COLUMBIA -- Georgia hasn't learned when an NCAA committee will hear the appeal of wide receiver A.J. Green's four-game suspension, athletic director Greg McGarity said Saturday.
UGA expects the appeal to be heard sometime next week. The hearing will be conducted by conference call.
The group that hears the appeal, the NCAA Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, is made up of officials from NCAA member schools. That's a different group than the NCAA staff members who handed down the four-game suspension. The committee typically decides on appeals within a day or two of a hearing.
Georgia is expected to present what it believes to be mitigating factors in an attempt to get a game or two shaved off Green's suspension.
The NCAA said that according to the facts of the case submitted by Georgia, Green sold his Independence Bowl jersey for $1,000 "to an individual who meets the NCAA definition of an agent."
In response to an open-records request from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, UGA on Friday said it would not release documents related to the case because doing so "would directly identify one particular student," Green. The university said that would violate a federal law protecting student-education records, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Playing without A.J.
Green reacted to Saturday's loss on his Twitter account.
"I'm sick," he tweeted.
"But we will bounce back," he added. "[W]hen I get back someone will have a price to pay. [T]rust me!!!!!"
In Green's absence, seven Georgia players caught passes, led by Kris Durham's three for 76 yards, including a long of 55.
"You can't replace A.J.," Durham said. "I tried to step up. We all tried to step up our game. But you can't replace that. He's one of the best players in college football."
King sidelined
Tailback Caleb King, who got only one carry in the second half of the season opener because of a twisted ankle, got none Saturday.
"He was hobbling most of the week in practice," coach Mark Richt said.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo conceded that King's absence "hurt us a little bit" but said he thought Washaun Ealey "was fresh and ran hard" throughout.
Ealey, making his season debut after being suspended from the opener because of an off-season arrest, had 75 yards on 19 carries. But he fumbled near the goal line in the third quarter as Georgia seemed poised to score a touchdown. South Carolina's Stephon Gilmore recovered the fumble at the Gamecocks' 1-yard line and returned it 13 yards to the 14.
"I feel like I played OK [overall]," Ealey said. "I didn't play up to my potential."
King and Ealey formed a formidable taiback tandem late last season, sharing carries.
The Spurrier file
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier appreciated some postgame words from Richt.
"I shook hands with the opposing coach, and he said, ‘Coach, you have a heck of a team,'" Spurrier said. "I don't think anyone has ever told us that before [at South Carolina]."
In his postgame news conference, Spurrier tweaked Georgia's new defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, a long-time NFL assistant, just a bit.
"When you have a back like Marcus [Lattimore] and the linemen opened cracks, I'm sure that Georgia defensive coordinator [became frustrated]," Spurrier said. "That little inside zone play, the NFL doesn't run that play. That's a new scheme, I guess.
"I'm sure they knew we'd run it, but they certainly didn't stop it much."
Lattimore's 37 carries were the most against Georgia since Auburn's Kenny Irons had the same number for 179 yards in 2005.
Houston's big day
Outside linebacker Justin Houston had three sacks, the most by a UGA player since Marcus Howard's three against Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl following the 2007 season.
Houston also had a career-high 10 tackles and a forced fumble.
But the fine individual numbers were ruined by the score, he said. "We lost, so I feel like I lost."
Etc.
Fullback Shaun Chapas left the game in the first half with a sprained ankle and did not return. Richt said wasn't aware of any other injuries in the game. ... Georgia's six points were its fewest in a game against South Carolina since 1904, when the Bulldogs lost in Columbia 2-0. ... The last time Georgia did not score a touchdown in a game? A 16-12 loss to South Carolina in Athens in 2007. ... Saturday's loss was Georgia's first in Columbia under Richt after four victories. ... The Ogletree twins, freshmen Alec and Zander, became the first brothers to play for Georgia in the same game since 1999 (Dustin and Miles Luckie). Both of the Ogletrees played on special teams. ... Linebacker Akeem Dent wore No. 31, rather than his regular No. 51. A different UGA player is wearing No. 31 each game this season in honor of safety Quintin Banks, who was forced to forgo his senior season because of recurring knee injuries. ... Although overshadowed by Lattimore's performance, South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery had 100-plus receiving yards (103 on seven catches) for the fifth time in his career. ... The win evened South Carolina's all-time record in football at .500 (536-536-44).
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