulder. Junior Perry Orth filed in capably, but a costly 4th-quarter interception hurt. To their credit, however, the Gamecocks "D" held firm after looking readily exploitable in the first half, shutting Kentucky down in the second half. The offense, however, couldn't quite get it done. They had a chance to tie the game and when going for a two-point conversion, WR Pharoh Cooper fumbled the ball and had it run back 98 yards, with Kentucky getting the 2 points instead. Looking ahead, Connor Mitch was named the starter by head coach Steve Spurrier for a reason. At the same time, he won the QB battle pretty late in the summer and wasn't really a cemented presence behind center anyway, so maybe moving forward with Orth won't be so horrible. But let's face it—this season hasn't exactly gotten off to a rip-roaring start for South Carolina.
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The Gamecocks have some nice weapons—guys like Cooper and RB Brandon Wilds. Both had their moments on Saturday, as Orth and Cooper looked to have created good initial chemistry, despite the one costly mishap. But South Carolina looks to have somewhat of a lack of electric playmakers. Even as Kentucky's defense melted in the second half, they couldn't quite get over the hump. And in failing to get the offense clicked into a high gear, they allowed Kentucky to win their first road game in the SEC in five years. In the red-zone, they often seem stuck in the mud, with the play-calling leaving something to be desired in certain cases. They're going to need to rely on their defense a lot and that is one area where South Carolina could be expected to improve.
Georgia looks to be in a good position as they get into the meat and potatoes of their schedule. Beating Louisiana-Monroe and a SEC bottom-feeder like Vandy is not cause for celebration necessarily, but initial signs are promising. RB Nick Chubb certainly hasn't slacked off in the offseason and appears to be in prime form after gaining 189 yards against the Commodores. Sophomore Sony Michel has chimed in with nice production in the Bulldogs' first two games. So far, Greyson Lambert, the Virginia transfer, has been OK as Georgia's new starting quarterback. It helps to have a rock of support in Chubb to lean on. But the Georgia passing game is among the weakest seen from a Bulldogs' team in recent years. Lambert didn't even complete a pass in the first half. It's going to be Lambert's job to not mess things up, while making a key play here and there.
Georgia will also rely a lot on defense this season and early signs show that this unit is one that can make plays. Jordan Jenkins had two sacks, while Dominick Sanders ran back an interception 88 yards for a touchdown. It wasn't a dominating performance for Georgia and if Vanderbilt could have executed better and capitalized on more opportunities, they would have made a better game of it. But Georgia overcame a dormant aerial attack to win on the road by 17 and the bottom-line speaks loudest. But moving ahead into games like this and beyond, Georgia is going to need more than just Nick Chubb to make a real mark in 2015.
On a positive note for Georgia, the offensive line is monstrous, an often-overlooked aspect of the game. A lot of good things can come from that and it makes the notion of possible improvement a plausible one. The infrastructure is there to sustain improvement, should Georgia begin to implement more of a passing-attack. But even as it is now, the line really gets after it and opens up gaping holes for Chubb, who should accumulate eye-popping stats this season. He simply never has a bad game. When playing this Georgia team, a team can expect to get punished in the trenches and if the secondary could congeal, they're going to be awfully tough.
It may be time to ask some tough questions in regards to South Carolina's overall viability heading into the heart of their schedule. It's easy to defer to Spurrier's expertise and expect an up-cycle following a 7-win season in 2014. After all, he won 33 games in the preceding 3 seasons. But other than a leap-of-faith, not a lot points to an upturn for the Gamecocks. They lost key pieces from their offensive line, their best back is gone, their starting quarterback just went down, they've already been bitten by the injury bug, and they're trying to revamp a defense that was an abysmal 13th in total defense in the SEC last season. Until shown otherwise, it may be another long year for South Carolina and a struggle to even match their 3-5 conference mark of 2014.
But Georgia as a 17 point favorite? Granted, Georgia looks to able to do a lot of damage with their run game, as Nick Chubb is likely to go off for a lot of yards on Saturday. Georgia still remains somewhat untested and without a viable passing attack, one should be hesitant about laying that kind of number against a South Carolina squad, even one that isn't tip-top. Not that Georgia won't administer a thorough beating, but perhaps the Gamecocks offense can get enough done to keep this one somewhat within reach.
Loot's Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the South Carolina Gamecocks plus 17 points. Did you know... that you could be wagering on games at discounted odds? There's a better than good chance that you're laying -110 odds (or more) with your book. Stop overpaying TODAY by making the switch to 5Dimes Sportsbook! You will be so glad that you did!
