KIRBY: USC Game is Why You Play College Football

ATHENS - No. 3 Georgia continued preparations for its Southeastern Conference opener at No. 24 South Carolina with a two-hour workout Wednesday in full pads on the Woodruff Practice Fields.

Speaking on the SEC Head Coaches Weekly teleconference, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said the Bulldogs will be in a crazy environment beginning conference play in Columbia featuring a pair of top 25 teams that will be getting after it.

“This is why you come to play college football to get an opportunity to play in these kinds of environments,” said Smart.

He was asked about South Carolina’s defensive line and said they have really good size, are physical and have some pass rushers on the edge that use their quickness.

“They’re talented, and their deep, and they do a really good job of rotating guys in that unit,” Smart added.

Following the workout, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Ben Cleveland commented on preparing for an environment like Williams-Brice Stadium, “We do a great job during the week of away games working crowd noises and stuff like that. We’ll crank the speakers up in the indoor as loud as they can get just so we can get the feel of not being able to hear anything while we’re on offense, having to rely on hand signals. We’re having to rely big time on communication. We work week in and week out, every single day, so I think we’re going to be very well prepared for that.”
 
In the season-opening win over Austin Peay, Georgia’s offense tallied 508 yards of total offense including 284 rushing yards. South Carolina’s defense limited Coastal Carolina to 238 total yards in winning its opener. Since becoming division foes in the SEC (1992), the Bulldogs lead the series over South Carolina 17-9 including 8-5 in Columbia.