Post Game Quotes

UGA Sports Communications

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart   

Thoughts on the game: 

“That’s how games are in the SEC – physical. South Carolina has a really good football team.”

On opening with an onside kick: 

“The defense saved the ol’ ball coach there. But we said all week we were going to be aggressive. We saw something and felt it was there and felt it was the right thing to do. South Carolina made a heck of a play. Thankfully our defense stopped them and they missed a field goal. That was a good stop.” 

On South Carolina’s third-down conversions: 

“We’ve got to find some answers on third down. We just couldn’t get off the field. Their coaches put them in good situations. We’ve got to do a better job of affecting the quarterback and getting off the field.”

On the Offensive Balance: 

“We always want to be balanced. Sometimes the other team dictates what you do with the RPOs. Jake Fromm does a good job managing that.”

On what it takes to win: 

“It takes what it takes. If you want to be great, there’s a certain criteria you have to do.”

On shutting out the external noise:

“The team has done a good job. We’ll have to continue to do that. The noise will get louder and the teams will get better and everyone will give us their best shot. It’s about how we prepare, so we’ve got to focus on that first. … It makes the game easier on Saturday if we make it difficult on them during the week.”

On what he told Will Muschamp after the game: 

“Will is a really good football coach. He knows how to manage the game and the clock. He has a tough, physical team, and I told him that. I expect them to win out.”

On Mecole Hardman: 

“He’s grown up and he has more confidence. That touchdown was a huge play in the game, probably the play of the game. He’s improving. He’s a great competitor.”

Senior TB Sony Michel

On the score being closer than usual late in the game: 

“We expect games like this. Every game we go into, we expect a fourth quarter game and we also want to be in games like this. We know we’re not invincible. We’ve gotta keep going. We’ve gotta keep chopping. We’ve gotta be able to play those fourth-quarter games.”

On South Carolina as a team: 

“They brought what I expected. Those guys came out here and played some good football. We knew they were gonna play physical, they were gonna be fast, and that’s exactly what they did.”

On Jake Fromm’s block that freed him to score his 1st-quarter TD: 

“That block, that was a key block right there. I needed that block. As soon as he made that block, I knew I was gonna score. He does that [blocks] all the time. If he doesn’t have the ball in his hands, he’s running down field trying to make plays.”

Senior WR Javon Wims

On his confidence in Jake Fromm and the passing game: 

“I knew he [Fromm] could throw the ball. We throw as much as we run in practice. We all know he can throw the ball.”

On waiting for his TD catch to be confirmed by replay: 

“I just had to wait for them to confirm it. I was telling all my guys, ‘I was in and I caught it.’”

On patience in trusting the offensive game plan:

“We just keep pounding the rock, receivers we just keep blocking. If there are plays to be made, we try to make those plays.

Redshirt soph. DB J.R. Reed 

On the defense holding firm in a tight game: 

“Whether it’s a big lead or not a big lead, we go out there and we want to stop a team every time.’’

On Third Downs: 

“We try to get teams to 3rd and long and attack them there. They’re a good team and they made some plays early on, but I thought we responded in stopping them.”

On fourth-quarter confidence and composure:

“We always have the same confidence through the whole game. Our confidence in our motto is: we’re gonna go out and stop any team, create turnovers and get after those guys.”
 
USC head coach Will Muschamp

General thoughts on the game: 

"Georgia's got a really good football team. Kirby's done a fantastic job. I'm really proud of our team, the way we competed and fought. At the end of the day, the difference in the game was their running backs and third downs."

On Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm:

"We made Jake Fromm play quarterback. And I compliment Jake, he played extremely well tonight. He was very accurate with the football."

On South Carolina’s third-down defense:

"[Fromm] made a couple nice throws in tight coverage. They made plays, they made some plays. I thought we were in position at times, and he made some throws in tight coverage. They made some plays. To win these types of games, those are the types of plays you have to make."

