Looking ahead to Georgia; plus, top performers from South Carolina’s win over Vanderbilt

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Previewing Georgia

Though he’s “just worried about South Carolina,” South Carolina coach Will Muschamp couldn’t help but peek ahead at the impressive Georgia Bulldogs defense as he previewed the Gamecocks’ next opponent on Sunday.

“They’re really good up front. The thing that jumps out at you, they’re a complete football team — the veteran experience they have,” Muschamp said. “You look at their starters on offense and defense, you’ve got nine on offense and 11 on defense that are juniors and seniors, so these guys have played a bunch of football.”

The second-year South Carolina coach stressed that the Gamecocks “need to find some ways to run the football and be creative” against the Bulldogs.

South Carolina’s players of the game vs. Vanderbilt

Muschamp named running back A.J. Turner and linebacker Skai Moore the players of the game in the Gamecocks’ 34-27 win against Vanderbilt.

“We did a nice job of running the football,” Muschamp told the media on Sunday.

Turner finished the game with 121 yards and 1 touchdown on 15 carries. Saturday was the redshirt sophomore’s first 100-yard game since rushing for 113 yards against Texas A&M in 2016.

Moore was all over the field on Saturday, posting 6 total tackles, 4 solo, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup and 1 quarterback hurry. The All-SEC linebacker has 57 tackles, 36 solo, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 2 interceptions this season.

The South Carolina coach also named Alan Knott (offensive) and Taylor Stallworth (defensive) linemen of the week.

‘I hurt for him’

Having been a similar position at the University of Florida a few years ago, Muschamp feels for former Florida coach Jim McElwain, whose departure from Gainesville was announced on Sunday.

“It’s nothing you want to see in our profession, that’s for sure,” Muschamp told reporters on Sunday. “Having been through it, it’s a difficult time, but the sun will come up tomorrow morning. But I know it’s a difficult time for him right now. I hurt for him.”

The Gamecocks will play the Gators and interim coach Randy Shannon in Columbia on Nov. 11.

Gamecocks climb in SEC rankings

Thanks to their win on Saturday, and Florida’s 42-7 drubbing at the hands of Georgia, the Gamecocks climbed from No. 8 to No. 7 in the latest SEC Country Power Poll.

South Carolina was as high as No. 5 in at least one ballot and as low as No. 9.

South Carolina’s next opponent, Georgia, is No. 2 in the poll, receiving 4 first-place votes.

RB commit has incredible half

Three-star running back and South Carolina commit Deshaun Fenwick had an incredible first half of play in Braden River High School’s 52-14 win against North Port (Sarasota, Fla.) on Friday night.

The Bradenton, Fla., native had 220 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 18 carries by halftime.

Fenwick’s been committed to the Gamecocks since May. He’s rated as the No. 13 all-purpose back in the Class of 2018, according to the 247Sports composite.

Women’s soccer dominates SEC honors

The South Carolina women’s soccer team added more hardware to its trophy case on Sunday, just days after winning the 2017 SEC regular-season title.

Senior forward Savannah McCaskill was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, with sophomore Grace Fisk earning Defensive Player of the Year honors. Coach Shelley Smith received her second consecutive and fourth overall SEC Coach of the Year honor.

The top-seeded Lady Gamecocks play the Arkansas Razorbacks in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday evening.

Monday motivation

Attack the day with the same intensity Muschamp showed in voicing his displeasure with officials on Saturday after they missed a targeting call when a Vanderbilt defender dove toward a sliding Jake Bentley.

This was NOT called targeting. Vanderbilt DB's shoulder goes directly into Jake Bentley's head on the slide. Clear launch. pic.twitter.com/58OGwuIRyM

— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) October 28, 2017

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