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ATHENS, Ga. – No. 1 Georgia (9-0, 7-0) used a blocked punt for a safety and a touchdown drive following the ensuing free kick during a 19-point second quarter and went on to a 43-6 victory over the Missouri Tigers (4-5, 1-4).
With Connor Bazelak out with an injury, freshman Tyler Macon and redshirt freshman Brady Cook split Mizzou’s quarterback assignment, each leading five drives. Macon completed six of 13 passes for 74 yards and was the Tigers’ leading rusher with 42 yards on 11 carries. Cook was 14-of-19 for 78 yards and ran 10 times for 32 yards. They each led scoring drives that ended in Harrison Mevis field goals.
Missouri punted on its first possession, as did Georgia. MU’s Boo Smith returned it 27 yards to the Georgia 49-yard line, and Macon directed a 31-yard drive that put Mevis in position for a 36-yard field goal – his 20th successful kick in a row.
Georgia, though, recovered on its next possession, methodically moving 75 yards in 11 plays, and scored on a fourth-and-six situation on a 35-yard pass from Stetson Bennett to Arian Smith to take a 7-3 lead.
The Tigers had to punt on their next possession early in the second quarter, and the Bulldogs’ Nolan Smith blocked Grant McKinniss’ kick out of the end zone for a safety. After Sean Koetting’s free kick, the ‘Dawgs moved 62 yards, most of it coming on a 47-yard pass from Bennett to Jermaine Burton down to the Missouri one-yard line. From there, Zamir White punched it in. They added a 20-yard Jack Podlesny field goal later in the quarter and scored a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the half to take a 26-3 halftime lead.
Missouri tried an onside kick to start the second half, and recovered the ball, but following review the Tigers were called for an illegal block and had to re-kick. Georgia took the ball and moved 60 yards to a score – the big plays being a 37-yard gain by Kearis Jackson on a jet sweep and a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bennett to Burton.
Bennett then gave way to J.T. Daniels, after completing 13-of-19 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
Daniels widened the lead to 40-3 with a seven-yard pass to Ladd McConkey, before Cook got the Tigers moving. He directed a 13-play drive and converted a big fourth down with a nine-yard run, but Mevis’ 48-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright, ending his streak at 20.
MU’s Jaylon Carlies then intercepted a Daniels’ pass – his fourth pick of the season – setting up the Tigers for a Cook-directed drive that resulted in a 42-yard field goal by Mevis.
Georgia got its final points on a Podlesny field goal. With 2:33 to play, Macon re-entered the game and led the Tigers 74 yards down the field to the Georgia one-yard line. Big plays along the way were pass completions of 31 and 28 yards to Tauskie Dove. But Georgia’s vaunted defense stiffened there and turned MU away without a touchdown. The Bulldogs have allowed only five TDs all season and now have held nine straight opponents below 14 points.
Tyler Badie ran nine times for 41 yards and caught five passes for 10 yards, but for the first time this season, failed to score a touchdown. He upped his season rushing total to 1,030 yards and joined Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker, Syracuse’s Sean Tucker, Center Michigan’s Lew Nichols and BYU’s Tyler Allgeier as the nation’s first 1,000-yard rushers this season. He’s the 14th player in Missouri history to rush for more than 1,000 yards.
The Tigers return home next week for a Nov. 13 matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks, airing at 3 p.m. on SEC Network.
