No. 11 Georgia faces its second straight top 10 opponent when the Bulldogs welcome No. 6 South Carolina to Athens in the nearly-annual conference opener between the two schools. Georgia has opened its SEC schedule with South Carolina every year since 1992, excluding 2012. Television coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
How to watch South Carolina vs. Georgia 2013: Preview, TV schedule, odds and more
Georgia faces off against its second straight Top 10 opponent when it hosts the Gamecocks in Athens. Can the Bulldogs avoid starting the year 0-2?
Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
The two schools have met seven times while both were ranked in the Top 25, with the Gamecocks winning five of those matchups. This will be the third time in four years that the two teams have met while both have been ranked. Georgia has won two of the three such matchups that have taken place in Athens.
The Bulldogs have no relief in their early season schedule. After a heartbreaking 38-35 loss to No. 8 Clemson and Saturday’s meeting with South Carolina, Georgia will then have to face a North Texas team that has shown serious promise before hitting into the heart of SEC play. Georgia’s requisite FCS opponent will be Appalachian State in November.
South Carolina had a marquee matchup in its opening contest as well, defeating North Carolina, 27-10, in a Thursday night game. The Gamecocks will play two SEC games -- Georgia and Vanderbilt -- before a nonconference contest against UCF. Their FCS game will take place in late November against Coastal Carolina.
The numbers
Rankings and records: South Carolina is ranked sixth in both polls. Georgia is ranked 11th in the AP Poll and 12th in the Coaches Poll. Georgia holds a commanding 46-17-2 lead in the all-time series. South Carolina is 1-0 on the year while Georgia is 0-1.
Vegas: Georgia is a three-point favorite. The over/under is 56 points. OddsShark has more.
Weather: A high of 85, partly cloudy with a slight chance of rain.
Three names to know
Aaron Murray. One of the top quarterbacks in the country, Murray completed 20 of 29 passes for 323 yards, but was picked off once by Clemson without throwing a touchdown in the loss.
Todd Gurley. The star of the opener for the Bulldogs, Gurley ran 12 times for 154 yards and two touchdowns and generally looked unstoppable.
Jadeveon Clowney. The rock monster himself had a bit of a rough time against North Carolina, posting three tackles and three hurries, but is quite probably the most talented player in the nation and will look to give Murray a rough time of his own.
Two things at stake
Georgia desperately needs to avoid an 0-2 start -- even though it would come against two highly ranked opponents, the calls for Mark Richt’s job would be deafening.
South Carolina wants its first division title since 2010, which would give the Gamecocks the opportunity for their first-ever SEC title. A loss to a divisional opponent would cripple those hopes.
How to witness
TV: 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Radio: Scroll down here for a list of Georgia affiliates. Here’s a list of South Carolina affiliates.
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Further reading
Get your Georgia news, analysis and perspective at Dawg Sports. For the South Carolina side of things, be sure to head over to Garnet and Black Attack.
More from SB Nation:
See More:
