3 & OUT REPORT... WHAT TO LOOK FOR AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA
Here we are on to Week 2 and UGA finds its first test of the season! Georgia faced Austin Peay in the first game and didn't face a lot of push back. The game was in hand by the middle of the 2nd qtr and was actually cut short by agreement of both coaching staffs. Georgia played 82 total players including 22 freshman. Even though UGA cruised to a 45-0 victory they looked a little inconsistent at times. Playing musical chairs at nearly every position will do that. Don't expect Georgia to go that deep on the depth chart this week.... Heck! You can only bring 70 players on road trips. Below are the 3 position groups we are going to be following during this weeks game that we believe will be the major factors in deciding the outcome of the game. We will also have a score and game prediction as well.
DAWG NEWS DAILY'S 3 & OUT
1) OFFENSIVE LINE: If the offensive line wins the line of the scrimmage and keeps Fromm clean, UGA wins this game by 2 scores. Its that easy. This group is still learning to gel with each other, but they have about an average 40 lbs weight advantage over Carolina's defensive line and thats hard to just browse over.
2) SECONDARY/LINEBACKERS:
Jake Bentley plays great against inferior competition and struggles when facing stiffer competition. The secondary and linebackers are young groups for UGA. Bentley will look to expose the youth in the secondary and work for mismatches against the backers. D'Andre Walker, Tyler Clark, and Jonathan Ledbetter will need to put the pressure on Carolina and force the Gamecocks to keep a running back in to help block. Preseason All-American Deandre Baker typically doesn't follow receivers around the field so we don't imagine Deebo Samuels and Baker to square off too many times. Freshman Tyson Campbell has the size, speed, and talent to match up with Samuels. But there aren't many corners in the nation that can cover him one on one. Expect a safety to help out a bunch. Linebackers Natrez Patrick, Monty Rice, along with safeties JR Reed and Lecounte will need to be alert at all times. Gamecocks are playing an uptempo spread style offense this year and will try to tire out the defense. Expect a lot of rotations in this game which will be hot in Columbia. UGA's depth will help here!
3) QUARTERBACKS:
We are interested in how Coach Smart uses the quarterbacks this week. We thought Fields played a lot more than we anticipated in the season opener. We are expecting Fromm gets the majority of the snaps this week. Fields could get inserted to show Carolina a different look if the offense stalls at all. We think Fields gets a series in the 1st half and then depending on the score maybe one in the 2nd half. This is a division game and one UGA needs to show its dominance last year just wasn't a fluke. Don't expect a lot of tinkering at QB in this one.
GAME/SCORE PREDICTION:
A young Georgia team is going on the road in a hostile environment in Columbia, SC. The 1st thing we think about is 18-21 year old kids and how their emotions can get the best of them. South Carolina has circled this game since last season as they feel the only difference between the 2 teams last year were Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. Fluky things have happened in Columbia in years past when the bulldogs play there. Quincy Carter's 6 INT game, Pollack's endzone INT, and the 2012 drubbing to name a few. UGA has more talent, depth, and size than the Gamecocks so on paper this looks like 2 score victory for UGA. We are going to factor in the emotions of both teams, but believe UGA settles down in the 2nd half and pulls away.