Georgia 53, Mizzou 28: Key moments, players and grades

Keys to the game

Missouri: Emanuel Hall. The wide receiver, who took a starting spot for the Tigers after they dismissed Dimetrios Mason during the bye week, had his second straight game with big touchdown catches. A week after hauling in passes for 48 and 58 yards, Hall had two 63-yard touchdowns against Georgia. Those scores gave Missouri momentum early, and when the Bulldogs adjusted by playing further off Hall, the Tigers’ offense stalled.

Georgia: Jake Fromm. The true freshman quarterback had the best game of his Georgia career. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. His one interception set up Mizzou’s first score, but otherwise Fromm made few mistakes. He threw eight passes for more than 15 yards each in the first half and was 7 of 12 on third-down pass attempts, including two touchdown throws.

Missouri quarterback Drew Lock threw an interception with 6:23 left in the first half. Lock, a junior, misread a safety and attempted a deep pass over the middle to Jonathon Johnson, who had three Bulldogs near him. The turnover ended a streak of three straight Mizzou drives that ended in touchdowns, and Georgia scored the final 13 points to take a controlling lead that only grew in the second half.

The grades

C+

Mizzou did more of what made it successful against Kentucky: utilize Lock’s arm and Hall’s speed to stretch the field. That worked early, but when Georgia adjusted, Missouri mostly faded. The Tigers ran for a season-low 59 yards.

D

Cale Garrett’s interception and return to the Georgia 5-yard line set up Mizzou’s first score, but that was the defense’s only real highlight. The Bulldogs scored on 10 of 13 drives.

D

Punter Corey Fatony dropped 4 of his 6 punts down inside Georgia’s 20-yard line, but the punt he didn’t get off will be the only special-teams play Mizzou fans remember. Barry Odom held a competition for the long snapper job this week, and Drew Wise’s snap less than five minutes into the second half hit shield blocker Alec Abeln’s arm. That caused Fatony to catch the ball low and run. The Bulldogs tackled him, and Missouri turned the ball over on a loss of downs. Georgia kicked a field goal on the ensuing play to make it 40-21.

This story was originally published October 15, 2017 at 12:57 AM with the headline "Georgia 53, Mizzou 28: Key moments, players and grades."