Stetson Bennett passed for two touchdowns and also rushed for one as top-ranked Georgia rolled to an easy 48-7 victory over South Carolina on Saturday in Southeastern Conference play at Columbia, S.C.
Brock Bowers caught five passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns and added one score on the ground as the defending national champions were dominant for the third straight game. Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) has outscored Oregon, Samford and South Carolina by a cumulative 130-10.
Bennett completed 16 of 23 passes for 284 yards before leaving with Georgia ahead by 38 midway through the third quarter. Malaki Starks, Dan Jackson and Trezman Marshall had interceptions as the Bulldogs beat the Gamecocks for the seventh time in the past eight meetings.
Spencer Rattler was 13-of-25 passing for 118 yards and two interceptions for South Carolina (1-2, 0-2), which lost its second straight game. Backup Luke Doty tossed a 13-yard touchdown to Traevon Kenion with 53 seconds left to mark the first touchdown scored against the Bulldogs this season.
Georgia outgained the Gamecocks 547-306 and had a 30-17 edge in first downs.
Bowers scored Georgia’s first touchdown on a 5-yard reverse with 8:20 left in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs increased their lead to 14-0 on a 1-yard run by Kendall Milton with 4:42 remaining in the period.
Bennett hit Bowers on a 6-yard scoring pass to make it a 21-point margin with 11:25 left in the first half. Jack Podlesny tacked on a 42-yard field goal with 30 seconds left as the Bulldogs held a 24-0 halftime lead.
On the third play of the second half, a wide-open Bowers caught a pass from Bennett, broke a tackle at midfield and raced to a 78-yard touchdown.
On the next possession, Bennett drove the Bulldogs 88 yards on eight plays and scored on an 11-yard run with 7:13 left to increase the lead to 38 points.
After Jackson’s interception, Carson Beck replaced Bennett with 6:59 left in the third quarter and it took him just 59 seconds to add another score. Beck hit Oscar Delp on a 28-yard aerial to make it 45-0.
Backup kicker Jared Zirkel added a 21-yard field goal with 8:57 left in the game.
South Carolina later reached the Bulldogs’ 9-yard line but Doty was intercepted by Marshall with 4:33 left. But Doty got one more chance and he hit Kenion for the score to avoid being blanked.
–Field Level Media
