South Carolina Football: Ranking each game on the Entertainment Scale
South Carolina Football’s No. 9 Most Entertaining Game of 2023:
Georgia Bulldogs
With as good as the Georgia program has become, it’s unrealistic to assume this game will be a nail-biting, one-possession instant classic. Anyone who attended last season’s noon kickoff against the Bulldogs will attest that Georgia is on a completely different level than the rest of the SEC. Is it possible that South Carolina pulls off an upset in Athens like they did in 2019? Sure, anything is possible. So is winning the lottery or getting attacked by a shark.
There is a challenge in coming up with scenarios in which Georgia does not win by double-digits. Perhaps Carson Beck (who actually played last year against the Gamecocks due to the score) isn’t the above-average quarterback he’s been made out to be and Spencer Rattler has the game of his life against a Georgia secondary that lost Kelee Ringo and Christopher Smith to the NFL. Maybe the entire Bulldog team catches the flu before the game starts. Bobby Boucher could show up at halftime and lead the Gamecocks to victory. That’s about all I got.
Georgia returns All-American tight end Brock Bowers, who gashed the Gamecock secondary for a 5 reception, 121 yards, and 2 touchdowns line, as well as running back Kendall Milton, who had 72 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. After last season’s 48-7 defeat, it’s not realistic to suggest this year’s Gamecock football team is 41 points better than last year’s, at Sanford, no less. In terms of entertainment and watchability, there will be NFL players on both sides of the ball for both teams. But there’s no guarantee this game will be close.
I’m not saying this to be a cynicist, because I actually do believe in this team. I really think this is the best program we’ve had since Spurrier left. It’s just that Georgia is unlike anything the modern college football world has seen, and it’s worth it to just take a breath and acknowledge that. At least we won’t have to play them in 2024.