1. It's official: Josh Harvey-Clemons is a difference-maker. The sophomore safety was suspended for Georgia's first game, leading Bulldogs fans to wonder if Clemson's Sammy Watkins might have run as free had Harvey-Clemons been deployed. He played against South Carolina and fell on what would be the game's only turnover. Gamecocks quarterback Connor Shaw appeared to have converted on fourth-and-5 from the Georgia 34, but linebacker Amarlo Herrera knocked the ball loose, and Harvey-Clemons recovered, thereby preventing South Carolina from taking the lead. Of Harvey-Clemons, coach Mark Richt said: "I'm glad he was in there."
2. It's also official: Todd Gurley is flat-out great. The sophomore tailback rushed 30 times for 132 yards. He also caught a touchdown pass. And this wasn't some no-name defense Gurley was piercing: It was a D led by the famed Jadeveon Clowney, who was rendered just another guy by the Bulldogs' deft schemes and much-improved-over-Clemson blocking. Gurley's ground-controlling bursts enabled Georgia to hold a 10-minute advantage in time of possession, which surely wasn't to Clowney's liking, either.
3. Likewise official: The Clowney Heisman watch ended here. After his tepid three-tackle performance against North Carolina in South Carolina's opener, everyone wondered how he would respond. Not all that differently, as it turned out. He did have one sack against Aaron Murray in the second quarter — Clowney beat Kenarious Gates to the inside — but was credited with only one other solo tackle, and again he removed himself from the game, once drawing a penalty for illegal substitution. Afterward Richt suggested that Clowney might have been hurt in some way, but Steve Spurrier only suggested that his star had been kicked in the leg.
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