On UGA running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel: 

"They had way too many yards. At the end of the day, we didn't make some tackles. Good backs make you miss. We've got bring our feet a little better at times and we've got to finish on the ball carrier better at times. But again, when you don't get off the field on third downs, that'll be an issue."

On Georgia’s onside kick to start the game: 

"That was an aggressive play on their part, and obviously they've got great confidence in their defense, if they were willing to put the ball at midfield and play good defense and get out of it."

On Georgia’s defense: 

"We had trouble running the ball consistently, but we did get some things in the second half. Jake [Bentley] was under duress, but we gave up [a couple sacks] to a team that does a really good job of rushing the pass. And they've got a lot of veteran players on defense. Those guys have been playing for a long time, so credit to that football team. 

Quarterback Jake Bentley 

General thoughts on the game: 

"Their defense, there’s not many teams that can run the ball and we knew that coming in. We knew we had to be efficient in the pass game to give us a chance. We could have executed a lot of things better but it’s hard when the ball gets away from you.’’

Positives from the game: 

“We competed hard and you didn’t see anyone give up or backing down. We really came out and we played hard and if you look at the game there’s a couple plays here and there and the game would have been different. A lot of stuff could have happened and if it had happened for us maybe it would have been different. Just the way we competed, we competed really hard.”

On having two safeties up high:

“It’s not necessary hard as far as a normal defense. They just played what we saw on film. That;s what they did. They’re good and they didn’t try to mix it up really much at all. They’re a great defense. We go against two safeties all the time at practice.”

Wide Receiver Bryan Edwards 

General thoughts on the game: 

“It’s always tough losing a game but we don’t get down on ourselves. We stay together as a team and we’re not going to repeat mistakes twice.”

Linebacker Skai Moore

On Georgia’s running backs: 

“They run their feet and they’re tough runners. I just feel like we definitely should have just tackled better and it wasn’t anything special but we should have tackled better.”

On fatigue as a factor:

“It plays a factor but we just have to get on the field faster. We can’t have those moments because it just kills our momentum.  Our main focus is getting on the field and getting the opportunity to be out there.”

On Georgia’s running backs bouncing outside: 

‘’That’s what they were really doing all game. Not necessarily bouncing off the side but finding an open gape whenever and it seemed closed up there. They’re patient backs and what they do, they’re going to sit back there and wait for someone to get there head out of the gap. That’s the main thing we have to stay on our gaps.”

Post Game Notes

UGA Sports Communications

Dawgs Stay Undefeated:

With today’s 24-10 victory over South Carolina, Georgia improves to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the SEC. This marks the first time since 1982 that the Dawgs are 9-0 and the seventh time in school history. The Dawgs have a 50-18-2 advantage in the series history over USC.

Scoring Defense: 

Georgia came in third nationally in Scoring Defense, allowing just 11.9 points a game. Today, the Dawgs held USC to 10 points. Senior ILB Roquan Smith led Georgia with nine stops, including 1.5 sacks, while senior ILB Reggie Carter had seven tackles and a half sack. USC ran 53 plays and tallied 270 total yards (227-passing, 43-rushing). The Dawgs finished with 438 yards of total offense (242-rushing, 196-passing).

Balanced & Methodical Attack: 

Coming into Saturday’s matchup, Georgia had posted only four drives that measured 10 or more plays in its 38 touchdown drives. Today, the Dawgs’ first three scoring drives were all 10 or more plays and went 69, 75 and 75 yards. Georgia also had a season-long 15-play scoring drive that resulted in a 20-yard field goal by redshirt sophomore PK Rodrigo Blankenship. Seven different Dawgs carried the ball and eight Georgia players caught passes.

