The Gamecocks invade Athens this weekend for an SEC showdown with the No. 2 team in the nation, the Georgia Bulldogs. Let’s analyze this matchup and determine which side is the right side to get another ATS cover in our college football picks!
Saturday, September 18, 2021 – 07:00 PM EDT at Sanford Stadium
South Carolina has done exactly what has been expected of them and that is roll over their first opponent, FCS entry Eastern Illinois, and then eke out a road win over a poor East Carolina squad. The Gamecocks throttled the Panthers, 46-0 and covered the 31 ½ point impost with ease, and then pushed as three-point road chalk in a 20-17 win over the Pirates. Mission accomplished.
But this coming Saturday they will be reminded that they play in the toughest schoolyard on the block, the Southeastern Conference, when they square up against a formidable Georgia crew that has won five of their last six meetings between the schools, including last season’s 45-16 beatdown in Columbia.
Moreover, they will be facing a Bulldogs team that pulled off a bit of a stunner when they took to the highway and silenced the Clemson offense in a 10-3 season debut victory and ATS cover as three-point road underdogs. Georgia followed that up with a 56-7 thrashing of UAB last week.
South Carolina will have to be firing on all cylinders to keep this one close. If they are even remotely as lackadaisical as they were last week when they trailed 14-0 before Damani Staley took a 63-yard reception to the house to cut the lead in half with only a minute left in the second quarter, then this one will be out of hand in no time.
After the victory over East Carolina, head coach Shane Beamer stated, "I just told the team in there I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of a football team than that group right there," Beamer said, adding: "Having said that, we’ve got to get a whole lot better."
Georgia’s road win over Clemson cannot be overstated but some naysayers took issue with the lack of offense in the 10-3 victory. I guess that proves that you can’t please all the people all the time but a win over a perennial CFP powerhouse is always cause for celebration.
Nevertheless, the offense did have to come alive at some point and it only took until the following week for it to happen when the Bulldogs defeated UAB in a 56-7 slaughter. Senior quarterback, Stetson Bennett, led his offense to 35 first-half points and another touchdown early in the third quarter before his backup, freshman Carson Beck, was handed the keys to the car for the rest of the game.
Bennett would finish with 10-of-12 passing for 288 yards and five touchdowns while Georgia’s rushing attack piled up 163 yards and a trip inside the end zone. The Bulldogs’ defense was on point in holding the Blazers to a mere 47 yards through the air and 127 on the ground. It should be noted that the Georgia defense did not surrender any points, as the only scoring UAB did was courtesy of a 61-yard pick-six late in the final quarter.
After perusing the college football odds at all of the best online sportsbooks, I was surprised to see Georgia as a 30 to 30 ½ point home favorite over an undefeated SEC rival, albeit against questionable competition. But if we peel back the layers of the onion, we see that last year the Bulldogs defeated the Gamecocks, 45-16, which wouldn’t you know it, is a 29-point margin of victory. Pretty close to the 30-point handicap in this one.
South Carolina has committed eight penalties in each of their first two games for a total of 16 in total. When playing FCS teams or AAC squads that post losing records year after year, the Gamecocks will be able to escape with a winning effort. But against a powerhouse like Georgia, the consequences of those mistakes manifest quickly.
I cannot see how South Carolina is going to hang and bang with an offense this prolific, but more importantly, moving the chains against what is shaping up to be one of the best defenses in the nation. The Dawgs roll and get the cover here.
College Football Pick: Georgia -30 (-112) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
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