The pair of Stetson Bennett and Brock Bowers led No. 1 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) past South Carolina (1-2, 0-2 SEC) on Saturday. The Bulldogs dominated the Gamecocks in a 48-7 rout at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Bennett finished the contest completing 16-of-23 passes for 284 yards and two TDs. The super senior also led his team in rushing with 36 yards on three attempts with a score.
Bowers had one rush for five yards and a TD. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound pass-catcher also hauled in a team-high five receptions for 121 yards and two scores against South Carolina.
“We’ve got a young team and a lot of them haven’t played in or seen that type of environment,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “I thought we had some guys grow up today. The offense really executed efficiently and did a nice job. The defense was ‘bend, but don’t break’ and they’ve been very opportunistic in terms of getting turnovers after big plays.”
The Bulldogs got on the board first on their first drive, scoring in 10 plays. Bennett kept the chains moving with a 15-yard pass to Bowers, which set them up at the Georgia 45-yard line. A few plays later, the sophomore tight end took a direct snap-in for a five-yard TD.
Georgia’s defense forced a turnover on the next drive as freshman Malaki Starks came up with his second INT of the season. The Bulldogs didn’t waste any time as Bennett connected with running back Kenny McIntosh for a 14-yard gain. Bennett had nine and 16 yards rushes before tailback Kendall Milton scored on a one-yard rush attempt.
The Bulldogs led South Carolina 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. They would extend their lead on the next drive after the defense stopped the Gamecocks on fourth down.
Bennett continued to stand tall in the pocket, completing pass attempts to Darnell Washington, Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. He then tossed a six-yard pass to Bowers in the end zone for another score. That connection gave Georgia a 21-0 lead.
The Bulldogs’ defense would stand tall and keep South Carolina scoreless in the first half. They ended up relying on Jack Podlesny to nail a 42-yard FG right before the end of the second quarter.
Georgia held a 24-0 advantage over the Gamecocks heading into the locker room at the half.
South Carolina didn’t convert a third-down in the first half, going 0-for-5. The Bulldogs played well on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense. The Gamecocks were limited to 153 yards of total offense through the opening two quarters.
Georgia continued its dominance in the second half. The Bulldogs outscored South Carolina 24-7 in the final two quarters. The Gamecocks scored their first TD against Georgia’s defense in garbage time, although the highlight of the second half came on the Bulldogs’ first drive.
Bennett delivered the final blow to South Carolina’s hopes on the third play from scrimmage. He signaled a man in motion and then delivered a pass over the middle to a wide-open Bowers streaking across the field. The sophomore pass-catcher rumbled downfield, running over a Gamecock defender and juked another for the 78-yard TD score.
“I was proud of the composure the kids showed in the opening drive of the second half. It meant a lot to me,” Smart said of that Bennett-to-Bowers score. “We had a penalty and started back up. All I wanted to see was come out in the second half and close the door. I thought they did that well. I thought our guys responded in the heat and played well in the heat. I appreciate how hard they worked to put us in the situation.”
Bennett flashed his speed on Georgia’s next possession on an 11-yard TD run. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound signal-caller crossed up a Gamecock defender and pranced into the end zone. That rushing score put the Bulldogs up 38-0 with 7:13 left in the third quarter.
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler was pressured all game long. He ended the contest by completing 13-of-25 passes for 118 yards and two INTs before being benched. The Gamecocks brought in backup Luke Doty to finish out the game for them. They would score late in the fourth quarter as Doty completed a 13-yard pass to Traevon Kenion.
Georgia racked up a season-high 547 yards of total offense against South Carolina. The Bulldogs also averaged 8.7 yards per play, and their offense was efficient on third-down conversions. They converted 5-of-9 third-downs and were perfect in the red zone.
There were 10 different Georgia players that rushed the ball. Also, the trio of quarterbacks Bennett, Beck and Brock Vandagriff - targeted 12 different pass-catchers.
The Gamecocks came into the contest with a 25 percent third-down conversion completion rate. They converted 4-of-13 against the Bulldogs while totaling 306 yards on offense. South Carolina was efficient on fourth-down by converting 2-of-3 in the game.
“I thought we challenged our guys to come on the road and play really physical. Attack from the get-go. We talked about not treading water when you come in,” Smart said. “You come in here to be the attacker and to hunt and not be hunted. I thought our kids bought into that. They wanted to get on it from the jump. They wanted to be physical from the jump. I thought we had some opportunistic stops on defense again and I thought our offense was explosive and executed well. We worked on the perimeter and up inside. It makes it tough to defend when the quarterback runs and does things like Stetson.”