South Carolina has already made a major mistake before their game against Georgia on Saturday
The South Carolina Gamecocks could've learned a lesson from the Tennessee Vols' loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens last season. But instead, it looks like South Carolina is going to walk into the same insane atmosphere that Tennessee walked into last November. In case you forgot, a year ago, Georgia fans had a little […]
The South Carolina Gamecocks could've learned a lesson from the Tennessee Vols' loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens last season.
But instead, it looks like South Carolina is going to walk into the same insane atmosphere that Tennessee walked into last November.
In case you forgot, a year ago, Georgia fans had a little extra juice for the Bulldogs' showdown against the Vols thanks to some comments from former Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge, who suggested that Sanford Stadium isn't that loud.
The crowd at Sanford Stadium ended up making a massive impact on the game, leading to numerous pre-snap penalties for the Vols.
After the game last season, Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who is now in the NFL with the New York Giants, admitted that the crowd noise had an impact on the Vols' offense.
"The crowd noise was effective," said Hyatt after UT's loss to Georgia last season. "There were some times we couldn't hear the snap, the call from Hook (Vols QB Hendon Hooker). Just give credit to their fans. They disrupted what we did on offense today. That would probably be the biggest thing that got us today."
On Monday, ahead of Georgia's matchup with South Carolina this weekend, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart was asked about some comments that were made by South Carolina defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway earlier this summer.
Hemingway was asked about the loudest stadiums in the SEC and he didn't list Sanford Stadium.
Smart is hoping that Georgia's fans will use Hemingway's "slight" as motivation.
“Yeah, I’m expecting it to be that (tough place to play),” said Smart. “People want to question whether our fans are elite, we’ll find out Saturday, right? It sounds like Tonka called them out. Maybe use Tonka for motivation and let him be the one that spurns our group to come out there at 3:30 and be really loud and fired up. I certainly hope our fan base will be. They’ve answered the bell every single time. I don’t know why they wouldn’t now.”
When a program gets to the point that Georgia's at, it can be tough to keep fans engaged for over three hours on a Saturday afternoon (Nick Saban used to call out Alabama fans for leaving early). That shouldn't be a problem for an SEC East matchup against a South Carolina program that's hoping to continue their reputation of being giant killers under Shane Beamer.
But with the added motivation that Georgia fans received this week, there's now no doubt that it will be rocking between the hedges on Saturday when the Gamecocks visit Athens.
By the time Saturday night rolls around, South Carolina might be wishing that Hemingway would've included Sanford Stadium on his list of the toughest places to play in the SEC.
Tennessee reportedly held a players only meeting after tougher-than-expected win against Austin Peay
The Tennessee Vols reportedly held a players only meeting after tougher-than-expected win against Austin Peay
Featured image via Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK
