After what some Bulldog fans may call a “lackluster” 39-22 victory over the Golden Flashes of Kent State, the Georgia Bulldogs football team (4-0, 1-0 SEC) looks ahead to its second conference game of the season.
The Bulldogs will travel to Columbia, Mo., this Saturday to take on the Missouri Tigers (2-2, 0-1 SEC) for their second road SEC game of the year. Head coach Kirby Smart acknowledged how difficult in-conference away games can be.
“We talk about it all the time, it’s tough to win on the road in the SEC. I have a lot of respect for [head coach Eliah Drinkwitz], and the job he’s done, offensively and defensively,” Smart said. “This year, they have big personnel upfront. They play physical. They just played a really tough game against Auburn. A tough way to lose a game, but we’re looking forward to getting ready for these guys.”
It’s true. Missouri should’ve beaten the Auburn Tigers in overtime last weekend but fumbled the game away (literally), right before scoring a would’ve-been-game-winning touchdown.
Georgia entered the matchup last week against Kent State with zero turnovers; however, the Bulldogs had three in the first half.
Smart’s squad still racked up 29 first downs on 529 total yards last Saturday, but a Stetson Bennett interception and a couple of fumbles kept the contest interesting through all four quarters.
There’s no doubt ball security is high on the list of priorities for the Bulldogs during this week’s practices.
Georgia’s defense also looks to fine-tune aspects of its game after giving up the second-most points to any team since the start of the 2021 season.
Smart believes the Tigers have a balanced offensive attack, and the Bulldogs will need to be ready for multiple different looks come game time.
“There’s a lot of misdirection. (The Tigers’ QB) does a good job with eye candy and does a really nice job running the ball, being physical and running the ball. They’re always well-coached on the offensive front in terms of the way they block their plays, and the way they complement each other,” Smart said. “I think their quarterback’s done a good job this year. He’s a good athlete. He can scramble around and extend plays and make plays with his feet.”
Smart also gave an injury update on key guys like Arian Smith, AD Mitchell and Jalen Carter, informing the media on their availability going forward during a press conference last Monday.
“Arian has been getting better and better. He was able to do more in practice last week, but he wasn’t 100 percent. We’ll find out today where he is. He probably is a little bit ahead of AD,” Smart said. “AD’s got a shot this week, as well, so we’re hopeful to get both those guys back this week. Jalen is nursing an ankle injury. He was much better going into this game and we’re hopeful that he’s able to play this week.”
Even following an underwhelming performance and guys possibly being out, Georgia historically doesn’t have issues with Missouri. The Bulldogs are 10-1 all-time against the Tigers, with Missouri’s only win coming back in 2013.