ESPN College GameDay crew, The Rock not liking Gamecocks' chances
Few people are giving South Carolina football — nearly four-touchdown underdogs today against Georgia — much of a chance to knock off the two-time defending national champion Bulldogs, and you can officially count the ESPN College Gameday crew as non-believers too.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard, and special guest picker The Rock all picked Georgia to beat the Gamecocks when they play at 3:30 this afternoon in Athens.
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“They have some guys who are playmakers out there, but we haven’t seen them against great competition,” Howard said while the crew was discussing the game. “This is gonna be a great test for Georgia’s defense. I’ll get a chance to evaluate them, and so does Kirby Smart after this game.”
Herbstreit talked about something South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer mentioned on his call-in show earlier this week: the Gamecocks are going to have to play well around quarterback Spencer Rattler, who can’t win the game on his own.
“And don’t you think the other side, like Spencer Rattler has been getting hit? Now he’s got this defense that you’re talking about,” Herbstreit said. “Does South Carolina have enough around Rattler to be a real threat in this game? Do they have the skill? Do they have the offensive line? Was not the case in the opener against North Carolina? They’re gonna have to obviously up the game a lot. We know what Rattler can do. I just want to see around him in this game.”
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Added McAfee: “You know, a lot of people are wondering about Georgia’s offense because they haven’t really had to do much thus far. This is a good test to see where this Georgia offense is under Carson Beck’s direction. Give me the Georgia Bulldogs having a great day and rattling the Rattler of South Carolina.”
Ultimately, Herbstreit believes the game will come down to South Carolina’s ability — or inability in this case — to protect Rattler.
“I think the story of the game is what the Rock just said — he keeps referring to the defensive line for obvious reasons,” Herbstreit said. “That defensive line from Georgia against South Carolina’s offensive line is a major concern for Rattler, and I just don’t think South Carolina has much depth on defense. I think this game will get out of hand.”
The Gamecocks and Bulldogs are set for a 3:30 kickoff on CBS and GamecockCentral will have complete coverage.
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