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This SEC East tilt has more than just perhaps an appearance in the SEC title on the line. The BCS implications involved in this game are endless.
The matchup is mouth-watering thanks to a pair of defense that love nothing more than obliterating opposing offenses.
Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall against Marcus Lattimore has every NFL scout drooling these days, and the two ‘Dawgs are just freshman.
Gurley and Marshall have gone bonkers thus far rushing for a combined 964 yards and 14 TD!
Slow down though because Marcus Lattimore is still the baddest man on the planet and he has absolutely owned Georgia’s defense that last two season.
Rushing for 440 yards and 8 TD through five games is nice but try gashing Georgia for 382 yards on 57 touches!
Throw in the three times he has reached paydirt and the Gamecocks have been the toughest opponent for Georgia over the last two seasons (both losses for UGA).
Back to the implications that are on the line though because they are staggering.
While the Florida Gators have a heavyweight battle with LSU, UGA-SC has BCS stakes on the line. The loser all of a sudden goes from BCS title contenders to perhaps out of the BCS all together.
There are five teams from the SEC that are in my top 10, and not all of them are playing each other. This only means that a game like this in Columbia could come down to the wire with so much on the line.
Did I mention this game had Heisman implications as well?
Marcus Lattimore and Aaron Murray are both in the top 10 for the Heisman, but there are also a few dark horses playing in this one too.
Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall have been sensational freshman and SC quarterback Connor Shaw may get some hype if they pull this one out.
Gurley’s numbers are nearly identical to Lattimore despite getting 27 less offensive touches. Gurley has drawn some Trent Richardson comparisons despite the Bulldog being four inches taller.
The talent is scary right now for both of these teams, and we have yet to discuss the defenses.
Both play lights out and have several NFL prospects that may leave their mark at the end of the day. Jarvis Jones of UGA and Jadeveon Clowney of SC can harass SEC offenses with the best of them thanks to their killer speed and instincts for the ball.
Shaw and Murray need to avoid the mistakes to keep their teams in this one, but not enough people are talking about the UGA receivers.
While Shaw has been spectacular when healthy (78.1% passer), Murray has Malcolm Mitchell back at receiver as opposed to defensive back.
Michael Bennett (Note: torn ACL out for season now), Tavarres King and Marlon Brown alongside Mitchell give defenses a ton of different looks. South Carolina’s defense is a legit top 10 caliber on paper, but they have not seen the offense that UGA will throw at them for 60 minutes.
The ‘Dawgs will barely prevail in this one, outlasting Spurrier’s best SC team ever.
Network: ESPN (College Gameday)
Time: 7 p.m. Eastern
Experts Pick: SC by 2.5
Danny V’s Pick: Georgia 27, South Carolina 21
