Let's savor this while we can: The Georgia Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in the land, at least according to the only voters that matter.
The Dawgs were granted (at least for this week, since those rankings are fluid) the top spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings of 2017, ahead of mighty 'Bama, ahead of defending champion Clemson and ahead of fellow undefeated teams Miami and Wisconsin.
Will it affect Saturday's game?
I can't say for sure, though I can reasonably guess the stadium will explode as the team is introduced as the No. 1 team in the land ahead of the opening kick.
Other than that, all I've got are a few glimpses into the past.
Take from them what you will.
The last time...
1) These teams met:
You might remember this game for its unusual starting time, as it was moved to Sunday because of Hurricane Matthew.
I had to watch the game on my phone, as I had already committed to volunteering at my church that afternoon. Any spare moment I had was spent tucked away in a corner watching with bated breath as Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Brian Herrien gashed the South Carolina defense for 336 rushing yards.
Jacob Eason — remember that guy? — struggled through the air that day, finishing 5-of-17 for 29 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Georgia won 28-14, a score that was padded with Terry Godwin's late touchdown return of an onside kick in the waning moments.
It was the Dawgs' first win in Columbia since 2008.
2) Georgia beat Tennessee, Florida, Vanderbilt and South Carolina in the same season:
Let's venture back to the Vince Dooley era, when some kid named Herschel Walker was tearing it up Between the Hedges.
In 1981, the Dawgs would finish 10-1 in the regular season, knocking off the Vols 44-0, the Gamecocks 24-0, the Commodores 53-21 and the Gators 26-21.
Since then, Georgia has never beaten all four of those teams in the same season, though it's worth noting that there's a gap in the Tennessee series from 1982-87. There were a few years, like 1987, where the Bulldogs beat Florida, Vanderbilt and South Carolina, but did not play Tennessee.
3) South Carolina was shutout:
Again, I'll file this into the "not likely" category, but with the way this Georgia defense has been playing this year, I wouldn't rule it out.
If the Gamecocks get shutout, it would be the first time since a 2006 date with ... Georgia.
In what became the only shutout of Steve Spurrier's career — at the hands of Willie Martinez, no less — the Dawgs went into Columbia and left with an 18-0 victory.
For what it's worth, South Carolina has been close this year. Four teams — Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Texas A&M and Tennessee — have held Will Muschamp's offense — coached by Bryan McClendon, if you didn't know — under 20 points.
And strangely enough, though maybe not for Muschamp, the Gamecocks still won two of those games.
4) Georgia started 9-0:
Let's jump back once again to the Herschel years.
In 1982, the Dawgs finished 11-0 before a gut-wrenching loss to Todd Blackledge and Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.
Since then, only two other Georgia teams have started 8-0. The 2002 team lost its ninth game to Florida.
The 2017 team will find out Saturday.
5) South Carolina won three conference road games:
I have to imagine this will be the Gamecocks' toughest road test to date, but for whatever it's worth they've already grabbed road wins over Missouri and Tennessee, both of which remain winless in conference play.
Anyway, to answer this question, we will once again have to harken back to the Spurrier era.
Let's return to 2011, when things were really rolling in Columbia. It was a time we could legitimately call the Gamecocks the defending SEC East champions.
(It hadn't happened before, nor has it happened since.)
That team would finish 11-2, with conference road wins over Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennessee.
6) Georgia beat South Carolina three straight years, with three different quarterbacks:
Jake Fromm is looking to become the third Bulldog quarterback in as many years to top the Gamecocks, following in the footsteps of Greyson Lambert in 2015 and Eason in 2016.
If Fromm gets the win — he's been kinda good at that so far in his young career — it would mark the first time since ... 2006, again.
That game actually capped a run of five straight wins over South Carolina, with the last three coming with three different men under center.
In 2004, David Greene led the Dawgs to a 20-16 come-from-behind win in Columbia; In 2005 it was D.J. Shockley going airborne in a 17-15 win in Athens; And in 2006 Joe Tereshinski III started the game, only to injure his ankle and watch Stafford come off the bench in an 18-0 win.
7) South Carolina won on CBS:
The Gamecocks have several oddities related to Saturday's game. First, they are the first visitors of the year who won't be playing a night game.
(I can't believe I just wrote that.)
Second, it will be their first game on CBS this season.
(It will be Georgia's third.)
But that last part bodes well for Georgia, since South Carolina hasn't won on CBS since ... its 2014 win over the Bulldogs in Columbia.
Oh wait, it gets weirder.
Know how many times the Gamecocks have played on CBS since then?
Once.
In their only appearance of 2016, they lost to Florida 20-7 in Jacksonville.
Did you know it gets even a bit weirder?
Next week, when South Carolina again plays Will Muschamp's former employer, it will be on CBS.
The Gamecocks went from playing on CBS once in two years to gracing the network twice in two weeks.
8) Georgia trailed:
Astute readers might remember I brought up this stat in the week leading up the Missouri game.
Well, it hasn't changed.
Since Rodrigo Blankenship booted the game-winning field goal with 3:34 left in South Bend, the Bulldogs have never trailed. Not even once.
That was Sept. 9.
That's 363 minutes, 34 seconds of game time without trailing — a shade over 6 hours of game clock, if you want it put another way.
9) South Carolina had a 100-yard rusher in back to back games:
Last week against Vanderbilt, running back A.J. Turner had 121 yards on 15 carries, the first 100-yard game of his career.
If the Gamecocks can find another 100-yard rusher on Saturday in Athens — it would be a first this season for any of Georgia's opponent I might add — it would mark the first time in nearly a year that they had back to back 100-yard rushers.
In 2016 wins over Tennessee and Missouri, Rico Dowdle carried the ball 27 times in each game, amassing 127 yards in a 24-21 win over The Champions of Life the Vols and 149 against the Tigers.
BONUS: Georgia allowed a 100-yard rusher:
Let's return to 2016.
And before we get to the answer, I'll give you a chance to take a couple guesses.
Was it, perhaps, Kenny Hill, the talented TCU quarterback who escaped for a few big gains in the Liberty Bowl?
No, it was not.
"Aha!" you say. "Then it must've been one of Georgia Tech's players. Surely the triple-option produced a 100-yard rusher."
You would be wrong again. The Jacket's leading rusher in last year's inexecusable loss was Clinton Lynch, who had 59 yards, albeit on just 4 carries.
Now, raise your hand if you guessed Louisiana Lafayette, because you'd be right.
Elijah McGuire had 129 yards on 19 carries, and the Ragin' Cajuns very nearly had a pair of 100-yard rushers, as quarterback Anthony Jennings finished with 93 yards on 16 carries, plus 3 touchdowns.
10) Georgia scored 30 points in seven consecutive games:
Boy, the trash talk about Jim Chaney has certainly died down this year, hasn't it?
The Bulldogs are averaging 38 points per game, and haven't been held under 30 since the 20-19 win over Notre Dame, a streak of six consecutive 30-spots.
Breaking the barrier Saturday would mark the first time since 2014, when Georgia opened with seven straight games of more than 30 points.
#FireMikeBobo
Sorry, still a force of habit.
***
Most lines have the Dawgs sitting around a 25 or 26-point favorite.
I keep trying to retrain my brain to this current team, which just has that "it" factor that's been missing for so long. They seem to enjoy pounding opponents into submission.
They smother on defense.
They grind away on offense.
Heck, coming into this year I would have taken the opponent at plus-25 no matter who it was. Even a Samford or Appalachian State.
Not so anymore.
I could easily see this being another game along the lines of Florida or Tennessee. I like Georgia to cover.
