Where Mizzou football was outmatched by Georgia and how Tigers can fix those issues
Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz didn’t need to think hard about where he saw the largest discrepancy between his No. 25 Tigers and the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs.
That difference manifested itself at the line of scrimmage. The Bulldogs commanded both sides of the trenches.
There are outside influences to what was an overwhelming mismatch, Drinkwitz said. The Tigers were only at 59 scholarship players, the first-year MU coach said, pointing to NCAA scholarship limitations, opt-outs, transfers and the novel coronavirus.
But the Tigers couldn’t match the Bulldogs’ physicality in a blowout 49-14 loss on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Mizzou (5-4) saw just how far behind it was against Georgia (7-2), the team the Tigers must overcome to compete in the SEC East.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Drinkwitz said. “Our goal is to be competitive in the SEC East. Right now, the two teams at the top of the SEC East, we weren’t competitive with. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
What has been one of Mizzou’s strengths all season, the run game led by Larry Rountree III, had its worst game this fall on Saturday. Rountree ran for just 16 yards on 14 carries, far and away a season-low.
While Rountree scored a touchdown, that was courtesy of the special teams blocking a punt that gifted the MU offense possession at the 1-yard line. Even that took until third down for Mizzou to finally punch it into the end zone.
The flip side was equally brutal for the Tigers: The defensive line was gashed and overwhelmed. While they did pick up two sacks, the Mizzou defense was virtually silent in the second half. There were some blitz calls to attack Georgia quarterback JT Daniels, though schematic changes partly stopped that pressure.
But the Bulldogs’ run game punished a depleted Mizzou roster. Georgia ran for 316 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 7 yards per carry. Daniels threw for 299 yards and three scores, two of those going to wide receiver George Pickens, who recorded 126 yards. The total yard difference was 615-200 in favor of the Bulldogs.
It was another porous day for the MU defense, resetting its season-high by allowing 49 points to the Bulldogs one week after allowing 48 to Arkansas.
“You obviously have to take today and a little bit of tomorrow and just digest it a little bit,” MU wide receiver Barrett Banister said. “See where you can get things fixed. There’s obviously mistakes that we made that we gotta get cleaned up. After that, we gotta turn our attention to Mississippi State.”
There were flashes, MU quarterback Connor Bazelak said, when the offense looked consistent. But Drinkwitz said they didn’t bring their best game, which proves fatal against a talented top-10 team like Georgia.
Indeed, the Tigers showed some fight early after finding themselves in a 14-0 deficit. The Bulldogs capitalized on Bazelak’s interception, which eventually led to a touchdown, then executed a long, run-heavy drive for another score.
Mizzou responded with its own seven points, which was followed up by the massive special teams play. Mason Pack blocked the punt then linebacker Will Norris nearly scored, giving the Tigers the ball at the 1-yard line. MU tied it up 14-14 with real momentum right before the break.
That all unraveled when Georgia scored right before halftime, the first of five straight touchdown drives. Mizzou’s offense had no answer, picking up just three first downs during the entire second half.
“Their pass rush was really good,” Bazelak said. “They’re playing multiple different coverages. They were pressing the wideouts, the corners were. We gotta do a better job of pushing the ball down the field and taking shots over the top.”
Drinkwitz, though, isn’t panicking. He said Saturday’s result was just one data point of an otherwise long season. The Tigers are locked into third place in the SEC East in 2020, an impressive feat compared to preseason projections.
It just takes time to lay down a foundation, he said. Depth was an issue Saturday, which falls on him long-term as he turns his attention to recruiting and player development.
The Tigers got another first-hand look at who they need to overcome to get to Drinkwitz’s stated goal of winning the division. They aren’t yet close — evidenced by Saturday and the 41-17 Florida loss — but Drinkwitz said he’s building toward the future.
“We lost, but hope’s not lost,” Drinkwitz said. “Like I told them, I’m disappointed in the result, I’m not disappointed in the team at all. We got our butt whipped today, that’s part of it. How you bounce back, that defines who you are as a person, as a team, as a coach.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2020 at 5:25 PM.