The Sporting News is taking the position that the September 8th meeting between Georgia and South Carolina will be a big deal.
As mentioned in South Carolina’s preview, the Sept. 8 matchup in Columbia will be the biggest game of the season in the SEC East. The Gamecocks are riding high off an impressive 9-4 campaign and have a considerably easier conference slate than does Georgia, who travels to No. 13 LSU and hosts No. 8 Auburn from the West. The margin of error is a lot smaller for Smart and Co. and, on paper, a loss to South Carolina would give the Gamecocks a sizable lead in the SEC East race. Conversely, a Georgia win relieves some pressure before the Bulldogs face off against LSU and Auburn.
Agree or disagree?
Get The Picture 
They played us surprisingly well last year. We are the better team by a mile on paper, but dawg fans know better than anyone that a win isn’t guaranteed. Although Spurrier still gives me nightmares, I have total confidence that Kirby is on the mother. Dawgs by 14.
LikeLike
Going into Columbia is always hard, not matter how good or bad the Gamecocks are. This year will be especially tough for sure.
LikeLike
You can say that again. In 2004 I took my oldest son (then 8 yrs old) to Columbia and I think we won by 3 points. If IIRC, the Dawgs were ranked around #5 at the time. Glad to get outta that stadium/town with a win though!
LikeLike
Other than the two teams that beat us, I’d say South Carolina played us the toughest of anybody. Obviously, Oklahoma scored a ton of points and pushed us to the brink but they also failed to even get in the way of our offense through the majority of the game. The Gamecock defense was already markedly better than the 2016 edition last year. I expect them to continue to improve. I don’t love the idea of facing one of the best defensive teams we’ll see in the second game.
LikeLike
This is their Super Bowl. And as usually seems to be the case, the Cocks will be focused on this game all spring and summer. The good news is that we can as well given our schedule surrounding this game. Austin Peay is not App St.
I would think this will be the first 3:30 game of the season since CBS has now started showing games that weekend. That means at least it will be over before dark (unless we have another lightning delay like in 2002 and 2014).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Regarding their super bowl, they take the Clemson game pretty seriously. Even more so, now that Clemson has a recent natty.
LikeLike
Well it also takes place almost 3 months prior to the Clemson game
LikeLike
Agree. Sackerlina will be gunning for this one. However, I believe Kirby will be on the mutha.
LikeLike
Somebody’s got to be Georgia’s primary competition in the East for the next couple of years and I’d rather it be Sackalina than UF or TN….I guess MO could surprise, but I think it’s going to be the roosters.
They always play Georgia with great emotion…
I made the comment earlier this year that Boom can survive a losing streak to Clemson if he could win the SECE on an occasional basis. Some on here think that’s crazy..but if he could only pick one win, it would be against UGA.
The game is early in the season and anything can happen, but I think CKS will have this team ready to do a slow, pounding defeat of what will be a very good SC team.
LikeLike
This game will greatly inform the “X’s and O’s” vs “Jimmies and Joes” debate. I will be immensely disappointed and will have no problems with a knee-jerk reaction to our staff’s X’s and O’s shortcomings if we lose this game.
LikeLike
This^^^
LikeLike
I wonder if they’ll still consider it “impressive” if Muschamp continues going 9-4 every season for the next few years.
LikeLike
Yea, 9-4 is “impressive”? Keep up the good work Boom..
LikeLike
They should – just look at their history. Only a handful of bowl wins, 1 measly ACC champ way back in the 60’s, and an all-time record of just slightly better than .500. They should be thrilled by any season in which they go 9-4, but of course they are known for being a bit delusional, so yea, some probably will bellyache about it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
9-4 is right at a 70% winning percentage which is waaaay more than South Carolina’s historical win rate. If Boom keeps that up they will rename the stadium after him.
LikeLike
It being the only east game we won’t be favored by double digits, it makes sense to identity it as the most consequential game on the road to Atlanta.
I wish we had a couple of more games under our belts before that trip. Defense will still be wet behind the ears and the offense will still be trying to find itself.
Hopefully, USC still can’t run the ball. That will be the key.
LikeLike
This game will be the toughest game on the schedule for UGA.
LikeLike
They’re going to give us their best game… 😉
Meh, you have to write about something, I guess, and this is about as reasonable as anything.
LikeLike
On paper, we kick their ass.
LikeLike
Btw: while it almost worked, the onside kick was DUMB. It contributed to that game being closer than it should have been. I can’t prove it obviously but I felt then that we did it because Will was on the other side.
This is business, it’s not personal!
