UGA offensive line faces tall task vs. Gamecocks
ATHENS – After several days spent watching tape of South Carolina’s defense, Georgia offensive line coach Will Friend was struck by what he had not noticed.
“I was … trying to remember when I saw one score [against the Gamecocks],” Friend said. “I couldn’t think of a team I saw cross the goal line yet.”
It has happened, but rarely.
South Carolina’s defense has allowed only five touchdowns out of 67 opponent drives this season, meaning the opposition has scored a touchdown on 7.5 percent of its possessions. Contrast that to Georgia’s offense, which has scored 31 touchdowns on 74 drives, a 41.9 percent rate.
How well Georgia's offensive line protects QB Aaron Murray will be key against South Carolina's tall, tough defense. (Photo/UGA Sports)
All of which should make for a compelling clash Saturday night in Columbia.
Georgia’s offense has averaged 48.2 points and 536 yards (287 passing and 249 rushing) per game. But how will it fare against a defense that has allowed just 11.2 points and 289 yards (78 rushing and 211 passing) per game?
The answer starts with how Georgia’s offensive line, a question mark when the season began, fares against South Carolina’s vaunted defensive front, which is led by a pair of towering ends in 6-foot-6 Jadeveon Clowney and 6-8 Devin Taylor.
“We understand the impact they can have on the game, so we’re going to try to do something that can help thwart that,” said right guard Chris Burnette, the only Georgia offensive lineman available for interviews this week. “I feel like whenever you play in the SEC, you are playing against top-tier talent, always. But this defensive line really has a high reputation around the league and the country as guys who are great at getting to the quarterback and stopping the run.
“We definitely know that we are challenged, and we are going to take it head-on.”
One of the bigger challenges awaits freshman right tackle John Theus, playing just his sixth college game. “Yeah, [this week] is a little bit different,” Friend said with a laugh that emphasized the understatement, from what Theus has experienced thus far.
Clowney, a sophomore, and Taylor, a senior, have combined for 30.5 career sacks — 13.5 and 17, respectively. This season, Clowney has 5.5, second most in the SEC, and Taylor 1.5. As a team, South Carolina has 22, most in the SEC. The Gamecocks’ defensive front, responsible for 18 of the sacks, is stout against the run, too, allowing just two rushing touchdowns in five games.
“I saw where one of those ESPN expert guys thought we had the best defensive line in the country with those two ends and our inside guys [tackles Byron Jerideau and Kelcy Quarles], who are pretty dang good players also,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said.
Georgia’s starting offensive line has been stable this season: Kenarious Gates at left tackle, Dallas Lee at left guard, David Andrews at center, Burnette at right guard and Theus at right tackle. The group’s easier-said-than-done challenge Saturday is to provide passing time for quarterback Aaron Murray, whose fumble after being sacked by Clowney late in last year’s game sealed South Carolina’s victory, and running room for tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall.
Teams have had more success throwing against South Carolina’s secondary than running against its defensive front, suggesting potential opportunity for Murray if his line protects him.
Not surprisingly, the Gamecocks’ towering defensive ends came up during the quarterback’s weekly treat of his offensive linemen to ice cream.
“We talked about it,” Murray said. “I know they are extremely excited for the challenge, and they’ll be ready to go.”
So far, they have a record of responding to challenges, dating to the start of spring practice.
“In the spring, they knew they weren’t very good. Especially early on, it was just really bad,” coach Mark Richt said this week. “They knew they got better [during the spring], but they knew they had a long way to go. I think that really helped them have a great summer.
“They all decided to get up at 6 a.m. together every time they worked out. They all showed up, and they worked. They knew they better get better in a hurry. Then in [preseason] camp, things started to come together.”
On Saturday, in a game between top-10 teams, the progress of Georgia’s offensive line will be definitively measured.
“This game will definitely be the best gauge,” Richt said. “South Carolina’s defense is playing great. They’re not playing good; they’re playing great. They are kind of used to playing great.. … Without a doubt, this is the biggest test for our offensive line.”
