Two SEC analysts intrigued by South Carolina-Georgia game in Week 3
Coming into the season, the SEC overall–especially in the East–is Georgia’s to lose.
The Bulldogs will likely be overwhelming favorites to win the division, the league as a whole. And likely the national championship again.
But this is talking season, and a few SEC analysts spent Tuesday morning talking about which games are intriguing and which teams could pull off the upset and hand Georgia its first loss since 2021 with the Gamecocks coming up.
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“I think an interesting one there is South Carolina early. Georgia is a better roster. But the way Spencer Rattler finished the season upsetting Tennessee and Clemson, if he can play like that,” Jordan Rodgers said, tailing off.”
Rattler is coming back for his second season at South Carolina after an up-and-down 2022 that finished with a bang.
After an inconsistent first 10 weeks of the year, Rattler completed 55 of his 76 attempts (73.4 percent) in upset wins over Tennessee and Clemson. He threw for 798 yards (10.5 yards per attempt).
He threw eight touchdowns–a school-record six against the Vols–with just two picks in those games.
Through his first 10 games, he completed 63.6 percent of passes, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt. He had six touchdowns to seven picks.
Another analyst, Joe Tessitore, seemed intrigued by that South Carolina-Georgia game early in the season because of the Gamecocks’ special teams.
“It typically comes because you have outlier, X-factor plays like special teams. Pete Lembo is the best special teams coordinator in the country. Let me repeat that. We don’t talk enough about the coordinators in this league enough,” Tessitore said.
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“Pete Lembo, the special teams coordinator at South Carolina, is why Clemson is not in the College Football Playoff. They are capable, with what they do on special teams, to have those X-factor, outlier plays that can change a game and find upsets.”
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South Carolina plays at Georgia in Week 3 this year (3:30 p.m., CBS) while starting the season against North Carolina and Furman.
It’ll be the Gamecocks’ first true road game of the season. Georgia’s won seven of the last eight games in the series, including a 48-7 drubbing last season at Williams-Brice.
The last South Carolina win in the series came in 2019. The Gamecocks upset the Bulldogs 20-17 in double overtime in Athens.
The last win in Athens before that came in 2011 when South Carolina beat Georgia 45-42 in an all-time classic of a game.
The Gamecocks will take their turn at SEC Media Thursday morning.
