Many have wondered how Jacob Eason would respond when faced with his first true test as Georgia’s starting quarterback, but it’s safe to say the true freshman surpassed even the highest expectations.

Georgia’s offense had been held scoreless for the entire second half against Missouri when Eason and the Bulldogs began what was likely their final drive of the game down 27-21 at their own 20-yard line.

What followed was the stuff of Georgia football lore.

Eason’s first pass was a 17-yard completion to tight end Jeb Blazevich down the middle of the field. He followed with a 6-yard pass to Isaiah McKenzie to give the Bulldogs a first down at the 50-yard line.

A pair of incompletions brought up a crucial third down.

And that’s when Eason displayed a quality that no quarterback since Aaron Murray has had.

Eason took the snap and heaved a deep pass to Reggie Davis down the left sideline. His pass looked to be on target, but a Missouri defender tripped up Davis before he had the chance to make a play in the end zone. As a result, the Tigers were called for pass interference, and Georgia was granted a first down and the drive continued.

After the pass interference, Eason’s next three passes fell incomplete, including two more shots into the end zone. Facing fourth down, the Bulldogs were down to their final gasp. The Bulldogs called timeout and went back to the connection that had been working all night.

Like he had for most of the game, Kirby Smart placed his faith in the true freshman and Eason showed why he’s more than just hype.

In the biggest moment of Georgia’s young season, Eason found McKenzie in the seam for a 20-yard touchdown. The throw was delivered at just the right time in just the right place, and the Bulldogs left Columbia with a victory.

“They never stop fighting, they never stop believing, and I’m proud of that,” Smart said after the hard-fought win. “The kid really grew up tonight. The quarterback grew up a lot and became a better player.”

Georgia arrives back in Athens with much more than just a perfect 3-0 record, however, it arrives with a budding star at the quarterback position.

With the Tigers intent on shutting down the Bulldogs’ run game, Eason threw for 308 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception. His 55 pass attempts were the most by a true freshman quarterback in Georgia history.

That the coaching staff trusted Eason enough to throw that many times is impressive, but for him to lead the Bulldogs to a win while throwing so often is truly incredible. Missouri dared the freshman to beat them with his arm, and he did just that.

Eason’s final drive is indicative of what we’ve seen from him so far this year. A couple of well-timed moments with a few head-scratching plays sprinkled in between.

For example, before his fourth-down touchdown, Eason took two shots to the end zone when he didn’t need to. Yes, the aggressive attitude is a great sign, but it didn’t appear that Eason had a plan and those were two very valuable downs at that point in the game.

Georgia could have gained another first down inside of the 10-yard line and had more time to reach the end zone. It ended up working out in the end, but these are the types of in-game improvements that the coaching staff will try to bring to Eason’s raw talent.

“We need to get him looking in the right places,” Smart told reporters Saturday. “There are a lot of times where he is throwing the ball to the wrong place. Even that last drive a couple times, Isaiah was tired or winded and we have to get him out of there, and he kept throwing fade balls to him.”

Against North Carolina, Eason showed how his ability to throw the ball deep could have a positive impact on Georgia’s offense. In his first game as a starter, Eason revealed that he could, in fact, lead the team but still needed to reign it in at some points.

The final minutes of his first SEC road game did nothing to disprove those prior revelations, but it did teach us something else about Jacob Eason: This freshman can get the job done when it matters the most.

“That means he has it,” McKenzie said after the game, according to The Red & Black. “He has it in him. He keeps his composure in the huddle. He keeps us up high. He encourages us in the huddle. In those situations, you wouldn’t expect that from a freshman. For him to come in there and do what he does, I love it.”

And that, more than the thrilling victory, is what made Saturday night so important for the Bulldogs moving forward.

William McFadden covers the University of Georgia for Saturday Down South. For news on everything happening between the hedges, follow him on Twitter @willmcfadden.