– Tim Tucker
South Carolina’s defense by the numbers (with SEC rank in parentheses):
Touchdowns allowed: 5 (T-1st)
Points allowed per game: 11.2 (2nd)
Sacks: 22 (1st)
Total yards allowed per game: 289 (3rd)
Rushing yards allowed per game: 78 (2nd)
Passing yards allowed per game: 211 (7th)
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332 comments Add your comment
kingdaddy
October 5th, 2012
12:13 pm
GT has embarrassed the entire state of Ga. Nerd fans on a UGA blog talking trash just make the humiliation against Tech, complete. You idiots are “doubling down” on stupid attacks against the #5 ranked team in the country. Nerd fans have no more credibility than their football team. Please move your school and it’s fans out of the beautiful state of Ga. Your “lame” rants against The University og Georgia are a pathetic attempt to “tarnish” a star, to make yourselves look less than ZERO. YOU ARE PITIFUL, PATHETIC LOSERS & WE REALLY DO FEEL SORRY FOR YOU.( but we are still going to laugh at you…)
LOL @ Burt
October 5th, 2012
12:13 pm
Who has FSU beaten in the last few years that is of ANY value?
Spike 80DF
October 5th, 2012
12:14 pm
If both teams bring their A game then the Dawgs win easily. If the Dawgs give easy points away on turnovers then the clucks win. Simple as that, Dawgs have way more talent…..
I like the comment that said “Carolina talks like they’re Bama but has the trophy case of Vandy”
SC News, Politics, Personalities, Newsmakers, Warren Lasch
October 5th, 2012
12:15 pm
[...] games, week 6: Georgia vs South CarolinaExaminer.comWho will transform tomorrow?ESPN (blog)Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -Patch.comall 597 news articles » Posted in SC News [...]
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
12:18 pm
2011 SEC East Champ South Carolina 16 FSU 26 in ChickFilA Bowl
USC beat UGA that year 17 – 6 when UGA was ranked 22
Knocked Marcus L.’s butt out of the game early on too. Hadnt dropped the ball all year in the SEC. but couldnt handle ACC Defense!! Our smallest player too (Greg Reid)!! LOL!!!
Dave
October 5th, 2012
12:20 pm
I don’t think UGA wins by two or three touchdowns, but I don’t think USC can hold UGA’s offense down for the entire game. It will be around a touchdown (give or take a field goal) in favor of UGA. I’d say 27-20. But on talent alone, UGA is very much superior. It just matters as to which school’s talent plays better as a TEAM and Spurrier is hard to beat.
If UGA’s offense gets mired in mud and don’t get any first downs during the fourth quarter (like we seem to do all the time), USC WILL come back and beat us. That I am confident about.
kingdaddy
October 5th, 2012
12:21 pm
Burt
2011??? Go take your meds…
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
12:22 pm
He asked and I answered. Kingdaddy, get back to Warcraft little boy, and let the men talk.
flatsdawg1
October 5th, 2012
12:23 pm
No doubt the SC defense is good.Really good. Murray will be in the shotgun all night, we will certainly miss Mr. Bennett catching and maybe even more we’ll miss his blocking, best of luck to you Michael.The key to me is wearing this defense down, we have enough skill players to try to get to the outside, I think we can wear the defense down and open up some running and passing lanes, because believe me, its gonna be tough to run through the tackles for either freshman.I think Richt has to take some chances to pull it out as in the Florida game last year.
AF Dawg in Va
October 5th, 2012
12:24 pm
Not sure any rational fan is confident who will win tomorrow. However, IMO the important key for UGA is establishing the run. If we do, then the D-Line will have to respect the run first which should give Murray more time and allow our defense to be fresh during the 4th quarter.
If we are averaging greater then 5 ypc, then we will win. Otherwise, our key to winning will be turnovers and special teams.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 5th, 2012
12:24 pm
FSU wouldnt beat UGA
The only team they played was Clemson
Clemson lol
Who is Clemson oh yea I remember that was the team that got embarrassed in the Orange Bowl
WV just scored again
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
12:25 pm
UGA got embarrassed by WV too not too long there sport
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 5th, 2012
12:26 pm
Burt Reynolds
How did that game turn out the last time FSU played UGA
Fun Fact Man
October 5th, 2012
12:26 pm
UCF 10 UGA 6
dawgfacedboy
October 5th, 2012
12:27 pm
“you probably should have figured out by now that the outcome of the UGA/GT game or any other game isn’t going to stop me from voicing my opinion.”
Funny, that’s usually the exact thing that shuts people up. Kind of an unwritten rule in sports: If your team is worse than and gets beat routinely by a certain team you usually don’t talk trash to that team.
You are the equivalent to a UGA fan talking trash to a UF fan. It just really shouldn’t be done.
