The No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs did exactly what a team as talented as it is should do to an undermanned South Carolina team. The Bulldogs hit on big plays in the running game and passing game. It harassed a freshman quarterback all night.

And Georgia ultimately came away with a 45-16 victory in Columbia, S.C. It was a complete performance for the Georgia starters and perhaps the best of the season. And it helps avenge a 20-17 loss to South Carolina in Athens,Ga., in 2019.

Georgia didn’t take long to get started, as it scored on its first three possessions of the game to race out to a 21-0 lead. With the win, Georgia moves to 6-2 on the season, while South Carolina drops to 2-7. The Bulldogs have their final home game of the season against Vanderbilt next week.

Below are some of the observations and takeaways from the Georgia win.

JT Daniels doesn’t replicate success against Mississippi State

Many wondered how quarterback JT Daniels would follow-up his 401-yard performance against South Carolina. Surely, the Gamecocks wouldn’t use the same coverage strategy that Mississippi State did.

Daniels didn’t post those eye-popping numbers, as he had just 139 yards in the game on 16 attempts. But Georgia also didn’t ask him to do nearly as much, given the success in the running game.

Daniels’ first touchdown pass came on the opening drive of the game as he connected with Tre’ McKitty for a touchdown, his first as a Bulldog. McKitty also had a 40-yard catch on the drive as well.

His second came on the first play of the fourth quarter, as Daniels hit a wide-open Arian Smith for the touchdown. The catch was the first of Smith’s career after the speedy wide receiver missed time due to a preseason knee injury.

Daniels did throw his first interception as a Bulldog, but he was a bit unlucky in that aspect as the ball hit Kearis Jackson in the hands, only for South Carolina’s Jammie Robinson to make an incredible play. Daniels did have a third-quarter pass that should’ve been picked though, so it evens out.

The Georgia passing offense wasn’t quite as crisp as it was a week ago. Daniels underthrew Jermaine Burton for what would’ve been a long pass play in the second quarter. Then in the third quarter, Burton was unable to come up with a Daniels pass that would’ve been a touchdown. This was just Daniels’ second start after a nearly 15-month layoff, so maybe with some more in-game reps, Daniels and the wide receivers can continue to fine-tune the passing offense.

The South Carolina performance wasn’t the laser show that Daniels had against Mississippi State. But when you run for 7.2 yards per carry, you don’t need Daniels and company to be great.

Georgia ground game bounces back in a big way

Georgia had just eight yards rushing against Mississippi State a week ago. In the days after the game, Kirby Smart emphasized that the offensive line got its behind kicked.

Against South Carolina, the Bulldogs seemed to respond to what Smart had to say as Georgia ran for 208 yards in the opening half. The Bulldogs got explosive runs from the likes of James Cook and Zamir White.

The two third-year running backs both had multiple touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Cook had a career day on the ground, as he ran for 104 yards in the win. He flashed some of his explosive abilities by ripping off runs of 44 and 29 yards, the second of which went for a touchdown.

Georgia finished the game with 332 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs received meaningful reps out of backups Kenny McIntosh and Daijun Edwards as well. White finished with 84 yards, Mcintosh had 79 and Edwards touted 77. Kendall Milton missed his second consecutive game with an MCL injury, but there is a chance he returns against Vanderbilt next week.

Between the running backs and the offensive line — Georgia started Jamaree Salyer, Justin Shaffer, Trey Hill, Ben Cleveland and Warren McClendon — it was a much-needed bounce-back effort for the group.

Georgia pass rush gets home, a lot

South Carolina freshman Luke Doty made his first career start on Saturday night. He did some nice things in the first half and helped South Carolina score 10 points in the second quarter on the Georgia defense.

But thanks to being staked to a 21-0 lead, Doty was under siege for much of the night. The Bulldogs finished with 4.0 sacks. It wasn’t just one Georgia defender having a monster night. Jermaine Johnson had a sack. Azeez Ojulari had one as well. Channing Tindall added on as well in his return home to Columbia, S.C.

Johnson now has sacks in five straight games and ranks third in the conference in sacks. Ojulari, meanwhile, ranks second in the conference now with 5.5 sacks.

In all, four Georgia defenders finished with sacks. Georgia has done a much better job of getting after the quarterback this season compared to what it did in 2018 and 2019. With three games left in the season, Georgia has 24 sacks compared to picking up 31 in 14 games last year and 24 in 14 contests in 2018.

If there was one complaint about the Georgia defense, it was that South Carolina tight end Nick Muse had a career night. The tight end finished with eight catches and 131 yards as well as a fourth-quarter touchdown.

The D’Wan Mathis question

There was some quarterback drama before the game, as D’Wan Mathis did not make the trip to South Carolina, and he may not be on the team much longer. According to a report from 247Sports’ Jake Rowe, Mathis is expected to enter the transfer portal. Though when reached by DawgNation, Mathis’ father Terence could not confirm that.

Mathis started Georgia’s first game of the season against Arkansas. He also came on in relief for an injured Stetson Bennett against Florida. On the season, he completed 12 of his 30 pass attempts while throwing one touchdown to three interceptions. But after the strong play from Daniels, the writing seems to be on the wall for Mathis.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart will undoubtedly be asked about Mathis in his postgame press conference. Mathis is a redshirt freshman after he missed the entire 2019 season due to brain surgery. 

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