New No. 1 Georgia focused on task at hand, road trip to South Carolina

Sedrick Van Pran didn’t know if the top-ranked Bulldogs wanted to make their mantra made public, but the center didn’t hold back when speaking with the media this week.

“I’m not even sure if I’m supposed to really share this, but just our biggest thing lately has been, ‘Nobody cares about your feelings,’” he said. “At the end of the day, whether you’re hurt, you are tired from class, nobody really cares. At the end of the day, you’re expected to do your job and that’s just what it is.”

The next task for Georgia (2-0) is to beat South Carolina (1-1) in the teams’ Southeastern Conference opener on Saturday at 12 p.m. in Columbia, S.C.

Georgia has outscored it first two opponents by a combined score of 82-3, which is why, coupled with then-top-ranked Alabama’s lackluster performance in a 20-19 win at Texas, the Bulldogs supplanted the Crimson Tide atop the AP poll this week.

“We really don’t pay attention to the ratings,” offensive lineman Warren McClendon added. “We worry about getting better day-by-day and this upcoming game.”

Georgia has plenty to fix before facing South Carolina inside Williams-Brice Stadium, where the Bulldogs have left victorious in each of their past three visits.

While Georgia threw for more than 350 yards, scored on its first six possessions, had 15 receivers catch at least one pass and didn’t let an opponent in the end zone for the second straight week in a 33-0 win over visiting Samford last week, the Bulldogs were far from perfect.

The Bulldogs stalled several times in the red zone, turning what Smart felt should have been touchdowns into field goals, as Jack Podlesny kicked four of them shorter than 28 yards.

“We’ve got to improve everywhere, starting with every unit,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “You know, it’s a hard measuring stick when you start talking about comparing it to Samford. No offense to their team or their program. It’s just hard to evaluate. So we have to improve in every facet. That includes throwing the ball, that includes running the ball. Includes defensively, stopping the run, and rushing the passer.”

Quarterback Stetson Bennett has emerged as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, having completed 75.4 percent of his passes for 668 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Running back Kenny McIntosh has become Bennett’s favorite target, as he leads the team with 14 receptions and 178 receiving yards, ahead of Ladd McConkey (6 catches, 110 Yards, 1 TD) and tight end Brock Bowers (5 catches, 95 yards).

Kendall Milton is averaging a whopping 7.5 yards per carry, with 135 yards and a touchdown on just 18 carries, ahead of Daijun Edwards, who has 10 carries for 47 yards. McIntosh has 12 carries for 33 yards and two touchdowns.

South Carolina is coming off a 44-30 loss at then-No. 16 Arkansas (2-0) in which the Gamecocks gave up 23 points in the fourth quarter after pulling to within 21-16 midway through the third quarter.

The Gamecocks allowed 457 yards of offense to the Razorbacks, who rushed for 295 yards on 65 carries. South Carolina’s defense also saw starting outside linebacker Jordan Strachan and middle linebacker Mo Kaba suffer season-ending ACL injuries.

South Carolina also lost several other players to injury against the Razorbacks, including All-SEC cornerback Cam Smith, who left the game in the second quarter with an upper body injury. Smith and safety R.J. Roderick, who missed the Arkansas game after injuring his arm in the season-opening victory against Georgia State a week earlier, are game-time decisions against the Bulldogs.

“Our depth isn’t where it needs to be for sure,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “But we’ll take a bunch of really guys out there on Saturday to play a really, really, really good Georgia team and a really, really, really well-coached Georgia team. They are super talented and super well-coached.”

Quarterback Spencer Rattler has been inconsistent through two games, completing 61.8 percent of his passes for 603 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Antwane Wells has emerged as bright spot with 15 receptions for 255 yards and a touchdown, while Jalen Brooks has six catches for 117 yards.

MarShawn Lloyd has struggled running the ball with 53 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, but he is a threat out of the backfield with eight receptions for 103 yards and a score.

“I’d be an idiot to say we are going to run the ball 60 times a game,” Beamer said. “We have an NFL quarterback, NFL receivers and NFL tight ends, so every week we are trying to do what gives us the best opportunity to be successful. But when we want to run the football, we have to be able to run the football.”

Beamer said his team is in the right mindset to face Georgia, which is favored by 24 points against the Gamecocks. South Carolina has lost its last five games against ranked teams by an average of 32.2 points.

“There’s great belief in our program. I don’t have to rally them to make them believe — they believe,” Beamer said. “They have confidence. We are a really a good SEC football team. We have confidence and we have players on our team that Georgia wanted, and they have players on their team that we wanted.”