Senior TB Sony Michel scored his ninth touchdown of the season out of the “Wild Dog” alignment on an 8-yard scoring run in the first quarter to put UGA up 7-0. Freshman QB Jake Fromm, who connected with sophomore WR Riley Ridley on a seven-yard strike to put Georgia at the 8-yard line, made the final block that freed up Michel into the end zone. The scoring drive was 11 plays, which matched a season best, 69 yards and lasted 5:30. Earlier in the drive, the Dawgs were on the USC 34 yard line with a 4th-and-1 situation. Senior FB Christian Payne took the handoff and went four yards for a first down. Georgia is now 4-of-7 on fourth downs this season. The Dawgs have now outscored their opponents 97-17 in the first quarter this year.

Senior TB Nick Chubb notched his 22nd career game with at least 100 yards rushing as he ended up with 102 on 20 carries plus had his first reception (a 9-yarder) since the road win versus the Irish. For his career, Chubb ranks 5th among all SEC rushers with 4,291 yards. Michel finished with 81 yards on 16 carries.

Success Through The Air: 

Georgia got it done in the air as well. Jake Fromm went 16-for-22 for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Senior WR Javon Wims caught his fourth touchdown catch of the season (fifth of his career) on a 10 yarder at the 9:27 mark in the second quarter to give Georgia a 14-7 edge. Wims matched his career high with five catches for 46 yards, all coming in the first half. In the third quarter, sophomore WR Mecole Hardman hauled in a 20-yard touchdown, the third of his career, to put Georgia up 21-7. Hardman completed the game with three catches for 41 yards.

Turnovers: 

Georgia is +3 in Turnover Margin this season and was +1 on the day. South Carolina is now +7 on the year. Senior WR Terry Godwin caught his second pass of the game but fumbled on the USC 4 yard line in the first quarter. This broke the Dawgs streak of a perfect 31 straight Red Zone conversions, which led the nation. The Gamecocks were forced to punt three plays later. In the final seconds of the half, redshirt sophomore DB J.R. Reed caught his second interception of the year. Georgia had time to run one play and it finished as an incomplete pass. With 1:49 left in the contest. Senior Malkom Parrish notched an interception, the fifth of his career. The Dawgs ran out the clock. Opponents have forced 11 turnovers and turned them into 31 points while the Dawgs have forced 14 turnovers and registered 48 points.

Starters: 

Senior OT Aulden Bynum got the nod at tight end for his first start of the year and fourth of his career. Senior OG Dyshon Sims lined up wearing #45 and gave the Dawgs six starting linemen in their opening play of the game. Sims had already started three games this year.

Next Up: 

The Dawgs (9-0, 6-0 SEC) travel to #14 Auburn (6-2, 5-1) to face the Tigers next Saturday. CBS or ESPN will televise the matchup at either 3:30 or 7 p.m.

Dawgs Clinch East With Win Over South Carolina

UGA Sports Communications

Senior tailback Nick Chubb rushed for over 100 yards and freshman quarterback Jake Fromm hit 16-of-22 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns to lead the No. 1 Georgia Dawgs past South Carolina, 24-10, Saturday at Sanford Stadium. 

With Kentucky's loss, the Dawgs win the SEC East Division and will meet the west winner in Atlanta on December 2nd. Georgia improves to 9-0 this season and a perfect 6-0 against Southeastern Conference opponents. This marks the first time since 1982 that the Dawgs are 9-0 and the seventh time in school history. The Gamecocks fall to 6-3 overall, 4-3 in the SEC. 

The Dawgs’ defense, ranked third nationally in scoring defense, continued its impressive run and held South Carolina to just 43 yards rushing and 270 total on the day. Junior linebacker Roquan Smith led Georgia with nine tackles, while J.R. Reed and Malkom Parrish each recorded interceptions Saturday evening. 

“The team has done a good job,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “We’ll have to continue to do that. The noise will get louder and the teams will get better and everyone will give us their best shot. It’s about how we prepare, so we’ve got to focus on that first. It makes the game easier on Saturday if we make it difficult on them during the week.”

The Dawgs started the game with an onside kick, which South Carolina recovered at the 50-yard line. The Gamecocks could not take advantage as the Georgia defense held and USC missed a 46-yard field goal wide right. 

