Would It REALLY Be An Upset If USC Beats Georgia?
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, September 07, 2009
However, after watching the USC defense physically dominate the NC State Wolfpack last Thursday and then seeing the Georgia offense struggle over the final 3-1/2 quarters at Oklahoma State, should it really be considered an upset if the Gamecocks knock off the Bulldogs for the second straight time at Sanford Stadium?
In my opinion, the answer to that question is no.
Why? Georgia’s lack of legitimate weapons on offense was startling. Essentially, they have one wide receiver (AJ Green), one running back (Richard Samuel) and a mediocre quarterback (Joe Cox) who, based on first impressions, falls far short of his predecessor.
In short, I was thoroughly underwhelmed.
Now they’ve lost their starting left tackle for the season (Trinton Sturdivant), and the backup (Vince Vance) has one week to prepare to block Cliff Matthews and Eric Norwood coming of the edge.
No wonder Mark Richt expressed concern during his weekly Sunday teleconference. I would too. Georgia is staring an 0-2 start squarely in the face and they know it. But it doesn't get any easier with a trip to Arkansas followed by home games against Arizona State and LSU. Ouch.
That's whay I expect Georgia to play like a desperate football team against USC, which could be their biggest asset.
Saturday, Georgia had an impressive opening 80-yard drive for a touchdown but quickly bogged down. Their longest drive over the final 53 minutes was 56 yards.
Obviously, the USC offense didn’t play much better at NC State. Based on what I saw in the Oklahoma State game, Georgia’s secondary will play physical. They banged around OSU All-America wide receiver Dez Bryant and it appeared to rattle him at times.
Bryant recovered to finish with a pair of TD grabs, but until a 46-yard scoring strike late in the second quarter, he did little.
So, this game might come down to the defenses again, just like most contest this decade between the border rivals.
If history is an accurate gauge, 17 points should be good enough to pull out the win.
Defensively, one aspect of the Georgia-Oklahoma State game surprised me. The ‘Boys were able to run for 172 yards compared to 95 for the Bulldogs, turning the stereotypes of the SEC and Big 12 conference on their head.
Interestingly, Oklahoma State ran the ball 46 times and passed it on only 22 occasions. Is Georgia’s run defense soft or was Oklahoma State’s offensive line/running backs better than anyone expected?
The USC defense enjoyed a considerable speed advantage over the NC State offense, a fact duly noted on multiple occasions by the ESPN announcing crew.
Will they enjoy the same edge on Saturday in Athens? Probably not, but I still expect the USC defense to make a lot of plays just like they did in 2007.
This time, though, they might not need Georgia to make a same number of mistakes offensively as they did in 2007 when Stafford overthrew his receivers on several occasions and there were multiple drops.
Of course, in order to pull off the upset, USC must execute much better offensively, especially in the red zone. Twice they penetrated as far as the NC State 10-yard line but came away empty.
Unfortunately, recent history is filled with examples of how blunders down by the goal line have damaged USC’s hopes of beating UGA. The latest example came last year when Mike Davis fumbled into the end zone when he foolishly tried to leap over a UGA defender trying to score the tying touchdown late in the contest.
That can’t happen in Athens. History has proven that USC must take advantage of every scoring opportunity that presents itself against Georgia.
This will be a key test for the USC offensive line, which played respectably in the season opener. No holding or false start penalties is a good start for the Eric Wolford Era. They must exhibit the same discipline in Athens.
If they do, and the defense is as obnoxiously outstanding as they were at NC State, the Gamecocks have an excellent chance to pull off the so-called upset and beat the Dawgs for the second straight time on their home field.
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The oddsmakers have made Georgia an early seven-point favorite over South Carolina for Saturday’s SEC showdown game in Athens, Ga.
However, after watching the USC defense physically dominate the NC State Wolfpack last Thursday and then seeing the Georgia offense struggle over the final 3-1/2 quarters at Oklahoma State, should it really be considered an upset if the Gamecocks knock off the Bulldogs for the second straight time at Sanford Stadium?
In my opinion, the answer to that question is no.
Why? Georgia’s lack of legitimate weapons on offense was startling. Essentially, they have one wide receiver (AJ Green), one running back (Richard Samuel) and a mediocre quarterback (Joe Cox) who, based on first impressions, falls far short of his predecessor.
In short, I was thoroughly underwhelmed.
Now they’ve lost their starting left tackle for the season (Trinton Sturdivant), and the backup (Vince Vance) has one week to prepare to block Cliff Matthews and Eric Norwood coming of the edge.
No wonder Mark Richt expressed concern during his weekly Sunday teleconference. I would too. Georgia is staring an 0-2 start squarely in the face and they know it. But it doesn't get any easier with a trip to Arkansas followed by home games against Arizona State and LSU. Ouch.
That's whay I expect Georgia to play like a desperate football team against USC, which could be their biggest asset.
Saturday, Georgia had an impressive opening 80-yard drive for a touchdown but quickly bogged down. Their longest drive over the final 53 minutes was 56 yards.
Obviously, the USC offense didn’t play much better at NC State. Based on what I saw in the Oklahoma State game, Georgia’s secondary will play physical. They banged around OSU All-America wide receiver Dez Bryant and it appeared to rattle him at times.
Bryant recovered to finish with a pair of TD grabs, but until a 46-yard scoring strike late in the second quarter, he did little.
So, this game might come down to the defenses again, just like most contest this decade between the border rivals.
If history is an accurate gauge, 17 points should be good enough to pull out the win.
Defensively, one aspect of the Georgia-Oklahoma State game surprised me. The ‘Boys were able to run for 172 yards compared to 95 for the Bulldogs, turning the stereotypes of the SEC and Big 12 conference on their head.
Interestingly, Oklahoma State ran the ball 46 times and passed it on only 22 occasions. Is Georgia’s run defense soft or was Oklahoma State’s offensive line/running backs better than anyone expected?
The USC defense enjoyed a considerable speed advantage over the NC State offense, a fact duly noted on multiple occasions by the ESPN announcing crew.
Will they enjoy the same edge on Saturday in Athens? Probably not, but I still expect the USC defense to make a lot of plays just like they did in 2007.
This time, though, they might not need Georgia to make a same number of mistakes offensively as they did in 2007 when Stafford overthrew his receivers on several occasions and there were multiple drops.
Of course, in order to pull off the upset, USC must execute much better offensively, especially in the red zone. Twice they penetrated as far as the NC State 10-yard line but came away empty.
Unfortunately, recent history is filled with examples of how blunders down by the goal line have damaged USC’s hopes of beating UGA. The latest example came last year when Mike Davis fumbled into the end zone when he foolishly tried to leap over a UGA defender trying to score the tying touchdown late in the contest.
That can’t happen in Athens. History has proven that USC must take advantage of every scoring opportunity that presents itself against Georgia.
This will be a key test for the USC offensive line, which played respectably in the season opener. No holding or false start penalties is a good start for the Eric Wolford Era. They must exhibit the same discipline in Athens.
If they do, and the defense is as obnoxiously outstanding as they were at NC State, the Gamecocks have an excellent chance to pull off the so-called upset and beat the Dawgs for the second straight time on their home field.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.