Will Vols Upset Oklahoma? Who Wins Georgia-S. Carolina? Week 3 Vegas SEC Predictions Here
Saturday Blitz Vegas SEC Predictions Week 3
Game of the Week
No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs at No. 24 South Carolina Gamecocks
Line: Georgia by 6
The SEC on CBS is back! Now here’s where the college football fun really begins. It opens with an always-interesting match-up with Georgia-South Carolina. The Dawgs ended a losing streak to the Gamecocks last year and are riding high coming off a bye week after opening the season with a 45-21 blowout win against Clemson and launching Todd Gurley’s Heisman campaign. South Carolina, meanwhile, regrouped with a 33-23 win over East Carolina after getting blown out in their opener against Texas A&M and could get back on track quickly with a win Saturday. Could Spurrier lose two games at home in September?
For the Dawgs, getting Gurley involved as much as possible is obviously key to victory, but not as much as you would think. You want him to run the ball and make plays on special teams, but the Gamecocks transition to a 3-4 defense invites major errors in the secondary, which showed against the Aggies. That means it’s time for senior quarterback Hutson Mason, who patiently waited his turn to start and had modest but efficient numbers against Clemson, to show he can replace Aaron Murray and take over games. He’ll want to use Gurley in the passing game since this is an all purpose back, but he’ll also want to spread the ball around and exploit the confusion that still seems to face the South Carolina defense.
The Gamecocks, meanwhile, have got to stop having mental lapses on defense. That is indeed hard to do with the 3-4 switch, but it can’t happen if they’re going to win Saturday. Dylan Thompson has got to be better as well. After looking bad against Texas A&M, he looked okay, but not great, against East Carolina, going 25 of 38 for 266 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. If Georgia forces you into passing situations, they’re unbeatable, as they did with Cole Stoudt and Clemson in the opener. But if they keep the game close, a balanced offense could throw them off, and that depends on how accurate Thompson is. It hasn’t shown so far, but it will need to show for the Gamecocks to win this game.
Prediction
South Carolina is better than it showed against Texas A&M, but it won’t appear that way after this weekend. The Gamecocks are still adjusting to a new defense while Georgia is set on offense, and once they get down early and are forced to pass, the combination of Thompson’s inaccuracy and the Dawgs stellar defense will be too much. Even the Ol’ Ball Coach’s genius won’t be able to save them, and Mason will finally make a name in his own right with a very impressive passing game. Yes, Spurrier loses at home twice in September this year.
Georgia: 31 South Carolina: 20