Our Digital Season: Week 3—South Carolina at Georgia

Welcome back! Last week, ODS predicted a rousing overtime victory for the DigiCocks, which proved to be in stark contrast to the deflating regular-ass time loss the IRL squad suffered. So let's not talk about that!

Instead, we hand the reins to DIGIORTH who will make his first career start between the hedges in Athens. DigiGeorgia is better than DigiUSC on all fronts, according to the ratings. This is probably true IRL as well.

1st Quarter, or THROW THE LONG BALL

Georgia wins the toss and will receive. Kick returned to the 27.

Lambert will throw on first and hit Rome for a quick 9.5. Then it's DigiChubb who, hey, loses a yard and then 4 more on 3rd when Skai Moore charges into the backfield. Just lack that, it's 3 and out for UGA. Pharoh returns the punt to the 30.

DigiOrth takes the snap, and will pass—and, uh, his first pass is a 71 yard touchdown strike to Pharoh Cooper. Huh. 7-0, Cocks.

Touchback. Two quick, short yardage passes make for a 1st. Then it's Lambert to Mitchell on the sideline—he gets one block, and that's all he needs. It's a 61 yard touchdown, 7 all.

1st and 10 at the 25. Jump to 3rd and 3, when Orth finds Jeffery for a 13 yard gain on the post route. Again Orth will throw, this time to Adams, who bullies his way across the line to gain. On the very next play, Orth AGAIN hits Pharoh on a go route—it's a 44 yard touchdown for the DigiCocks. 14-7.

Georgia begins its drive at the 33, and move steadily towards midfield. Lambert's 6/6 for 103 after completing a 9 yarder to Rome. Chubb follows with his first gain of substance, a 9-yarder around the edge. Jump to 3rd and 1 on the DigiCock 28 yard line. I formation, and fullback Quayvon Hicks will get just enough to move the chains. Then Lambert finds Mitchell for 15—or did he! They're reviewing it. Looks like he was out. Hell yeah he was. 5 wide on 2nd and 10, and McWilliams breaks up the pass. But on 3rd, it's a screen to Chubb and he gets just enough. 1st and 10 inside the 20. Jump to 3rd and 5 after Isaiah Johnson upends Chubb in the backfield. It's another screen, but this time the Cocks snuff it out and it's 4th and 8. The Dawgs will settle for a field goal, and it's 14-10, Cocks, with :58 left in the 1st.

Touchback, and we are informed that all 146 yards of DigiCock offense have come via the pass. That continues to be the case, as Orth completes 3 consecutive passes for a total of 19 yards. Then 16 more to Pharoh, and that will end the quarter.

2nd Quarter, or TURNIN OVER

After a negative pass gain and an incompletion (Orth's first) it's 3rd and 12. A secreen to Wilds goes nowhere, and a promising drive dies. Punt, out of  bounds at the 12.

Jump to 2nd and short. Play action, and Lambert will heave one—it's picked! Al Harris Jr.! South Carolina will take over at its own 41.

Orth continues to sling it, prompting DigiBrandon Wilds to throw up his hands in frustration (so I imagine). Jump to 3rd and a long 1 on the UGA 32. Orth is hit as he throws and the ball floats into the stands. It's 4th and 1, and DigiSpurrier will trot out DigiFreisman for the 49 yarder. Splits it. 17-10, SC, 4:42 remaining in the half.

After a touchback, 2 quick passes gain 10 and a 1st down for UGA. Lambert's relying heavily on passes to the flat and underneath. Ball at midfield. Lambert drops back, has all day—D-line's been getting absolutely no push—and he finally finds Mitchell for a big gain. 1st and 10 at the SC 28. Play action, and Lambert hits Godwin, but a thunderous hit by Isaiah Johnson jars it loose, and it's Al Harris Jr. on the recovery! He returns it to the 27.

1st and 10, and Perry Orth will keep it on a zone read (gulp) but gain 10 yards (yay). Then a quick, ill-advised screen pass to Pharoh is swatted down. Jump to 3rd and 4. 5 wide. Orth to Heard for a gain of 12! Orth's up to 224 yards passing on the day. Empty backfield, and Orth botches one—short lob into traffic, and it's intercepted by Smith. Georgia takes over at its own 36.

Then Lambert almost throws a pick—McWilliams would have had six had he held on. The next play Lambert atones, finding Godwin for 18. Then again to Godwin for 10 more. McWilliams drops another pick. Jump to 3rd and 7 at the DigiCock 32. A 2-yard reception brings up a field goal attempt. UGA will let the clock tick—evidently SC has no interest in stopping it, despite having 3 timeouts and getting the ball out of the half. The 47 yard field goal is up and good. 17-13.

Touchback, and SC will run it into the pile. Congrats, DigiBrandon Wilds, you got a touch.

HALFTIME ANALYSIS

Running the ball is butt, basically. For real: the teams have run the ball 12 times between them. South Carolina's run it three times. Both quarterbacks are putting up garish numbers—Orth's 17/22 for 226 yards, Lambert's 12/24 for 211. UGA's two turnovers loom large, but Orth's ugly pick snuffed out a promising drive. Pharoh's already got 140 yards receiving, by the way.

3rd Quarter, or AND NOW WE RUN

UGA will kick it, and Deebo takes it from the lip of the endzone. And oh boy, he almost breaks one, but was tackled by the heel at the 41 yard line. 1st and 10, and Wilds runs it (!) for 9. Then it's Orth to Heard for 9 more. 1st and 10 at the UGA 41. I formation, and Wilds gets it off-tackle for 5 yards. Jump to 3rd and 1. Bedenbaugh gains 3 on the fullback dive, 1st down. Then Wilds knifes ahead for 8—what's with the groundgame all of a sudden? After a short Orth scramble, it's 3rd and inches. He'll scramble again for 5, and it's 1st and 10 on the UGA 15. David Williams gains 4 up the gut, then 3 more. Orth will pass on 3rd, and he has to throw it away. Freisman on again—3 points inside the redzone (IRL alert). 20-13, DigiCocks.