After a fumble by Terry Godwin on Georgia’s first offensive possession, the Dawgs finally got on the board late in the first quarter. With Fromm lined up wide right and Sony Michel behind center, Michel took the snap and ran it in from eight yards out to put his team up 7-0 with 2:21 left in the opening quarter. 

South Carolina had the answer on its first possession of the second quarter as Jake Bentley hit Bryan Edwards to cap off a 10-play, 75-yard drive and even the score at 7-7. 

The Dawgs answered on the next possession when Fromm connected with a tip-toeing Javon Wims on the sideline to put the home team up 14-7. 

A 14-7 lead at the half ballooned to 21-7 thanks to a Fromm to Mecole Hardman 20-yard TD pass on the Dawgs’ first possession of the third quarter. 

Both teams swapped field goals late in the game and the Dawgs held on for the 24-10 win. 

Georgia now travels to Auburn this Saturday to face the Tigers.

Blankenship Named Groza Award Semifinalist

UGA Sports Communications

Photo by Perry McIntyre Jr.

Georgia redshirt sophomore Rodrigo Blankenship has been included on the Lou Groza Place-Kicker Award semifinalist group, according to an announcement from the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.

Blankenship is one of three players from the Southeastern Conference included on the 20-man list for the Groza Award.  Three finalists will be announced on November 21st.  The winner of the Groza will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 7th.

Blankenship, a native of Marietta, has connected on 10 of 11 field goal attempts this year (91 percent), including a 49 yarder that matched his career long, and has drilled all 37 PATs. The 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team member has had 41 touchbacks out of his 56 kickoffs this season.

Practice Report

UGA Sports Communications

The number one ranked Dawgs continued preparations for their upcoming Southeastern Conference clash with South Carolina by conducting a two-hour workout in full pads Wednesday.

The Dawgs (8-0, 5-0 SEC) face South Carolina (6-2, 4-2 SEC) Saturday in Athens. During Wednesday’s SEC Coaches weekly media teleconference, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said the Dawgs are excited to be playing at home again following last week’s victory over Florida in Jacksonville.

“We’ve got a great team coming in to play against, I think a lot of Coach Muschamp and his staff; I’ve worked with a lot of those guys over the years,” said Smart. “I think he (Muschamp) has got a lot of energy at South Carolina and brought a lot of energy to their program. We’re looking forward to a great college environment on Saturday.”

               

Smart was asked if the number one ranking in the initial College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings is a compliment to the work his team and coaching staff has put in this season.

               

“It’s really nothing more than a distraction more than anything, and our kids realize that, and they acknowledge that,” said Smart. “They understand that’s the way of the world, the system we live in, and it’s really built to generate ratings and generate publicity for our sport, but our focus and attention is on South Carolina.”

And on a follow-up question regarding how Georgia has handled playing as a highly-ranked team this year, Smart reiterated that the Dawgs just concentrate on their opponent each week.

“I keep repeating that, but I guess nobody believes us,” Smart added. “I think everybody thinks that maybe we’re just saying that, and we all sit around and just pat ourselves on the back. That’s not what’s going on here. Our kids have been made aware, and it’s been a very common theme for us throughout the year.”

Following Wednesday’s workout, selected Dawgs met with the media and discussed their play, facing the Gamecocks Saturday and the initial College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night that had Georgia in the top spot.

“It’s business as usual, I didn’t hear much about that (the rankings),” said senior running back Nick Chubb. ”We’re keeping focused and need to keep playing the way we’ve been playing. That’s what we came back for. Everybody is doing a good job of taking care of each other.”

“We’re looking forward to playing at home again because there’s nothing like playing Between the Hedges,” said junior tight end Jackson Harris. “We’re working on our fundamentals and just getting ready for Saturday.”

Kickoff between the Dawgs and Gamecocks on Saturday will be at 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports.