South Carolina is trying to climb back out of a 4-8 hole. Georgia has beaten the Gamecocks five of the last six times by an average of over three touchdowns. This is the spot where that streak either grows or finally cracks.
Bush’s Picks
UGASC
UGASC
OverUnder
Best BetGeorgia
Georgia's the pick here on name value and roster continuity alone — Stockton's a two-time SEC champion quarterback, South Carolina's is still searching for the version of himself from two years ago. The Gamecocks' offensive overhaul is a real bet on the future, but betting it clicks well enough to beat Georgia outright, on the road, in this building, is asking a lot right now.
Georgia
+Back-to-back SEC champions under Kirby Smart
+Stockton was SEC title game MVP last season
+5-1 in series since Smart arrived, avg. margin 26.4
−Lost CFP quarterfinal to Ole Miss
−Some outlets snubbed Stockton from top-QB lists
South Carolina
+Sellers chose to return over NFL Draft entry
+Hired Kendal Briles to rebuild the offense
+Landed portal help at tackle and running back
−Finished 2025 at 4-8, lost 6 of last 7
−Offensive line ranked among worst in Power Four
−Averaged just 3.2 yards per carry as a team
Gunner Stockton enters his second full season as Georgia's starter with a resume most quarterbacks never sniff: back-to-back SEC titles, an SEC Championship Game MVP, and a 69.7% completion mark with 24 touchdowns against just 5 interceptions a year ago. LaNorris Sellers is chasing something different entirely — a bounce-back. The Heisman buzz that followed Sellers into 2025 evaporated fast as South Carolina stumbled to 4-8, and now he's back in Columbia for one more shot with a retooled staff around him.
That staff overhaul is the real story in Columbia. Shane Beamer fired his offensive line coach in October and his offensive coordinator in November, then went out and landed Kendal Briles to rebuild the attack. Transfer portal additions at tackle and running back suggest the Gamecocks know exactly what broke last year — an offensive line that ranked among the worst in the Power Four and a run game that limped to 3.2 yards a carry. Georgia, meanwhile, isn't rebuilding anything. It's defending.
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UGA Georgia
SC South Carolina
Kirby Smart's record in this series speaks for itself, and it's not close. Since he took over in Athens, Georgia is 5-1 against South Carolina with an average margin of 26.4 points. That kind of dominance doesn't just happen — it's a program with a deeper roster, cleaner quarterback continuity, and a defense that's made a habit of erasing whatever Columbia tries to cook up. Beamer knows the history. Breaking it is a different question.
Georgia Bulldogs
Nov 13?vs Missouri—
Nov 6?@ Ole Miss—
Oct 31?vs Florida—
Oct 16?vs Auburn—
Oct 9?@ Alabama—
Oct 2?vs Vanderbilt—
Sep 25?vs Oklahoma—
Sep 19?@ Arkansas—
Sep 12?vs Western Kentucky—
Sep 5?vs Tennessee State—
South Carolina Gamecocks
Nov 13?@ Arkansas—
Nov 6?vs Texas A&M—
Oct 30?@ Oklahoma—
Oct 9?@ Florida—
Oct 2?vs Kentucky—
Sep 25?@ Alabama—
Sep 19?vs Mississippi State—
Sep 12?vs Towson—
Sep 5?vs Kent State—
Recent form.
For Georgia, the concerns are the kind contenders have — not the kind rebuilding programs have. The Bulldogs won the SEC again but got bounced by Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, and some outlets still left Stockton off top returning-quarterback lists heading into this year, a quiet sign the ceiling questions haven't fully gone away. It's a fine problem to have relative to South Carolina's, but it's not nothing.
Georgia Bulldogs
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
South Carolina Gamecocks
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
South Carolina's case for optimism is real, even if the record wasn't pretty. Sellers chose to come back instead of testing the NFL Draft, which says something about how he feels about this Briles offense and this roster. If the retooled line holds up and the skill talent finally has room to work, the Gamecocks are a different team than the one that lost six of its last seven. Whether that shows up against Georgia's defense, on the road against the series' most lopsided recent history, is the whole ballgame.
