Joe Cox has caught his fair share of heat on message boards since Georgia’s 24-10 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday. But the fifth-year quarterback isn’t listening.

“It’s not that tough at all, to be honest with you, because half the people that have things to say after games have never played a down of football before in their entire life,” Cox said. “Some people feel it’s their place to try and say how somebody’s doing when they’ve never done it before. That’s been something I’ve never understood.

“But stuff like that doesn’t bother me. You’ve got to look at the source, at who’s talking. And if it’s somebody that’s never played football, I could care less what you say.”

After the first season-opening loss of coach Mark Richt’s career, the Bulldogs dropped eight spots to No. 21 in the AP poll Tuesday, one of only three ranked teams with a first-week loss. An offense that looked lackluster, out of sync and predictable for the majority of the game was Georgia’s falling point.

“We have to mix things up,” Richt said. “We can’t just sit there and say we are going to grind it out with everyone that we play. We have to have a good mix of run and pass. I think we ran it 30 times and threw it 30 times, so it’s not like we weren’t mixing it up. I think it was an execution issue probably more than anything else.”

A Georgia team has not started 0-2 since coach Jim Donnan’s team dropped games against Southern Miss and South Carolina to start the 1996 season.

Back from injury, Caleb King should play against Gamecocks

Redshirt sophomore tailback Caleb King, sidelined since mid-August with a hamstring injury, is expected to play Saturday against South Carolina, Richt said Tuesday.

“We do plan on playing him. How much will depend on this week’s practice and probably also will have to do with what he does when he gets his opportunities,” Richt said

King had been the Bulldogs’ No. 1 tailback prior to his injury, but was losing ground to sophomore Richard Samuel. Samuel got the majority of the carries in his stead Saturday, rushing for 87 yards on 20 carries.

Defensive end positive about performance of small unit

Against a mobile quarterback and a spread offense, Georgia’s defensive ends failed to chart a sack in Stillwater. They did, however, recorded seven tackles.

“I think we did a good job of playing the read play and the option pretty well,” said starter Rod Battle. “I think it’s a good starting point minus the loss. But each week presents a new challenge, so we’ve got to let that go and get ready for this week.”

With experienced depth continuing to be an issue until Justin Houston returns from his suspension next week, tackle Geno Atkins spent plays at the end position, joining former linebacker Marcus Washington and freshman Cornelius Washington as Bulldogs spending their first real time at the position.

“I think they’re continuing to get better and we’ll be glad when Houston gets back,” Battle said.