Dogs seek rebound in SEC opener

ATHENS, Ga. --- Joe Cox waited four years for his chance to be Georgia's starting quarterback.

This wasn't quite how he envisioned it starting out.

A few days before the opener, he came down with the flu and had to travel to the game on a separate plane. Then, he subjected himself to instant second-guessing with a mediocre performance in a loss. Finally, heading into week two, there was speculation he might not even start.

No. 21 Georgia (0-1) plays host to South Carolina (1-0) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams tonight, with the Bulldogs trying to avoid their first 0-2 start since 1996.

Cox, a fifth-year senior, completed only 15 of 30 passes for 162 yards and committed two costly turnovers in a 24-10 loss to No. 5 Oklahoma State last week.

"I waited so long," he said. "I was expecting to play better. I felt like I was prepared for that game. I just didn't do what I needed to do to help my team win. That's just something I'm going to have to get over and be ready to play this week and give my team a chance to win the game."

Whether Cox would even get that chance became Internet and talk-show fodder Thursday, when a report surfaced he had a sore shoulder or arm and that sophomore Logan Gray could start against the Gamecocks.

Coach Mark Richt said Cox would definitely take the first snap, though he was a little more elusive when it came to his quarterback's health. The coach has said all along that Gray could get some playing time when the Bulldogs are in the red zone because of his running ability, as he did for one play against Oklahoma State.

"Joe's the quarterback," Richt said. "It's not unusual to have your second-team QB take a couple snaps with your one unit."

South Carolina has its own problems after managing only 256 yards in a 7-3 victory over North Carolina State. Sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia, who'll be making his third career start against an SEC opponent, threw only 22 times against N.C. State, completing 13 for 148 yards.

The margin in four of the past meetings in this series has been seven points or less, and neither team has scored more than 20 points in any of those games.

"This is a rival game. Rival games pretty much come (down) to the end," South Carolina's Cliff Matthews said. "The fans are looking forward to it and we just come ready to play. We're getting after it."