Sorry, my mistake, it wasn’t 9 in a row, just 9 out of the last 10. Continue bashing the team you continually play 3rd fiddle to (Ga Southern is 2nd fiddle in this state).
CHDawg
October 5th, 2012
12:28 pm
Burt, FSU’s problem is their easy schedule. We’ll have to see if Clemson winds up being ranked, but your only other hope for playing a ranked team is the Gators. You have to take the whole season. That same FSU team lost to North Carolina, North Carolina St., and V. Tech, and Ok.
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
12:28 pm
Oh, you mean the one where the wide receiver played QB (Anquan Bolden)?
Yeah, congrats on that. Huge win.
kingdaddy
October 5th, 2012
12:28 pm
Burt
I got your two men hanging. Go polish your bald head boy…
In Case you Missed It
October 5th, 2012
12:31 pm
UCF 10 UGA 6
kingdaddy
October 5th, 2012
12:31 pm
Gators destroy FSU.Poor ACC…
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 5th, 2012
12:32 pm
Wake Forrest is 4-3 against FSU their last 7 meetings
Wake Forrest LOL
Now thats a Fun Fact Man
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 5th, 2012
12:35 pm
Burt Reynolds
UGA’s record against FSU??
Oh
and whats the deal with Div III level Wake Forrest cant FSU do better than that
@ in case you missed it
October 5th, 2012
12:39 pm
Middle Tennessee 49 – Nerds 28
Oklahoma 23 – Florida State 13
Georgia 51 – Tennessee 42
Georgia 31 – Nerds 17
Georgia 45 – Aubie 7
Shall i go on or did this not cover what we did against your team?
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
12:39 pm
FSU has been beating UF lately in case you haven’t noticed.
Dawg89
October 5th, 2012
12:39 pm
Theus better play like Zeus!
CHDawg
October 5th, 2012
12:39 pm
Burt, don’t get defensive when he corrects you. His point was that FSU didn’t play SC in 2011. That was 2010.
kingdaddy
October 5th, 2012
12:44 pm
CHDawg
you would think he would know who his favorite team played last year…
@ Burt
October 5th, 2012
12:47 pm
Just can’t beat Wake though consistently huh? We beat Florida last year as well. When was the last time you beat UGA? I wouldn’t recommend coming on here talking smack about a game that doesn’t involve your team especially when you haven’t played UGA in years and it didn’t go so well when you did. Excuses are for little girls. Go win your weak ass conference that got dominated by the SEC again last year and then come back and talk some trash. Oh and wait until you beat an SEC team after winning your conference.
What a joke! Now we know why FSU fans get such a bad reputation.
CHDawg
October 5th, 2012
12:50 pm
Too many punches on Gunsmoke? 89, they can have Zeus; I’ll take Theos.
Joey
October 5th, 2012
12:51 pm
WTF. W VA beat (barely) in ‘05, and you’re bringing that up, doofus?
That mean we can bring up spanking FSU in ‘02?
About the same principal.
And maybe we will see how FSU vs UGA would turn out this season.
LogicalUS
October 5th, 2012
12:52 pm
A lot of hype is going to cause a meltdown by some UGA fans after Saturday night….
The last time UGA went on the road the “great and mighty Gurshall” had the following stats against a average Missouri defense..
22 rushes for 98 yds or 4 yds a carry. That number is skewed somewhat by one long run of 44 yds meaning that the rest of the time they had 21 rushes for 54 yds or 2.1 yds a carry….
Unless UGA can improve on those dismal stats, AMurray is going to be at the mercy of the dominant SC DL and it is lights out.
National Rankings:
Rushing defense:
Missouri 26 SC 7 by the way…UGA ranks 57
Sacks
Missouri 31 SC 2 by the way…UGA ranks 58
UGA is going to need sme TOs to escape with a win.
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
12:53 pm
When is the last time UGA won a National title?
Why don’t Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Auburn need to make excuses?
You have a mediocre program. Deal with it
@ Burt
October 5th, 2012
12:59 pm
and you dont Burt? Tell my why you are above our program? Who won the last time we played? So that makes your program what?
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
1:01 pm
Circkets chirping.
Not alot to say when National relevance is the subject huh?
CHDawg
October 5th, 2012
1:01 pm
No, sport. We have a solid program, otherwise haters like you and logical wouldn’t spend the time spewing your opinions. For a name like Logical, you are sure aren’t using logic. Why not run those numbers with another common opponent, Vandy? Oh yeah, it would make you look like a stupid hater.
