"We wanted to win for the Junkyard Dawg," Owens said, mentioning the late Erk Russell. "We knew we had to bring it to the table, and that's what we did."

Owens made one of UGA's biggest plays, stripping the ball from Carolina's Blake Mitchell on fourth down to preserve a shutout of the Gamecocks, the first for a team coached by Steve Spurrier since 1987.

"He (Mitchell) was trying to jump over me, so I stood up," Owens said. "I knew if I stood up, he couldn't get over me, so I stood up, and he ended up losing the ball because of it. We practice on trying to strip the ball one time each week during a drill, and I guess how we practiced is how we played."

When told that it was the first shutout of Spurrier in 19 years, the grin on Owens's face grew larger than ever.

"I didn't know that," Owens said. "Now I feel really good. Spurrier's a great offensive mind. We knew we had to bring our "A" game and take it to a whole new level. You have to bring the pressure, and not let South Carolina try and pick you apart. And next week, we have to concentrate on UAB, and bring that same level to them."

Georgia SE Mohamed Massaquoi said that the Bulldogs were out to prove something against the Gamecocks.

"We just were more focused today," he said. "We really wanted to produce today."

Both Massaquoi and Owens had praise for freshman QB Matthew Stafford, despite Stafford's three interceptions.

"He showed a lot of good things today," Massaquoi said. "The offense played really well."

"He did excellent," said Owens. "We won the game, so obviously he was doing something right. I'm proud of the entire team tonight."

And for good reason. With the win, Georgia has definitely entered the SEC East race as a frontrunner.

"This was a real special game," said Massaqoui. "They have a real high-powered offense. Coach Martinez and the defense did a great job out there."