The Georgia Bulldogs vs. South Carolina Gamecocks is not just a sportsbook marquee game; it’s also a chance for Georgia natives who were spurned by UGA to prove that hell hath no fury like a player not offered. “It’s a big game, because some of us, we weren’t offered by Georgia,” sophomore defensive end DJ Wonnum, who played at Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia and was offered by California, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Georgia State, Memphis, Nebraska and South Florida but not UGA, said. “We’ve got to show them why we play in the SEC.” But it won’t be like taking candy from a baby.
Happy Halloween, Bulldogs! ??? pic.twitter.com/1tJh3p2bNO
— UGA (@universityofga) October 31, 2017
- Date: November 4
- Time: 3:35 PM
- Venue: Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
- Online Sportsbook Odds:
South Carolina +24 (-110) 45½ (-110) +1500
Georgia -24 (-110) 45½ (-110) -3000
South Carolina Gamecock rock
The G-Cocks have vastly improved since Steve Spurrier’s last season as head coach in 2015, when they were blown out of the water, SU and ATS, by the Dawgs 52-20. In 2016, the first year of Will Muschamp’s tenure, SC lost to Georgia by just 14 points, though they still failed to cove, the Gamecocks did. This season, South Carolina has already won as many games as it did last season, and became, by virtue of defeating Vanderbilt 34-27, eligible for a bowl game for the second straight year. Finally, the Cockies 6-2 SU and 5-2-1 ATS this campaign, including 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS on the road (a vast improvement from 1-9 SU and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games before the 2017 season started). The only problem is that the Bulldogs, who are 36-6 SU in their last 42 home games and 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in their last seven conference games, have also gotten a lot better. The favored team is 6-1 against the sportsbook spread in the last seven meetings between these two schools.
The South Carolina Gamecock-blockers
SC dominated this rivalry from the late 2000s to the mid-2010s, but the Bulldogs improved their head-to-head record to 49-18-2 with back-to-back wins in 2015 and 2016, as we saw above. Another Dawgs win over the Southcocks would cement UGA’s dominance of the SEC East Division, where they are 4-0 and 3-1 ATS this season, part of a 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS conference record, and an 8-0 SU and 6-2 ATS overall record. All of which has earned Georgia the No. 2 spot in the Associated Press poll on Tuesday, the first time they have attained such ranking in the month of October since the year of our lord 1942. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents, including a one-point win over Notre Dame, by an average of 26.25 points per game, in spite of which their defense managed to keep the total under in their first five games. The sportsbook total has gone, however, over, even though they allowed Florida just seven points, in their last three games. “[Georgia has] an explosive football team that’s been very dominant this year. Obviously, you start at the running back position. … They’ve got a stable of backs that have really run the ball well this year,” Muschamp said of the Bulldogs.