Chicken Feast
This week South Carolina comes back to town. The last time they were in Athens they shocked the Dawgs with an OT victory. Sadly, I was there with two of my uncles who are Carolina grads. It was a fun afternoon with family until the final outcome. It just sucked. It was a noon kick. It was hot as all get out even though it was October. The team looked flat all day. Jake Fromm never played worse and turned the ball over multiple times, including once for a pick six. All in all, a terrible game. Then they tore up our hedges.
I don’t like when that happens, but I’ve come to expect it. And the other team should expect a little dose of pain when it does. Last year, after Will Muschamp had been fired by Carolina, we rolled into Columbia for a night game. Normally that would be troublesome, as their home crowd can get pretty raucous. But it was Covid, the stadium was half full, and the team had seemingly quit on the season. Kirby’s old friend Mike Bobo was coaching the team and we just ran through them like a hot knife through butter. The game was never really in doubt.
Now former UGA staffer Shane Beamer is head coach. Last week they escaped with a win against East Carolina. They are coming to Athens for the first full capacity night game since 2019. I’m expecting Notre Dame game levels of loudness. Carolina is either starting someone who was a graduate assistant less than a month ago, or a redshirt freshman. Either way, you can fully expect at least two false start penalties.
We’ve had our own QB injuries this season and now last week’s hero Stetson Bennett IV is dinged up. I don’t think it matters who trots out there for us so long as they don’t turn the ball over. Our defense should overwhelm this thin Carolina team and have the game in hand midway through the third quarter. They have some talent on the DL, but so much of the great players Muschamp accumulated have either gone on to the NFL or transferred. Vegas set the spread higher than our game with UAB, and I expect us to cover it.
UGA 49 USC 6.
