Paul Finebaum expects Georgia to ‘destroy’ South Carolina on Saturday
Paul Finebaum had strong words to say about South Carolina’s upcoming SEC opener against Georgia.
On his SEC Network show, Finebaum was speaking to Tuesday afternoon’s first caller, Pat from Georgia, when he was asked about who the Bulldogs should start at quarterback this week.
Georgia’s starting quarterback, JT Daniels, didn’t play in the Bulldogs’ last game due to an upper body injury. Backup quarterback Stetson Bennett performed well in Daniels’ place against UAB, throwing 10-of-12 for 288 yards and five touchdowns.
“I really don’t think (UGA’s quarterback) matters,” Finebaum told the caller. “I think they’ll destroy South Carolina whether Stetson Bennett, Zach Bennett, Bennett Jones or Pat from Georgia was their quarterback.”
The caller, Pat from Georgia, later mentioned how he thought South Carolina fans traveled well to games. Finebaum quickly deemed fan presence a non-factor in the outcome.
“I don’t think it matters whether they travel well or not,” Finebaum said. “They’re playing Georgia on a Saturday night, and I have a feeling the Dawg fans are going to be ready.”
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer visited Finebaum’s show Monday afternoon, and the two were cordial with each other, as usual.
Finebaum opened his Tuesday show by discussing Beamer’s statement from his press conference a few hours earlier, where Beamer gave high praise to Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and this year’s Georgia football team.
“You guys know better than me, many of you have followed SEC football longer than I have,” Beamer told reporters Tuesday. “But (Kirby Smart) may have, probably does have, the most talented football team in the history of Georgia football, and that’s not an embellishment, coach speak, and all of that.
“When you look, from top to bottom, the 11 that start on offense, the 11 that start on defense, all of their special teams units. The depth they have. The size, the physicality, the speed they have.”
Finebaum quipped at the clip after it rolled on his show.
“Hold on just a second, he just got through saying, ‘You guys have covered it longer than I have.’ So in other words, ‘I’m not really an expert, but this is the best Georgia team of all time,’” Finebaum said. “OK, we can get back to the show. I was just talking to myself there. Does that make any sense?”
Betting odds have the South Carolina-Georgia game just as lopsided, with the line settling around Georgia by 31 points. It’s a much larger point spread than last year, when Georgia was favored by 18 at the opening, and in 2019, when the Bulldogs opened as a 21-point favorite.
Georgia beat South Carolina handily last season in Columbia, 45-16. In 2019, the Gamecocks upset the Bulldogs, 20-17, after a double-overtime contest in Athens, Georgia.
This year’s South Carolina-Georgia game kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday in Athens. It will be televised on ESPN.
