South Carolina, behind dominant defensive front, tears apart Georgia

Steve Spurrier has recruited a ton of talent to South Carolina. As a result, the Gamecocks might be the most balanced team in the SEC, at least outside Tuscaloosa.

The Gamecocks were dominant in every phase as it surprisingly blew out Georgia 35-7 in the second game of the day between Top 10 ranked SEC teams. The biggest stars of the night, however, were on South Carolina's defensive line.

In the first half, Georgia and its star freshman running backs gained just 18 yards on 17 rushing attempts. South Carolina's defensive front controlled the game. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, Spurrier's biggest recruiting coup, could start for just about any NFL team right now and seems like a lock to be a top 5 draft pick. Beside him, South Carolina has many big, athletic tackles who are tough to block - especially when Clowney needs to be double-teamed on most downs. The Gamecocks defense completely shut down a Georgia offense that had scored 40 points in each of its first five games. A talented, deep defensive line will give South Carolina a chance to win each game it plays this year.

[Related: Florida shows toughness in gritty defensive win over LSU]

South Carolina was strong on offense and special teams against Georgia too. Quarterback Connor Shaw had to throw only 10 times but completed six for 162 yards, running back Marcus Lattimore rushed for 109 yards and the Gamecocks got a dazzling punt return for a touchdown from Ace Sanders:

The next two weeks will go a long way in determining if South Carolina is a national title contender. The Gamecocks play at LSU and at Florida the next two Saturdays.

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