Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
No. 3 Georgia romps over South Carolina
NO. 3 GEORGIA 41, NO. 24 SOUTH CAROLINA 17
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm said he knew the third-ranked Bulldogs were built to last after their run to last season’s national title game. He be- lieves the rest of the country found that out Saturday.
Fromm threw for 194 yards and a touchdown, all three of Georgia’s latest running combos scored touchdowns and the Bulldogs turned an expected SEC showdown into a 41-17 rout over No. 24 South Carolina on Saturday.
“We weren’t going anywhere,” Fromm said. “We’ve worked too hard to stay where we are.”
That was evident at Williams-Brice Stadium, where Georgia (2-0, 1-0 SEC) used dominating offense and suffocating defense to win its fourth consecutive over the Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1).
“We thought if we were able to run the ball and pound it early, it would take its toll,” Coach Kirby Smart said.
Fromm was 15-of-18 passing, including a 34-yard TD pass to Mecole Hardman. D’Andre Swift, Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien looked every bit as effective as NFL runners Nick Chubb and Sony Michel did a year ago in leading Georgia to the College Football Playoff.
Holyfield led the way with 76 yards and a 5-yard score. Swift had a 17-yard TD run, and Herrien piled on with a 15yard scoring burst in the third quarter as Georgia went up by 31 points. That’s when many in the crowd of 83,140 began to file out in disappointment — a familiar ritual against the Bulldogs.
Cornerback Deandre Baker set the tone on defense early with an interception off a tipped ball in the opening minute that led to a quick, if unconventional, touchdown. Baker let the ball loose before crossing the goal line, but teammate Juwan Taylor picked it up and took it the final yard to complete the 56yard play.
Baker did not initially realize he came up short. “I just hoped someone on my team picked it up,” he said, smiling.
From there, Georgia’s defense and run game took over — as they have so often against South Carolina. The Bulldogs outrushed South Carolina 271 yards to 54.
When South Carolina had a chance to tie it after Rashad Fenton’s interception deep in Georgia territory, the Bulldogs allowed just a yard on the next four plays. They took over on downs after Bentley’s fourthdown incompletion.
“That was big,” Smart said. “We always talk about putting out the fire on defense after a turnover.”
Georgia rarely let up. South Carolina drove 70 yards to the Bulldogs’ 5 in the fourth quarter before safety J.R. Reed’s end-zone interception.
South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley threw for 269 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Gamecocks Coach Will Muschamp was disappointed, especially at his team’s third quarter when Georgia outscored South Carolina 21-0.
NO. 18 MISS. STATE 31, KANSAS STATE 10
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Nick Fitzgerald returned from a suspension to throw two touchdown passes, Kylin Hill ran for 211 yards and accounted for three scores, and No. 18 Mississippi State’s swarming defense shut down Kansas State in a rout.
Fitzgerald threw for 154 yards with TD tosses to Hill and Austin Williams, as the Bulldogs shook off a sloppy, penalty-filled start to pull ahead 17-3 at halftime. Fitzgerald then led the Bulldogs on a 95-yard march early in the third quarter to put the game away.
TENNESSEE 59,
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 3
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jeremy Banks and Madre London each rushed for two touchdowns and Tennessee followed a weather delay with a second-quarter scoring flurry to trounce Football Championship Subdivision program East Tennessee State.
The Vols (1-1) put the game away by collecting 28 points in a stretch of under 6 ½ minutes shortly after the threat of lightning caused a 48-minute delay. Tennessee scored three touchdowns in a span of 1 minute, 46 seconds.
MISSISSIPPI 76, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 41
OXFORD, Miss. — Jordan Ta’amu threw for 448 yards and five touchdowns, Scottie Phillips ran for 107 yards and two more scores, and Mississippi survived an upset scare by beating Southern Illinois.
SIU led 38-35 at halftime in a game that was much more competitive than originally anticipated. The Rebels finally broke the game open early in the fourth quarter when Vernon Dasher snagged an interception and ran it back 88 yards for a touchdown and a 55-41 lead. The play seemed to break the Salukis’ spirit and the Rebels piled up the points in the waning minutes for the win.
VANDERBILT 41, NEVADA 10
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt overcame two early red-zone disappointments and bottled up a high-scoring Nevada offense, winning a critical early-season nonconference game with a dominant second-half performance.
Vanderbilt scored on three consecutive drives to open the second half with a 46-yard dash from the speedy Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Kalija Lipscomb’s second touchdown catch of the day from Kyle Shurmur following Guay’s kick, stretching a one-touchdown lead to a 24-point margin.