South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp announced this weekend’s home game against Georgia will take place on Sunday afternoon. The school later announced the game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Georgia-South Carolina postponed to Sunday afternoon by Hurricane Matthew
How about an SEC East game in the middle of an NFL Sunday?
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The game had been scheduled for Saturday night, but Hurricane Matthew has forced several schedule adjustments along the East Coast. LSU-Florida has been postponed and possibly even cancelled.
“Due to the potential impact of the hurricane on Columbia and the surrounding area, it is in the best interest of safety to play the game on Sunday rather than Saturday night,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “I appreciate the cooperation of the schools who worked closely to make the appropriate operational adjustments in order to accommodate this change in the schedule.”
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Kirby Smart and Muschamp meet on opposite sidelines for the first time to determine once and for all (for this season) who is the best Saban protege. The Bulldogs limp into the game after being stunned by a Hail Mary against Tennessee last week, while South Carolina was taken care of by Texas A&M last week at home.
The Gamecocks’ struggles with offense were expected coming into the season, and South Carolina is yet to score more than 20 points in a game. The team is near the cellar of college football in total offense, ranked 124th in yards-per-game. Yards-per-play doesn’t tell a much rosier story, as South Carolina is 117th in that statistical category.
Both teams may end up trotting out freshman quarterbacks, but UGA definitely will. Georgia believes it has something in Jacob Eason, whose massive touchdown pass at the end of the Tennessee game will always be forgotten thanks to what came after. Brandon McIlwain started the game against the Aggies, but did not finish it after being pulled for Perry Orth. The senior is expected to start Saturday, but with an offense that continues to sputter, don’t rule out seeing McIlwain.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: SEC Network
Radio: South Carolina and Georgia
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: The Dawgs entered as a 7.5-point road favorite.
Make friends: Come hang out with fellow fans. For Georgia folks, Dawg Sports is your place. For South Carolina folks, Garnet And Black Attack.
Three big things to know
- UGA running back Nick Chubb should be back Saturday. It was reported that Chubb would miss the Tennessee game and he essentially did, only carrying the ball once for three yards. Chubb practiced Monday and coach Kirby Smart thinks he’ll be good to go.
- For the first time since 1996, neither team comes into the matchup ranked. Twenty-one years ago, the Gamecocks toppled the Dawgs, 23-14
- Part of the reason South Carolina’s passing game has struggled so much is because of the injuries suffered by WRs Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards. Both are returning from hamstring injuries, and Muschamp spoke on hamstring injuries suffered by his wide receivers.
“From a workout and practice standpoint, we’re doing the right things. Moving forward. We will have more information from the catapult system to be able to monitor these guys. I’m very frustrated for those players and very disappointed for them because they have worked extremely hard and they can make a difference for our football team.”
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