The Georgia Bulldogs had a better second quarter than the opening 15 minutes, but they still trail by three touchdowns. The early assault from South Carolina slowed down a bit, but the Gamecocks maintained their 21-0 lead through the second quarter and rolled into the locker room after a dominating half in all three phases of the game.
It looked like the Dawgs might finally break through into the end zone in the second, but a 15-play drive abruptly ended on the doorstep of the goal line. Georgia moved the ball 80 yards on a drive that ate up more than five minutes of clock, but the South Carolina defense rose up inside the 10. Georgia had a first and goal on the four-yard line, but could not cover the final four yards to cut the lead to 14. UGA rushed Todd Gurley twice for a yard, and then two Aaron Murray incompletions turned it over on downs just shy of the goal line.
Georgia forced South Carolina to punt from their own end zone on the ensuing possession, but they would squander good field position with a three-and-out. The Bulldog running back duo of Gurley and Keith Marshall, who have put up gaudy numbers the past two weeks against the SEC East, were completely bottled up. Georgia is averaging just 1.1 yards per carry on the ground, while Jadeveon Clowney has terrorized Murray rushing off the edge.
The Bulldogs will get the opening kick off to start the second half, and they'll need to make some noise early to make this one a contest.