Georgia Football: Could Bulldogs be on upset alert at Missouri?

No. 2 Georgia football hits the road after a dominant win over Middle Tennessee to take on SEC East offensive juggernaut Missouri in Columbia, Mo.

Georgia looks as though it hasn’t lost a step in 2018 after losing most of their defensive starters including defensive leader Roquan Smith.

The Dawgs have come to play in all of their three contests with their closest margin of victory being 34 points against division rival South Carolina.

Jake Fromm has been incredibly efficient in his first several appearances with 80.4 percent of his passes hitting their mark. The ground game continues to look like a Georgia ground game with 816 yards over the first three weeks of the season.

Defensively, the Dawgs saw the greatest test against South Carolina and they gave up 336 total yards to the Gamecocks on the road and forced two turnovers, one of which went for six on the opening drive.

Missouri’s offense is an entirely different beast for the new Georgia defense. The Tigers’ passing offense is currently fourth nationally, ahead of West Virginia, Hawaii, Boise State, and Oklahoma State. This is largely due to the continued success of Drew Lock in this offensive system on top of a lackluster defense.

Another key player from Missouri’s offense this season is Emanuel Hall. He is likely the best field-stretching receiver nationally (23.9 yards per catch) and had a field day against Georgia a season ago with 141 yards and two scores on four receptions. Their defense isn’t the worst, but they are they good enough to slow Georgia’s offense down enough to win?

In a battle between two SEC East contenders, which team will come out on top in what should be a fun game to watch?

Date: Saturday, Sept. 22
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Venue: Memorial Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN or FuboTV

Players to Watch

Georgia

Missouri

Keys to Victory

Georgia is going to have to get their job done through the air while their run game beats down the Missouri linebackers. The Tigers run defense has improved since 2017 (58th in 2017, eighth in 2018) but their pass defense is horrendous. Purdue’s David Blough threw for 572 yards against Missouri last week and he didn’t even begin the season as the sure-fire starter for the Boilermakers.

If Fromm can move the ball through the air, the Dawgs will open up the run game a bit as Missouri’s defense grows tired. Finally, keep Deandre Baker on Emanuel Hall or Hall will make the other corners into a turnstile as he did a season ago.

Missouri’s path to victory is all about the passing game. Whether or not Georgia’s pass defense is this good or not, the Tigers need to let Lock throw the ball or it will be a really long day in Columbia, Mo. Try to find ways to put Baker on Johnathan Johnson and let Emanuel Hall feast on the younger and more inexperienced corners.

Also, the Bulldogs don’t have Roquan Smith anymore and the 6-foot-5, 256-pound tight end Albert Okwuegbunam should take advantage of the less talented Georgia linebacking corps. Most importantly, Mizzou has to stop the pass. Its defense can’t be that bad on the back end if they expect to have a shot at stealing the SEC East.

Betting Odds

Courtesy of OddsShark

Points Spread: Georgia -14
Over/Under: 63.5

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Prediction

Georgia comes out of this one with a win but not without its scares. Drew Lock is garnering NFL looks for a reason and he’s going to prove it against a good, although unproven, Georgia defense. A late touchdown from Jake Fromm through the air will put the Dawgs over the top in a true road win.

Final Score: Georgia 38, Missouri 28

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