Another tough opponent on the way as Gamecocks visit Athens
By Don Stone - Football Atlanta
Overlooked in the difficult loss at the Georgia Dome on
Saturday was the fact that they were facing the #5 team in the nation. Boise
State wasn't just some cupcake Mountain West team. They were a highly ranked
team who very likely could wind up with an undefeated 12-0 season and may be
playing for the national championship. Spearheading that success is
quarterback Kellen Moore who may set
the all time NCAA passing record and who came in second in the Heisman
voting last year behind Cam Newton.
Moore pretty much had his way against the UGA defense.
He completed 28-of-34 passes with three touchdowns and one interception. No
defenders got to him for a sack or, for that matter, much pressure. It
seemed like, every time a catch was made, no Bulldog was within five feet of
it. And most continued carrying the ball for five or ten yards after the
catch in the 35-21 loss.
But, some believe the Broncos would win the SEC East if
they were playing in it this season.
That being said, it was not pretty. My son and I took
the game in at Wild Wing Cafe in Alpharetta with a pretty lukewarm
enthusiastic fan base in attendance. Not a whole lot of noise or excitement
in the crowd. Of course, having the wide screen drive-in type screen crash
to the ground in the parking lot for thirty minutes didn't help. Nor did the
Journey cover band doing sound checks in the main room during all of half
time and into the first eight minutes of the second half.
The band actually began their after the game set with
ten minutes to go in the game. Staff shooed us out into the parking lot to
watch the final minutes of the game.
Maybe the Dawgs were distracted by all of that. We've
heard about every other excuse from disappointed fans. Couldn't hurt to toss
that one in.
But, that's the past. Still a lot of season left. No
time to dwell on that as the real season begins with Georgia's first SEC
opponent coming into Sanford Stadium this weekend. It doesn't get any easier
#12 ranked South Carolina. Dating back to the first AP poll in 1936, Georgia
had never opened the season against two top 20 teams (or top 25 for that
matter) until this year. On top of that, they're the defending SEC East
Division Champion.
A key missing piece in the game will be inside
linebacker Alex Ogletree, who went
down with a foot injury against Boise State and will likely miss 4-6 weeks.
Walk-on Jeremy Sulek
will take over for Ogletree. Offsetting that will be the return of
linebacker Bacarri Rambo, who was
suspended for the first game for violating team rules. Also injured is
offensive guard Kenarious Gates, who
injured his leg. His status is uncertain.
The Gamecocks had it a bit easier in their season
opener against East Carolina. They did get down 16-0 against the Pirates
with Stephen Garcia starting the game on the bench. But, once in the game,
he the team rallied for a 56-37 win over the Pirates.
The last four meetings between South Carolina and
Georgia have been decided by 11 points or less with both teams winning two
games apiece.
Here are more game notes from GeorgiaDogs.com...http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090511aaf.html
Kickoff is Saturday at 4:30pm. It will be televised on
ESPN. Radio on the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network and ESPN Radio. TV Replay
is Sunday at 11:00am and Wednesday at 2:00pm on CSS.
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