LikeLike
i still wholly agree with it in the context of that game at that point given the existing narrative…. us being a team on semi cruise control and riding high after giving our nemesis the worst beating since (i don’t even know when). It’s a point that can never be proven but IMO, you can easily see how the call alone could affect the psyche of their team which in turn affects their play calling. In games against the chickens, anything to get them out of the loose, we-have-nothing-to-lose mindset favors the better team on paper.
LikeLike
Well….I think that’s not quite right. Our RIVAL is FU and we beat the crap out of them. Out NEMESIS is Bama and the Tide beat the Dawgs once again when all the marbles were on the line. So maybe we shouldn’t be on cruise control…..don’tchathink?
LikeLike
agreed about the onside kick call …that a good example of unnecessary decision making that I believe CKS will forego as he matures OTJ
LikeLike
I just don’t see them going 7-1 (or even 6-2) in conference. That said, they have the most manageable schedule of any of our competitors in the East.
LikeLike
This game and LSU on road are gonna be tough. B Mac”s 1st SEC game as an OCoordinator likely means this game will be all about establishing the run and the team that stops the run. By that formula, and an early hot start in the deep south means our Dline could get worn down by 4th Q. Lamecocks also somehow almost always seem to have 1 electric player that plays lights out on both Offense and Special teams such as Ace Sanders, etc..Deebo Samuel is that guy- but his health is the question mark. Since they get us at home, it’s early season and our WR may not be in sync yet, plus its Swift’s 1st SEC start, Muschamp will find a way to keep it close but thankfully we have Mr. Blankenship.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Like V said–on paper, we kick their ass. Perhaps this will be another corner we turn this year. Usually we play those guys close, even with a superior team. Usually we barely eek out victories with superior teams vs the Gators or Vols too, but we seemingly turned a corner last year with that as well.
LikeLike
31-10 Dawgs win.
LikeLike
There is a significant talent gap between the two teams. OL, QB, and RB huge gaps. If Kirby has the boys ready to play, then it’s another easy win.
BOOM! will play conservative football and try to keep it respectable.
LikeLike
Absolutely agree. I’ve been saying since the season ended that our trip to SCU early next year will be the 2nd toughest game on the schedule. Heck, maybe even the toughest given we get AU at home and who they lost from last years team. They played us very tough at our place last year, and though the game never felt in doubt, we certainly didn’t roll them like we did pretty much everyone else.
Next, you know damn well that Muschamp and co. have that game circled, and for anyone who has been to Columbia in early September, the temperature is just slightly cooler than the surface of Mercury. Yes, we are more talented; perhaps significantly more talented, but we rarely if ever play well over there, and I can’t think of the last time we had a comfortable win at their place.
LikeLike
we had a comfortable win just 2 years ago in the Sunday Hurricane game right? Kinda doesn’t count though since the crowd was at like 60%
LikeLike
I don’t think any game on Sept. 8th can be called the biggest game of the SEC East. It’s just too early in the season. So much will play out from week-2 to week-11.
LikeLike
If Boom weren’t such an unrelenting d-bag when it comes to his alma mater, I wouldn’t take nearly as much pleasure in beating him as I do when we do, which is almost always at this point (1-5).
You have to wonder if he acts this way more out of jealousy of never having been seriously considered as head coach material in Athens, between the settling for mediocrity coach who was here before and the snot-nosed punk he helped coach up as a Senior who is now running show. It would fit with his personality profile. The thing is, South Cackalacky’s ceiling is 9-4; MAYBE 10-3. What he was able to do last year showed he can be a very good coach.
I wouldn’t be surprised if and when UNC decides they want to actually compete with the big boys every year and spend some of that money they have (The North Carolina way is eerily similar to The Georgia Way right down to the design of the football stadiums), that Boom would be their first choice to turn it around. Or if Coach O flames out in Baton Rouge (more likely now that he interfered with and fired a great offensive coordinator and replaced him with a mehffensive coordinator), I could definitely see them look at Boom winning 9 games two years in a row in Roostertown and decide he’s their guy (his previous ties to the program’s early 2000’s heyday also being a plus).
Think of it. Saban retires in a couple of years, and it’s Boom at LSU and Kirby at UGA for the SEC’s soul almost every year. That would be a lot of fun.
LikeLike
The UNC football stadium was designed by the same guys who designed Sanford. Apparently, those guys did several stadiums around the south.
