South Carolina vs Georgia: GABA Staff Predictions

The Gamecocks improved to 6-2 against Vandy and now we’re bringing you our predictions on how they’ll do against #1 Georgia.

Thomas: Part of me wants me to believe we’ll be competitive and keep it close, part of me wants to guess a blowout. I think we’ll cover the spread, but lose by about two touchdowns. I just think Michel and Chubb will end up being too good, and Fromm will make some good plays and be the game manager he is. Unless he just throws INTs and their backs have an awful day, I don’t see this going too well. It’ll be respectable. 32-18 Bulldogs. First loss I’ve predicted. I hope I’m wrong.

DEMETRI: Logic says this one should be pretty lopsided. Vegas says this one should be pretty lopsided. If things break exactly the way the universe says they should, this will be a three score victory for the Dawgs, but USC and UGA have a way of slugging it out to low scoring, tight contests against one another. So let’s just look at what is in front of us and do our best to come up with a score that makes sense. UGA isn’t going to have to throw much. Bentley will have to be damn near perfect, which he is capable of in big games. My biggest question is not whether Rico and AJ break off big runs in this game. I am sure they can. I just don’t know that they can do it consistently enough for Bentley to catch UGA’s DBs napping. I am going UGA 24-16.

Chris: Let me preface this blurb by saying predicting the Georgia-South Carolina score in any year is like trying to build a perpetual motion machine out of matches and pine tar. Point being it’s a hopeless, pointless endeavor. This game has produced some very stupid results in the past, from 2007’s 16-12 win for Carolina or 2002’s 13-7 win for Georgia. This seems like one of those years where both sides would set up for another stupid result. Georgia is No. 1 -- powered by an elite defense and an offense that produces big plays thanks to an elite stable of backs paired with a surprisingly good season from frosh QB Jake Fromm. South Carolina is a 4-4 team masquerading as a 6-2 team -- a big play preventing defense dragging along an offense that’s survived on a decent passing game. On paper, Georgia should wipe South Carolina off the face of the earth. So with that being said, I’ve got a 35-14 score for Georgia. Will that be the case? Most certainly not.

Kody: South Carolina has played some wild games against Georgia over the past decade-plus, and more than a few of those were great performances that came against long odds. To that end, I understand why some of the more optimistic among us are feeling like USC is primed for the upset. But all I can see when I look at this game is 2015, when the Gamecocks went to Athens and got tattooed 52-20 in a game that wasn’t even as close as that score appears. Yes, South Carolina was starting Perry Orth at quarterback and went on to have a dismal losing season, but No. 7 Georgia was starting Greyson Lambert and simply needed the dynamic duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel to carve up the Gamecocks. And hey, guess who’s still in school at Georgia, even though it feels like they’ve been tormenting South Carolina for a century? And not only that, but guess who has some new friends in Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift? South Carolina’s defense is much better than the last time these teams played between the hedges, but the Gamecocks still have a long way to go. 42-13 Bulldogs.

Katie: If you’ve been reading our predictions all season, you already know I’m going to predict the Gamecocks somehow pull off an upset victory. This is, of course, because I think it would be really cool and I don’t like to watch South Carolina lose, not because I think there’s much likelihood of a win actually happening. There were all sorts of upsets last weekend (like my other alma mater Northwestern in triple overtime WHAT), so I really hope the Gamecocks can pull off one of their own this weekend. That being said, I don’t have a lot of confidence in that happening, so I’ll start collecting cute animal gifs for the live-tweeting (I think we’re gonna have to skip puppies for obvious reasons this week).

Kaci: Like Katie, I am choosing to ignore logic and stay on brand as an optimist even in the face of huge odds against the Gamecocks. Crazier upsets have happened, although Carolina pulling off a win would rank pretty high on the list. But I don’t think it’s completely unreasonable to think the Gamecocks can keep the game closer than expected and if they can keep it close then a couple of lucky breaks can win it. So here is my ridiculous prediction: USC benefits from a couple of turnovers, including a defensive score, and wins 27-24.