No. 3 Georgia will play host to South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in an SEC East showdown in Athens, Georgia. The Bulldogs pulled away from Tennessee last Saturday on Rocky Top, while the Gamecocks kicked their feet up on the couch during their bye week after topping Kentucky two weeks ago.
Coach Kirby Smart has his Bulldogs clicking on all cylinders. Quarterback Jake Fromm is averaging 9.7 yards per attempt, hasn't thrown an interception and has developed chemistry with his young wide receivers over the first month of the season. South Carolina quarterback Ryan Hilinski has had an up and down start to his career since taking over the starting job in Week 2, and is coming off a 140-yard performance against the Wildcats.
What will happen on Saturday afternoon? Let's break down the matchup and make picks straight up and against the spread.
Storylines
Georgia: The Bulldogs lead the conference in rushing with 250 yards per game, and they've been doing it with an all-star cast. D'Andre Swift is the leader, but Brian Herrien and Zamir White have stepped up to make this a three-headed rushing monster that's nearly impossible to stop. They'll go up against a Gamecocks defense that's giving up 5.44 yards per rushing attempt. The Bulldogs have notched 15 sacks this season after posting just 24 in 14 games in 2018. Smart has his team cruising along, solving the issues that prevented a return to a College Football Playoff last season and hopes to continue that success this week.
South Carolina: Hilinski's ascension to the top spot on the depth chart after Jake Bentley's injury has been the dominant storyline around the program during the first month of the season, but it's not the most important one. These Gamecocks can run very well. The one-two punch of Rico Dowdle and Tavien Feaster has proven to be the big play recipe. The Gamecocks are second in the SEC in rushing yards per play at 6.07 and fifth in total rushing at 203.8. Defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw and linebacker D.J. Wonnum are the unquestioned leaders of a talented front seven that has notched 35 tackles for loss this season.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Oct. 12 | Time: Noon ET
Location: Sanford Stadium -- Athens, Georgia
TV: ESPN | Live stream: WatchESPN.com
Game prediction, picks
The Bulldogs are averaging a whopping 7.93 yards per play, and simply wear down opposing teams for a full 60 minutes. The Gamecocks will get a heavy dose of Swift and Herrien, Fromm will work off play action to find star receivers Lawrence Cager and George Pickens and Hilinski simply won't be able to keep up. This will go a lot like last week for Georgia -- feel the opponent out early and bring out the haymakers in the second half. Pick: Georgia (-24.5)
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