Mizzou Tigers, playing with backup QBs, can’t keep pace in 43-6 loss at No. 1 Georgia
The Missouri Tigers suffered a 43-6 blowout defeat to No. 1 Georgia on the road Saturday.
With the loss, Mizzou moves to 4-5 on the season, including a 1-4 record in SEC play.
Here are takeaways from the game.
Quarterback switch up
Backup quarterbacks Tyler Macon and Brady Cook split time under center for Mizzou in Saturday’s game, with starter Connor Bazelak out because of a soft tissue injury.
Macon started and the true freshman fared better than expected early, especially considering he was up against arguably the best defense in the country in his first start.
On third-and-6 on the second drive, Macon kept the ball and ran 20 yards up the middle of the field to get to the Georgia 25. A few plays later, he ran eight yards on second down to put the Tigers on the 17. They couldn’t convert on third down, but Harrison Mevis easily sailed a 36-yarder through the uprights.
With 5:50 left in the first quarter, Missouri had a 3-0 lead over the No. 1 team in the country. Though, of course, it wouldn’t last long.
Cook saw his first action on the Tigers’ third drive, which ended in a three-and-out. Macon came back for the fourth drive and Cook was in for another three-and-out on the fifth.
Macon went 6-for-13 on pass attempts for 74 yards along with 42 rushing yards on 11 carries. Cook completed 14 of 19 passes for 78 yards and he ran the ball 10 times for 32 yards.
Second quarter woes
Missouri entered the second quarter only trailing Georgia 7-3, but things quickly went awry.
Following a three-and-out on Cook’s first drive, Grant McKinniss set up to punt the ball from the Tigers’ 29. But Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith pounced on the ball. The blocked punt trickled into the end zone, where the Bulldogs recovered for a safety.
On the fourth play of the ensuing drive, after picking up a first down, quarterback Stetson Bennett let off a rocket 47 yards down the field to wide receiver Jermain Burton. Though it initially appeared to be a touchdown, leading to roars from the Sanford Stadium crowd, officials ruled that Burton’s knee was down on the 1-yard line after a review.
The Missouri defense came up with a stop on the next play, but Georgia scored what felt like an inevitable touchdown on the following snap to take a 16-3 lead, a 1-yard rush by running back Zamir White.
The Tigers turned it over on downs on their following possession. And once the Bulldogs got the ball back, they made quick work to advance down the field, with Bennett completing passes of 31 yards and 23 yards; the latter got the Bulldogs to the MU 2.
The defense managed to stop Georgia from adding another seven points, holding the home team to a 20-yard field goal at the 5:05 mark, but nevertheless the Bulldogs had scored 12 points in a little under 10 minutes of game play and were up 19-3.
A few minutes later, after another stalled offensive drive,. Mizzou allowed Georgia to go 74 yards on nine plays in under three minutes. With 18 seconds left in the first half, the Tigers found themselves in a 26-3 hole after giving up 26 consecutive points. They never stood a chance from there.
How the Tigers fared vs. the Georgia defense
The Georgia defense is considered the best in the country, which Mizzou certainly got a taste of in the blowout defeat.
The Tigers had their fewest points (6), total yards (273) and first downs (15) of the season against the Bulldogs.
While that looks bad on first glance, considering the numbers Georgia has allowed this season, the offense actually fared around the middle of the pack.
Entering Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs were allowing an average 6.6 points per game and 3.76 yards per play to opponents all season, both of which are best in the FBS.
Though it didn’t lead to much, Mizzou did perform better than most have against the Bulldogs in the run game. Georgia had given up 2.5 yards per carry and 75.6 rushing yards per game through the first eight games of the season. The Tigers finished with 121 yards on the ground for an average 3.5 per rush. Still, it wasn’t the usual day for Tyler Badie, who had 41 yards on nine attempts.
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 2:29 PM.
