Top-ranked Georgia got a taste of reality Saturday on Faurot Field at Mizzou’s Memorial Stadium.
The Bulldogs competed in a four-quarter clash with Missouri and came out on top with a 26-22 victory. But the Tigers led Georgia until late in the contest.
“There’s a ton of things to clean up and a lot to get better. I would be remiss if I didn’t give Eli (Drinkwitz), his team, the Missouri Tigers, the atmosphere they had tonight, some kudos, too,” UGA head coach Kirby Smart said after the game. “They played really physical, really hard, and whipped our butt up front, but I’m proud of the way our guys played. When we had to run it, that was about the only time we could run it when we had to.”
Missouri (2-3, 0-2 SEC) came out swinging from the jump. The Tigers dominated in all facets of the game until the Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 SEC) were able to start clicking late in the contest.
Missouri led Georgia 16-6 at the half behind the strong leg of kicker Harrison Mevis.
The Bulldogs’ defense held the Tigers to three first-half field goals while the offense committed two turnovers. The potential game-saving play came on a 63-yard run by Tigers’ running back Cody Schrader, who was chased down and tackled by Georgia’s Malaki Starks.
The freshman turned on the jets and tackled the 5-foot-9, 215-pound running back at the one-yard line. A false start penalty pushed Missouri back another five yards, and then Georgia’s defense held strong. The Bulldogs forced a field goal that Mevis made with ease.
“It says he’s got a lot of ability. We just didn’t fit the play right. We had two guys bust on the play, just things we don’t do, but for the most part, we bottled up the run,” Smart said of Starks’ effort on the play. “If you take that rush out, we controlled the run game all night, but that’s a big play for Malaki. I think he tried to strip the ball out.”
Georgia started its comeback effort slowly in the third quarter. Bulldogs’ kicker Jack Podlesny nailed his third field goal with 5:48 left in the third period, which cut the Tigers’ lead to nine. However, Mevis connected again with a 52-yarder on the next drive.
UGA quarterback Stetson Bennett hit tight end Darnell Washington for a 30-yard gain on the second play from scrimmage on the following possession. The Bulldogs got deep into Missouri territory, but the Tigers forced them to attempt another field goal. Podlesny split the uprights from 29-yards out, pulling them to within seven points, but Missouri still held a 19-12 lead heading into the final quarter.
“Unbelievable. Think about the pressure on each one of those kicks,” Smart said of Podlesny. “I feel for the kid. We’re repeatedly putting him out there in those pressure situations. He’s so confident and he has a way about him, he’s got a routine that he really believes in. He was the MVP of the night, him and so was Daijun Edwards, for sure.”
The Tigers pushed that lead back to double digits as Mevis hit a 56-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs would finally respond with a touchdown on the next drive.
Bennett then took command of the game. He completed long passes to Washington, Kenny McIntosh and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint before Kendall Milton scored a one-yard touchdown at the 9:39 mark. Podlesny nailed the extra point and UGA trailed by three.
The Bulldogs’ defense allowed only one more first down the rest of the contest, which came on Missouri’s next possession. The Georgia offense got the ball back with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter and drove 68 yards until Edwards’ completed a one-yard scoring run for the Bulldogs' first lead of the night with just over four minutes remaining.
They held the Tigers to a three-and-out on the next drive, then ran the clock out as Edwards picked up a couple of first downs to close out a close victory.
“I hate that we had to do that. It begs the question of why we couldn’t do that earlier,” Smart said about Georgia’s final two drives of the game. “The determination they showed. We always talk about rising to the competitive nature of the opportunity. The opportunity arose tonight and they answered the bell. If we don’t answer the bell earlier, then we won’t be a very good football team.
“We’ve got to improve in those areas. It’s not like we haven’t been working on it prior to tonight. We’ve seen some of those things show through. Give Missouri a lot of credit; they tried to make us one-dimensional. It was tough sledding tonight. We didn’t have our best night. That’s for sure.”
It was a tale of two halves for top-ranked Georgia. The Bulldogs were able to control the line of scrimmage in the final two quarters on both sides of the ball. In terms of yardage, Georgia out-gained Missouri 299 to 100 in the second half, plus outscored them, 20-6.
Bennett didn’t have his sharpest game, completing 24-of-44 passes for 312 yards. Brock Bowers led Georgia in receiving with five catches for 66 yards, Ladd McConkey pulled in four for 39 yards, and Washington caught three passes for 64 yards.
Statistically, the Bulldogs ran the ball well against Missouri’s front seven. McIntosh had 10 attempts for 65 yards, but Milton (eight rushes, 61 yards, 1 TD) and Edwards (10 rushes, 51 yards, 1 TD) also were productive. As a group, the unit totaled 169 yards on the night.
“Two things we talk about all the time are composure and resiliency. We had to O-D on those tonight because we certainly didn’t start very well, start in good field position,” Smart said. “I couldn’t be prouder of our guys. At halftime, nobody blinked, nobody questioned. It was the most together I’ve ever seen our team. The theme this entire week was, ‘Do it for your brother and do it for each other.’ I thought they hung tight and did that.”