Georgia dominates Mizzou football and snaps Tigers’ winning streak. What we learned
The Missouri Tigers started sluggish out of the gate, and while they showed some fight before halftime, Georgia dominated the second half in beating Mizzou 49-14 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 turnover-aided lead, threatening to blow out the Tigers. While No. 25-ranked MU scored a pair of touchdowns to tie the score — using a blocked punt to do so — No. 9 Georgia scored 35 straight points to slam the door on any comeback attempt.
“We’re not there right now with our program and able to compete every down,” MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz said. “Need your best stuff in order to beat a team like that. We didn’t have it today. We gotta get it back.”
It was an ugly game for the Tigers (5-4) — especially in the trenches against the Bulldogs (7-2). Georgia was dominant on the ground, bleeding clock and running for 316 yards and four touchdowns.
On the other side, it was a subpar rushing performance from the Tigers. Larry Rountree III was shut down, rushing for 16 yards as there wasn’t much running room, though he added one touchdown. The Bulldogs finished with a 316-22 edge in rushing yards.
Georgia’s pass rush was a problem for the Tigers all game as it lived in the MU backfield and caused quarterback Connor Bazelak to scramble. Bazelak had the worst game of his career since taking over as Mizzou’s full-time starting quarterback this season. He threw 17 for 28 passes for 139 yards and an interception on the game’s second play.
It was the George Pickens show Saturday as the Bulldogs wide receiver feasted against a depleted MU secondary. With starter Jarvis Ware out and Adam Sparks opting out, the Tigers were relying on plentiful youth, which Pickens picked apart for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
“I was proud of the way our guys fought,” Drinkwitz said. “Everybody was still trying to encourage everybody on the sideline to keep on going. We don’t have enough depth. We’re playing with 59 scholarship players right now.”
The Tigers close out the 2020 season with a road game at Mississippi State on Dec. 19. That game is being made up from Dec. 5 after COVID-19 postponements had to juggle the schedule. The early signing period also opens Dec. 16 as the Tigers will sign the bulk of their 2021 recruiting class.
Not there yet
Saturday was a chance for Mizzou to measure itself against one of the SEC’s elite teams in Drinkwitz’s first year at the helm. While there’s no reason to panic about the blowout loss, it did show it’ll take time to compete against premier teams like Georgia.
MU fell to 0-3, all blowouts, against teams with a winning record (Alabama, Florida and Georgia). All three of those teams are ranked in the top 10.
Mizzou is still locked into its third place spot in the SEC East before facing Mike Leach’s Bulldogs. Mississippi State has disappointed after a season-opening win over LSU. A win to close out the season would give the Tigers a winning record at 6-4.
Third down meltdown
When the game was still in doubt, the Mizzou defense had multiple opportunities to stop Georgia on third-and-long situations. But the Bulldogs converted four of the improbable downs, twice for touchdowns.
Georgia finished 8 for 13 overall on third downs. It was another long day for the defense, allowing a season-high 49 points.
This story was originally published December 12, 2020 at 2:24 PM.