SEC SPORTS REPORT

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ATLANTA, Ga-  The Georgia-South Carolina game is going to be a war. This year more than ever, there is so much on the line for both teams. For Georgia, their head coach is fighting for his job. Another big loss for the Dawgs and the fan base is going to flat out lose it.  

For South Carolina, this game is about respect. To be considered a top tier East program, the Gamecocks have to put together consistent wins over the Bulldogs. Something the Gamecocks have yet to do.

During the off-season, there has been a continual drum beat that the winner of the SEC East would either be the Georgia Bulldogs or the South Carolina Gamecocks. In early spring, the Bulldogs were the favorite with young gun quarterback Aaron Murray and a dream team providing depth.

But when SEC media days arrived somehow the Ole Ball Coach grabbed the attention and got the media talking about Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery.   Too many journalists took the bait and started writing pre-season stories about the Carolina duo. 

Spurrier basically threw some blood in the water and the sharks ate it up. Writers were way too quick to jump on the bandwagon that Steve Spurrier was back and he had resurrected another college program.

So in week 1, the Bulldogs got lulled into a 1^st half game and gave up a touch down right before half time. No big deal, the Bulldogs are more physical and they will make a comeback in the 2^nd half. Then before you knew it, there was a two touchdown lead and Boise State was methodically moving the ball and controlling the game. The 2^nd half was miserable. 

Nobody predicted the Bulldogs getting handled  by a team from the Mountain West conference 35-21.

Meanwhile, the Gamecocks were getting exploited 17-0 in Charlotte by an East Carolina team that wanted to embarrass the defending SEC East champs. Spurrier chose Conner Shaw to start and the young sophomore got much needed experience. 

But before Shaw could pull his chin strap off his nose, he was being replaced by fifth year senior Stephen Garcia who wanted to prove that this was his team and he was going to fight for a win.

It wasn’t pretty but the Gamecocks created turnovers on defense and the offense kept plugging away and scoring. Most Carolina fans left the stadium believing that the opener was a positive experience and this Carolina team had a lot of weapons.

So Georgia is not as bad as their critics believe, and South Carolina is over hyped for what they showed in the opening game. Which makes Saturday a real nail biter.

So how will this game play out? Georgia is going to light up the skies and let Aaron Murray go after the suspect Gamecock secondary. The South Carolina defense was exposed many times in 2010 and most of the starters are back. 

Mike Bobo has already said he is staying with the no-huddle, shot gun formation. He and Richt believe their Boise State game plan should have worked if the players executed properly. One more week of practice should help.

For South Carolina, Spurrier is probably going to test the run game first. Lattimore had success last time and it’s proven to be the easiest way to get control of the game. Once Georgia commits, he will air it out. It’s going to be repeat of the shoot out in Athens in 2009. 

High scoring, big players making big plays. This game will determine the SEC East champion.

I will see you on the ball field.

Jay Holgate is a SEC analyst for SEC Football News App available on Iphone and Android phones. Jay is also a professional speaker for Footballspeakers.com