UGA Football: #9 Georgia Football Postgame Notes Vs. USC, Nov. 28, 2020

Piling Up The Points: Georgia posted a 45-16 victory, and that was the most the Bulldogs have ever scored in Columbia, eclipsing the 41 in a win in 2018. The Bulldogs finished with 471 yards of total offense including 332 on the ground. The leading rusher was junior James Cook with a career-high 104 yards and 2 TDs.

Georgia utilized their ground game to build a 28-10 halftime lead. Georgia scored 21 points in the first quarter, tallying 225 yards of total offense including 151 on the ground. The 28 points in the first half was the most in a first half since scoring 34 against Arkansas State last year. The Bulldogs finished the first half with 295 total yards. Redshirt sophomore QB JT Daniels finished the game 10-for-16 for 139 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. He led Georgia to touchdowns on its first three possession and four of the first five in the contest.

Huge Night In The Running Game: The Bulldogs tallied a season-high 332 yards on the ground on 46 attempts for a 7.2 average and four TDs. It was the first 300+ yard rushing attack since going for 323 against Vanderbilt last year and the most since getting 426 against UMASS in 2018. Georgia churned out 208 rushing yards on 23 attempts in the first half alone. Junior James Cook had a career-long 44-yard scamper in the first quarter and a five-yard TD, his first score on the ground. He picked up his second score in the second quarter, a 29-yarder. Cook finished the game with a career-high 104 yards on just six carries. Redshirt sophomore Zamir White ended up with 84 yards on 13 carries and two TDs.

A Look At The Defense: Coming in tonight, Georgia ranked second in the SEC in Scoring Defense (21.3 points per game). In the first half, USC tallied 10 points on 156 yards of total offense and then managed just six points in the second half and finished with 273 total yards. Georgia’s leading tackler was sophomore DB Lewis Cine with a career-high 12, all solo stops! Junior Azeez Ojulari ended the first half with a sack as he leads the squad and ranks second in the SEC now with 5.5.

In the second half, Jermaine Johnson collected his fifth sack of the year while junior Channing Tindall got his third and junior Adam Anderson picked up one to give him 4.5 this season. Coming in tonight, Georgia ranked second in the SEC with 20 sacks and had four tonight. Junior Tyson Campbell got his first career interception and returned it 40 yards. It was the team’s eighth INT, which matched last year’s total.

Receiving Leaders: Graduate TE Tré McKitty had two catches for 46 yards, the first covered 40 yards, a career-long at Georgia, and his next resulted in his first TD as a Bulldog, a six-yarder on 3rd-and goal. Freshman Arian Smith had a 31-yard TD reception for his first career catch. He is the first Bulldog to score on his first touch since Demetris Robertson scored on a 72-yard run against Austin Peay in 2018. The leading receiver tonight was freshman Jermaine Burton with three for 33 yards.

Special Teams Summary: Redshirt sophomore PK Jack Podlesny went 6-for-6 in PATs plus made a 32-yard field goal. Georgia has made an NCAA record 322 consecutive PATs as the streak includes six kickers dating back to 2014. For the season, Podlesny is 10-for-12 in field goals. Junior punter Jake Camarda finished with one punt for 50 yards. Coming in, he ranked third in the country with a 47.7 avg. Also, he handled the kickoffs. Redshirt sophomore Kearis Jackson had two kickoff returns for 62 yards plus two punt returns for 55 yards. One of the punt returns covered 52 yards and gave the Bulldogs the ball at the 13 and an eventual TD. Freshman Jalen Carter blocked a PAT, the first Bulldog to do that since 2015 when Sterling Bailey did it against Florida.

Series History: With the 45-16 win, Georgia now leads the all-time series 52-19-2 including winning five of the last six. Tonight, Kirby Smart won his 50th game as the Bulldogs coach. He is 50-14 in this his fifth season including 4-1 against the Gamecocks.

For Starters: The longest active starting streak on offense belongs to center Trey Hill now with 26 while the longest streak on defense belongs to junior DB Eric Stokes at 23.

The Captains: Redshirt sophomores Azeez Ojulari, and Zamir White along with junior Channing Tindall (a native of Columbia, S.C.) served as the captains. It was the second straight week that Ojulari was a captain, a first for the Bulldogs this year. Ojulari, senior Monty Rice and junior Jamaree Salyer each have been a game captain a team-high three times this year. USC won the toss and elected to defer the ball until the second half.

Up Next: Georgia (6-2) will play host to Vanderbilt (0-8) on Saturday, Dec. 5. Game time is TBA. Earlier today, the Commodores fell to Missouri 41-0 in Columbia.