McKenzie returns the kickoff for just 16, so Georgia will have a long field. They move steadily towards midfield on a few Lambert to Rome connections, but a holding penalty sets them back near the 35. Jump to 3rd and inches at the SC 47, and Chubb will lose yards! UGA will punt, and it bounds through the endzone.

1st and 10 SC at the 20. Halfback delay, and Wilds will gain 8. He's got 6 rushes now, and is averaging more than 5 a carry. Jump to 3rd and short, where Orth keeps it and gains 5—1st down! 5 wide, and Orth goes underneath to Jeffery for 9. Wilds runs for 5 more and a 1st. Then it's to Jerell Adams for 13, and the DigiCocks have moved into enemy territory. Orth lingers in the pocket, rolls out, and is sacked for the 1st time all game. That's how the quick quarter will end.

4th Quarter, or HEY A 4TH QUARTER MELTDOWN COOL

Orth will connect with Jeffery and gain those 6 back, so it's 3rd and 10. And once again, he finds Pharoh on the go route! A 26 yard completion, and it's 1st and 10 on the UGA 14. Orth gains 9.99999 yards on the QB keeper. I-formation, Georgia loads the line, Wilds gets just 2, but it's a fresh set of downs. Orth keeps one he should have given up on a zone read and loses 3. Wilds gets all 3 back, so it's 3rd and 3 on the UGA 2. Give to David Williams—and he storms in! Touchdown, SC! It's 27-13, Cocks, and UGA needs to make its move.

A 42 yard kickoff return will help—UGA starts at its own 40. Lambert throws it away on 1st, but scrambles through an aimless defense for 16. 1st and 10 at the SC 44. Chubb rumbles for 9, then the pass to Rome gains 7 and a 1st. Sony Mitchell embarrasses three defenders on a screen pass and gains 12. 9 more to Godwin. Chubb gets 5 (although he's only averaging 2.7 per.) 1st and goal, UGA. After a short gain and a loss, it's 3rd and goal from the 6. Georgia can't get it in, so a crucial 4th down is upcoming. UGA is on the 2. Handoff to Mitchell goes off-tackle and runs in untouched. 27-20, South Carolina. Just 2:39 remains. All timeouts on the board.

Touchback, and we'll see how the DigiCocks play it. Jump to 3rd and 7—we're under 2 minutes and UGA's called one timeout. Obvious screenpass is obvious, so obvious Perry Orth gets sacked for an enormous loss. That drive couldn't have gone much worse. UGA fields the punt and will take over at the SC 46.

Lambert finds Mitchell underneath for 15. 5 wide. And just like that, it's Lambert to Mitchell again. Touchdown, tie game, 27-27.

After the touchback, it's 1st and 10 SC with 1:28 remaining. All 3 timeouts too. A screen pass to Wilds works—oh snap, he's hurt. But he gains 9.5. Another screen pass—SC's 3rd straight—gains a couple yards. Cool but maybe no more of those for a while. Orth with time—tries to force one into quintuple coverage and it's batted down. Jump to a huge 3rd and 8 upcoming. Uh—they're letting the clock run down. Despite being in 5 wide. And having all 3 timeouts. What are they doing, fam? 9 seconds remain. Pass incomplete with 2 seconds left, and they'll punt. What the hell.

Watch this be returned for a TD. Nah. Nothin' happens, and we go to OT.

Overtime, or GOAL LINE FRACAS

Georgia wins the toss, so South Carolina takes the field first. Orth promptly throws another almost-pick—he's played much worse late in the game. But Wilds gains 7 on 2nd. On 3rd, Orth finds Jeffery underneath, who strongarms his way to the 1 yard line! 1st and goal. I-formation, and a fake-fullback handoff (he would have scored easily) pitch to Wilds loses one yard. I-form again. This time it's an actual FB handoff—he gains 2.

3rd and goal at the 1. Holy shit Perry Orth DROPS BACK out of the I formation. THEN SCRAMBLES. Yet somehow, he falls forward into the endzone—touchdown. 34-27, DigiCocks. Just gotta stop 'em.

UGA opts for a screen to Chubb on 1st, and it actually loses 2. A sideline pass to Chubb—no one's around him, but he steps out and it's 3rd and 11. Then, Philip Dukes finds an opportune time for South Carolina's first sack of the game. It's now 4th and 18. 5 wide. Lambert hits McKenzie well short of the line to gain.

But he breaks a tackle. He breaks another tackle. Oh my god. And another.

But alas, he is dragged down about six inches shy of the line to gain. Game. Over.

South Carolina defeats Georgia, 34-27. I CAN ONLY TELL YOU WHAT THE GAME TELLS ME.

SC	STAT	GA
403	Total Yards	393
327	Pass Yards	338
76	Rush Yards	55
1 INT	Turnovers	1 INT, 1 FUM
9/14	3DC	4/10
P. Orth: 28/38, 327 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT, 9 ATT, 15 YDS, 1 TD	OPOTG	M. Mitchell: 5 REC, 149 YDS, 2 TD
A. Harris Jr.: 5 TACK, 1 INT, 1 FR	DPOTG	L. Floyd: 8 TACK, 1 TFL, 1 SACK

So basically if Georgia only gives it to their stable of impossibly talented running backs less than 15 times we should be okay. Uh...but hey, how about them DigiCocks? 3-0!