South Carolina vs. Georgia: 2010 - 2017
With the big game against Georgia coming up this weekend, I thought it would be good to review the recent history of the series. Since meeting for the first time on the football field in 1894, the two teams have played a total of 70 games, with Georgia leading the series 50-18-2. Georgia's star has risen quite dramatically the past year, but most people likely don't realize that the teams have split the last eight games. The Bulldogs have only won once at Williams-Brice during that span. Below is a summary of the past eight match-ups.
2010: #24 South Carolina 17 - #22 Georgia 6
The first in a run of three consecutive wins by the Gamecocks in the series saw South Carolina dominating on both sides of the ball and holding a lead the entire game. The Gamecock Defense held Georgia to only 253 yards and two field goals, while true Freshman Marcus Lattimore pounded Georgia on the ground. Lattimore had 182 yards rushing with 2 TDs on 37 carries in the game, and a star was born.
Full Game:
2011: #12 South Carolina 45 - Georgia 42
This game was a back-and-forth affair that featured 7 lead changes, 2 defensive scores for SC, and a Melvin Ingram 68-yard rushing TD on a fake punt. Melvin Ingram accounted for 2 total TDs on the day, as he picked up a fumble caused by true Freshman Jadaveon Clowney tossing Aaron Murray like a rag doll in his second ever game as a Gamecock. Marcus Lattimore continued to dominate the Dawgs with 176 yards rushing and a TD on 27 carries.
Full Game:
2012: #6 South Carolina 35 - #5 Georgia 7
One of my favorite games of all time, and one of the biggest games in the history of South Carolina football. I re-watch this one at least four times a year. ESPN Gameday was on campus, the game was televised on the prime-time ABC slot with the #1 broadcast crew, and the combined ranking of each team was the highest it had ever been in the series. The Gamecocks were up 21 - 0 before the of 1st Quarter, and they probably could have won this one 70 - 0 if they wanted to. Lattimore cemented his legacy as the Dawg-killer with 109 yards rushing and 1 TD on 24 carries. The Dawgs were shell-shocked by the atmosphere in Williams-Brice that day. I truly believe that the way that South Carolina team played on that specific night they couldn't have beaten any national championship team from the past two decades. Georgia would go on to lose only one more game in the 2012 season, a narrow loss in the final seconds to eventual national champion Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. South Carolina would drop the next two games after this one in road trips to #9 LSU and #3 Florida. Fun fact: my dad was on the field pre-game to receive the ceremonial game-ball, and keeps it in a glass case at home.
Highlights:
Highlights:
Full Game:
2013: #11 Georgia 41 - #6 South Carolina 30
A strong performance by the South Carolina Offense was not enough to overcome a career game from Aaron Murray, who threw for 309 yards and 4 TDs. This was the Gamecocks' first loss in Athens since 2009 and the Bulldogs' largest margin of victory against SC since 2006.
Highlights:
Full Game:
2014: #24 South Carolina 38 - #6 Georgia 35
After a long lightning delay, a South Carolina team that would end up having one of the best Offenses in school history under the leadership of Dylan Thompson and a post-Clowney Defense that couldn't hold onto 4th Quarter leads would take advantage of a dominating 2nd Half performance by the OL and a missed 28-yard FG attempt by Georgia to steal a win from the Dawgs. This would be the definite high point for a South Carolina team that would finish the regular season 6 - 6.
Highlights:
Full Game:
2015: #7 Georgia 52 - South Carolina 20
Inattention to recruiting finally caught up to the Gamecocks in 2015 and resulted in a team that was completely out-manned by a 10-win Georgia team that would fire their coach at the end of the season to prevent SC from hiring Kirby Smart. The Gamecocks would start former walk-on Perry Orth at QB in this one. Steve Spurrier would only coach three more games for the Gamecocks.
(Georgia) Highlights:
2016: Georgia 28 - South Carolina 14
With new head coaches the two old rivals met for the first time ever on Sunday in a half-empty Williams-Brice stadium after the game was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew. The two teams would combine for 12 losses in 2016, making this match-up decidedly mediocre. Georgia returned an on-side kick for a TD in the final minutes to make the margin of victory double-digits.
Full Game:
2017: #2 Georgia 24 - South Carolina 10
An improving but injury-riddled South Carolina team gave the best Georgia team in at least three decades one of it's more physical contests in 2017. The talent gap was apparent from the opening (on-side) kick-off, but the Gamecocks showed they weren't intimidated by #2 team in the nation.
Highlights: