South Carolina player seemed to suggest Tennessee was better than Georgia in one area and it appears he was correct
South Carolina offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo suggested last week that the Tennessee Vols have a better defensive front than the Georgia Bulldogs. Gargiulo didn't directly mention Georgia, but he said that he thought Tennessee's defensive front would be the best that South Carolina has seen this season. The Gamecocks played Georgia two weeks before facing […]
South Carolina offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo suggested last week that the Tennessee Vols have a better defensive front than the Georgia Bulldogs.
Gargiulo didn't directly mention Georgia, but he said that he thought Tennessee's defensive front would be the best that South Carolina has seen this season.
The Gamecocks played Georgia two weeks before facing Tennessee this past Saturday night.
"They have really good D-tackles, they have really good D-ends," said Gargiulo ahead of South Carolina's game against Tennessee. "Their linebackers are really good as well. Probably the best front we're going to face all year. Actually hold on let me backtrack that statement — the best front we've played all year. And we just gotta go prepare and execute our game plan."
Based on what happened on Saturday night in Knoxville, it's hard to disagree with Gargiulo's take.
Tennessee totaled six sacks and eight tackles for loss against the Gamecocks in the Vols' 41-20 win. Sophomore edge rusher James Pearce had nine quarterback pressures against South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler. Tennessee practically lived in the Gamecocks' backfield all night and it completely changed the way South Carolina called the game offensively (South Carolina essentially abandoned the deep passing game). It was a far cry from what we saw last season in Tennessee's 25-point loss to the Gamecocks in Columbia.
When Georgia played South Carolina earlier this season (both games were road games for the Gamecocks, by the way), the Bulldogs finished with three sacks and seven tackles for loss. A solid night for Georgia, but not quite as dominant as what we saw from Tennessee last Saturday night.
One game obviously doesn't tell the whole story for any team. But Tennessee leads the nation in sacks with 22 (among FBS programs). And they're No. 4 in the nation in tackles for loss with 47 (the only SEC team with more tackles for loss is Texas A&M with 49).
Georgia, meanwhile, has just eight team sacks this season. The Bulldogs also have just 28 tackles for loss this season, which is seven fewer than Vanderbilt has totaled so far this season (Vandy has played one more game than UGA, but they still have a slightly higher average of tackles for loss per game).
There's obviously a lot of season left to be played. And the only stats that really matter are the stats at the end of the season. But for now, the numbers, and a player who has faced both teams, say that Tennessee's defensive front is better than Georgia's defensive front.
Who thought that would be the case through the first month of season? I'm guessing no one in Athens saw that coming…
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