LikeLike
Barnhart sez:
“Count on Georgia to be the preseason favorite coming out of media days….but look out for Muschamp and the Gamecocks in an early season test. South Carolina is always ready to play in Columbia and will give Jake Fromm and the Dawgs all they can handle”
LikeLike
“South Carolina is always ready to play in Columbia”
http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400933937
LikeLike
I think we’re gonna win the game and do so with little sweat. While last year’s game was the only East game that wasn’t over by the fourth quarter, it never really made me sweat. If Godwin hadn’t fumbled, we might have won it going away. My fear isn’t so much losing to them, it’s that we do what they did in 2012 and 2011, lose to LSU and Auburn, then watch them get the East due to their easier schedule. I don’t think it’ll happen. Heck, I’m not even sure they’ll be better than Florida. While our schedule looks fairly easy now, it’s still got the potential to be very tough. Would not be shocked at all to see SCU, LSU, Auburn, UF and Tech ranked at the end of the year.
LikeLike
Agree
LikeLike
Its a shame Georgia doesn’t suspend players for getting arrested anymore. How many times has Patrick been arrested for drugs? On one hand its nice that I don’t have to read how Georgia “does things the right way unlike other SEC schools” on the other hand it makes early season games much tougher.
LikeLike
You mean like his four game suspension during last season and then also being suspended from the National Championship?
LikeLike
Exactly. I really hate to think about the “what-ifs” had he played out the season.
LikeLike
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Stephen Garcia, anyone?
LikeLike
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me six times, shame on me.
LikeLike
Easy to see how SC gets the attention as a tough game, our schedule isn’t exactly full of tough games in 2018. They are a decent team, but hardly a “very good” team. SC lost a lot on defense, and has only one top talent guy on offense. Yes, they will play us hard in Columbia, but UGA may as well get used to having a target on our back.
We won’t know enough before late August to be confident about how we stack up, but looking at the talent, and experience, both teams have, I would be surprised if we don’t win by double digits. Fair to say their schedule makes them a contender in the East, but only if we slip. Our offense will be too much for the teams on our schedule (always subject to key injuries at the wrong time.)
LikeLike
Starting line in Vegas on “Muschamp and Smart are close friends” references during CBS telecast is +100
LikeLike
I’ll take the over.
LikeLike
My first thought was “drinking game”, but I’d like to see who won without having to watch the replay.
LikeLike
Honestly, the games that we are ‘supposed’ to win do not worry me anymore. This is a new era. SC has enough talent to keep things close the first half but we will win this game confidently. I agree with some posts above – just because it’s the toughest East team on the schedule, doesn’t mean it will actually be ‘tough’.
LikeLike
From a talent standpoint, we should beat USCjr like a rented mule.
LikeLike
The Austin Peay playbook is going to extremely vanilla.
Kirby’s on the mother.
LikeLike
They’ll go between 3-5 and 5-3 depending on how all of their close games break, so no, it won’t be a big deal.
LikeLike
We’ll kick their ass. Next question.
LikeLike
The chickens shall be steamrolled. We are on a an ass kicking tour to Atlanta in 2018. No mercy shall be shown even to chickens and Kirby shall be unleashing hell at his command.
LikeLike
I think our offensive philosophy, and returning 4 starters on the OL, matches up well against boom’s defensive approach. It’s up to the D to get a good pass rush on Bentley. But we should win by about 10 points – say 24-14.
LikeLike
This is the one home game we chose to go to last season. They played us tough but the game never really looked to be in doubt from the stands. They scored 10 pts against us. Is their a reason to think their offense will be improved?
I did think we looked a bit flat on offense but this game was sandwiched between the Fl and Au games.
LikeLike
Based on how talented the roster is, South Carolina should be the second best team in the East next year. But there will be a significant gap between second (USC) and first (UGA).
And there is a definite difference in the two teams’ Western opponents. Unlike USC in Columbia, LSU in Baton Rouge is usually a significant test. And I’m betting that the LSU game will be at night.
So yes, if USC can beat UGA (where they will be an underdog), they will likely be favored in the rest of their conference games. But UGA with a loss to USC may not be favored against either Auburn or LSU.
LikeLike
CBS will likely make it the 3:30 game. I haven’t looked at the schedule for the week, but generally when we have played the Corn Dogs, CBS wants to be there.
LikeLike
I don’t think there is much difference between SC, FU, or Mizzou, so I wouldn’t put them as 2nd best, although they could end up there. Agree there is a major difference in the West match ups, but it doesn’t mean they will win either game. They are very thin in several spots and don’t start out with a talent advantage over many. Just not worried all that much about them against us, but any loss head to head in the division puts you in a hole. The only edge I see is they are catching us before we may have solidified our defense, although their offense doesn’t look to have many stars to take advantage of our new starters. Think we would have to hand them one to not win.
LikeLike