Report Card: Georgia obliterates South Carolina 48-7

Georgia traveled to Columbia, S.C. on Saturday and made quick work of South Carolina. The Bulldogs scored 24 points in each half and didn’t allow a score until there was less than a minute left in the game, winning 48-7.

We were impressed with what we saw in real time but now that we’ve taken a second look at the game, its time to dig a little deeper. We hand out grades to each position group below in our weekly report card.

Georgia quarterbacks

Stetson Bennett IV was a little off a times and he even threw up on the football field. But he refused to come out of the game and completed 70 percent of his passes for 284 yards and three total touchdowns. Oh, and he was UGA’s leading rusher. Carson Beck came in and threw a touchdown pass. He should have had two of those but there was a drop. Grade: A

UGA running backs

The Bulldog backfield had a solid day. Kenny McIntosh and Kendall Milton did some good things in the passing game. Daijun Edwards had a strong day running the football while Branson Robinson and Cash Jones pitched in. Grade: A-

Georgia receivers and tight ends

Brock Bowers was the star of the show, scoring three times. He had two receiving touchdowns and one on the ground while catching five passes for 121 yards. Ladd McConkey had a consistently stellar day with a few other receivers and tight ends pitching in. Oscar Delp caught the first pass of his career for a 28-yard touchdown. De’Nylon Morrissette should have notched the first score of his career but he couldn’t haul in a pass from Beck. The perimeter blocking was outstanding throughout. Grade: A

UGA offensive line

This group had one heck of a game. The first unit didn’t allow a tackle for loss or a sack. In fact, South Carolina didn’t get its first tackle for loss until late in the fourth quarter. Georgia was great in short yardage and consistently got movement at the point of attack. Grade: A+

Georgia defensive line

This group got off to a slow start with Jalen Carter limited but it righted the ship late in the first quarter. Several guys stood out. Warren Brinson quietly had a good game. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins made a couple of nice place. Mykel Williams flashed once again. Grade: A-

UGA linebackers

Nolan Smith had a tremendous game on the outside, tallying three total tackles, a tackle for loss, multiple quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. It was odd to see Robert Beal in the game so late. He didn’t flash much. Marvin Jones Jr. also had a couple of impressive pass rush reps.

The inside linebackers were led by Jamon Dumas-Johnson, who led the team with six total tackles. He also had two quarterback hurries. Smael Mondon had four solo stops and a tackle for loss, as did Trezmen Marshall who also added an interception and a quarterback hurry. Grade: A

Georgia defensive backs

Malaki Starks had one of the biggest plays of the game when he covered a wheel route and picked off Spencer Rattler. The interception thwarted a scoring threat. Dan Jackson also had an interception. Javon Bullard was once again active on the edge. Kamari Lassiter was beaten once for a big gain but played well otherwise. Kelee Ringo continues to have quiet games and that’s not a bad thing. Grade: A-

UGA special teams

It wasn’t the best of days for this group. We’ll start with the good where Jack Podlesny nailed a 42-yard field goal, kicked off well, and hit all of his PATs. The Bulldog punting unit had a penalty and allowed South Carolina to pick up some yardage. The punt return unit allowed South Carolina to hit a fake punt to extend a drive. The Georgia defense stood tall, however, and nothing came of the mishap. Grade: B

Overall

It was complete dominance. Georgia probably got away with some mistakes but it didn’t make many. The Bulldogs had zero turnovers and just three penalties for 20 yards. That’s impressive. Georgia, like every other team in the sport, can improve but it fired on almost all of its cylinders in Columbia. Grade: A