Did Georgia take a cheap shot on Ryan Hilinski on play that injured South Carolina quarterback?

South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Ryan Hilinski has to leave the game on a late hit by a Georgia Bulldogs linebacker. But was it a cheap shot?

Deep in South Carolina Gamecocks territory, quarterback Ryan Hilinski had to exit the game versus the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs on what looks to be a dirty hit by outside linebacker Adam Anderson. South Carolina held a 17-10 lead over Georgia at halftime but will it need its starting quarterback the rest of the way to hold on for the upset victory. Was this a dirty hit by Anderson?

At first glance, yes, this looks to be a dirty hit by Anderson. It looks as though he left his feet and went right at Hilinski’s feet, which caused his already injured knee to buckle. Anderson was given a 15-yard rougher the passer penalty as a result of the late hit, even though Georgia had forced what was thought to be a punt.

However, upon further inspection, you will see that Anderson happened to trip over the South Carolina left tackle when rusher the Gamecocks passer. So no, it didn’t look like Anderson meant to hit Hilinski when and where he did. That being said, the officials still threw the flag and allowed South Carolina to extend its drive on which it would later punt.

Georgia has not been itself in this ball game. The Dawgs have struggled with the South Carolina pass rush. With the Gamecocks taking an errant Jake Fromm pass to the house, they have every opportunity here to play spoiler and sink their division rival’s College Football Playoff dreams.

Dakereon Joyner has since come in to play quarterback for the injured Hilinski, who wasn’t the Gamecocks’ Week 1 starter to begin with. That would have been the ageless wonder that is Jake Bentley, but he succumbed to a brutal injury in Week 1’s neutral-site loss to Mack Brown‘s North Carolina Tar Heels in Charlotte.

South Carolina has Georgia on the brink up seven heading into the fourth quarter. It would be a huge win for the Gamecocks and one that might keep head coach Will Muschamp around for a bit longer. However, if they can’t go the rest of the way with Hilinski, the Dawgs might stay undefeated for yet another Saturday. It was a tough break for Hilinski, but it was not a cheap shot.

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