CHDawg
October 5th, 2012
1:03 pm
Burt, because your question is irrelevant. At the moment we are right in the middle of the four teams you listed. We aren’t stuck in the past like you. What UGA did in 80 or 11 really doesn’t affect this year. Irrelevant.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 5th, 2012
1:04 pm
Burt Reynolds
LOL
FSU is a bunch of wimpy sissy’s who are too afraid to join a real conference
Even Bobby Bowden said he doesnt want FSU in the SEC because they wouldnt even have a chance
Hows that record against UGA Burt
@ Burt
October 5th, 2012
1:04 pm
Since when is FSU of national relevance Burt? Not now that is for sure. When was it 1995? lol
Hypocrite and idiot.
@ Burt
October 5th, 2012
1:08 pm
Did you beat UGA the last time you played them?? No…..nuff said. Can’t beat us so it makes perfect logical sense to criticize us.
I got an idea why don’t you go watch the last 5 FSU/Wake Forrest match-ups and think about how dominant your program is.
Wake Forest for god’s sake dude! What a joke!
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
1:10 pm
Alot more recent than UGA
1993 and 1999. Went to National Chmpshp in 1998, 1999, and 2000.
How bout UGA?
LogicalUS
October 5th, 2012
1:11 pm
“common opponent, Vandy”
Did you play Vandy on the road…MORON.
You are one of the disney fans who end up screaming at the TV when your delusional beliefs don’t pan out.
Let me guess you thought UGA would beat UT….70 to 7 right?
Facts are Facts.
kingdaddy
October 5th, 2012
1:14 pm
I’m not ready to proclaim UGA an “elite” team until we beat an elite team. We have a very good team, a good schedule and a great fanbase. When we beat SC, then I will start the “boasting”. Until we have a signature win, I will be proud of my team and support them, but I want more. It is within our grasp. This is THE GAME for the Dawgs. Must win every game, but this one is the most important so far…
@ Burt
October 5th, 2012
1:15 pm
Well, let me think here Burt. We beat you in 2002 so that seems more relevant and resent than any of the dates you just put out.
Are you done watching the last 5 FSU/Wake Forrest match-ups? That should help check your ego just a bit.
If we are not relevant i am not sure what that makes you. Oh, and just one more reminder. UGA beat FSU the last time we played.
Burt Reynolds
October 5th, 2012
1:18 pm
I had to give you the dates. You are a typical homer that knows nothing outside of his own team.
I bet you didn’t even go to UGA. Probably flunked out and went to Truett.
GTBob
October 5th, 2012
1:19 pm
Funny, that’s usually the exact thing that shuts people up. Kind of an unwritten rule in sports
Yeah, I don’t really care about unwritten rules. If GT never beats UGA again, which is a possibility, I am still going to trash talk.
Red-N-Black
October 5th, 2012
1:22 pm
Speaking of holding, wonder how many holding penalties will be called on the dogs o-line?
Its the only chance you have to stop Carolina’s defense from tossing Erin Murray round like a little rag-doll (again).
Rag Doll hahahahahah, you better look at butter shoulder first MORON
Lowcountry Dawg
October 5th, 2012
1:22 pm
This might be stating the obvious, but I am pretty well convinced that this game comes down to how effective the UGA running game is; no run game and our passing game gets crushed, too. We are outmatched at the line, but a good back (of which I think we have two) has to be able to step up in a situation like this and carry the load (See Marcus Lattimore). This game is ALWAYS close, and I expect the same tomorrow: Dawgs 30, Cocks 26.
kingdaddy
October 5th, 2012
1:28 pm
I see nothing SC has done that makes them think they will beat The Dawgs. If anything, they should be worried…
astrouga
October 5th, 2012
1:29 pm
FS-who? Come on folks, you guys are so far from the topice it is ridiculous. And why is anyone even paying any attention to GTBob? GTech fans don’t have anything better to do because they don’t have a football program worth watching right now. Please, everyone, just blacklist that knucklehead.
CHDawg
October 5th, 2012
1:29 pm
Logical, moron? No class mixes with no brains…you bring a deadly combo to this blog son! They still play when they are on the road, and you might check how Richt has done on the road. But, trying to prove who will win by one common opponent is worse than illogical…it is dumb. Anybody who knows anything about football knows this trap. You have revealed your lack of football knowledge and class.