Missouri’s offense has a role in slowing Georgia’s potent attack
There’s an old adage that the best offense is a good defense, but apparently the reverse is also true.
Might the best defense be a good offense?
Georgia brings the nation’s sixth-best scoring offense to Memorial Stadium for an 11 a.m. kickoff Saturday against Missouri.
It seems easy enough to draw a bright line between the 13th-ranked Bulldogs’ run-heavy attack, which averages 45 points per game, and an onus on the 23rd-ranked Tigers’ defense to perform at a high level, but it may not so black and white.
“I think there’s a responsibility that your offense has and that’s to score points and/or stay on the field a lot,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “If you score a lot of points, it changes their game plan a little bit.”
Pinkel also said third-down conversions that extend drives and allow the defense to rest and regroup are equally critical.
While Georgia’s offense will be depleted after the SEC’s leading rusher, junior running back Todd Gurley, was suspended indefinitely Thursday by the school, it would be a mistake to dismiss completely the Bulldogs’ offense.
Georgia leads the country in fourth-quarter rushing, averaging 109.4 yards.
Much of that production came from Gurley, but the Bulldogs didn’t build the nation’s best fourth-quarter rushing attack thanks to him alone — and they’ll be eager to prove that led by true freshman Nick Chubb, the team’s second-string tailback.
Missouri counters with one of the nation’s best fourth-quarter run defenses — a unit that has allowed only 86 fourth-quarter rushing yards, 11th fewest in the nation, and an opponents’ fourth-quarter rushing average of 2.32 yards, 12th best overall.
There’s a chance that matchup ultimately will decide whether the Tigers or Bulldogs seize control of the SEC East division race, but games also seldom go according to script.
“I don’t know that you ever go into a game really knowing exactly what it’s going to be,” said Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Henson, who expected a higher-scoring game at South Carolina. “You can’t feel like, ‘Boy, we’ve got to score every time we touch the ball,’ but the truth is we feel like that all the time anyway.”
To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter at @todpalmer.
No. 13 Georgia at No. 23 Missouri
WHEN: 11 a.m. Saturday
WHERE: Memorial Stadium, Columbia
TV: CBS (Chs. 5, 13)
Other story lines
▪ SCHERER EYES SEC TACKLES LEAD: Entering the bye week, Missouri sophomore Michael Scherer led the SEC in tackles (50). He now ranks second behind Tennessee linebacker A.J. Johnson. Scherer wants the lead back. “Once I realized (last Saturday) that A.J. Johnson had more than five tackles and passed me up, I came up here and started working out,” he said. “I figured I had to get a little better.”
▪ MURPHY MOVES UP: With 188 all-purpose yards at South Carolina, senior running back Marcus Murphy passed Devin West for third on Missouri’s all-time list with 3,893 career all-purpose yards. He’s also the NCAA’s active leader in career kickoff/punt return yards (2,348).
▪ ROLLING RAY: Missouri junior defensive end Shane Ray has at least one sack in each game this season, including two apiece against Toledo, Central Florida and South Carolina. He’s also had at least two tackles for a loss in each of the last four games. Ray ranks second in the nation in sacks (eight) and tackles for a loss (11 1/2).
This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Missouri’s offense has a role in slowing Georgia’s potent attack."