Be concerned: Since last loss to Georgia, Drew Lock and Mizzou have been rolling
On a noisy mid-October night last season in Athens, Drew Lock always seemed to have an answer. Neither the Georgia defense nor the 92,000 screaming fans could stop the talented Missouri quarterback.
Georgia would score, but then Lock would throw a touchdown pass. First, he answered to make it 7-7. And then 14-14 and then again at 21-21. The unbeaten Bulldogs, a few weeks from being ranked No. 1 in the country, couldn’t shake the talented QB.
Lock threw a fourth TD pass late, but by then, the rout was on. Georgia manhandled the Missouri defense all night in rolling up 696 yards, its most ever in an SEC game and the second-most in school history.
The Dawgs were lucky Drew Lock couldn’t play defense.
Georgia won that night, on Oct. 14, and Lock finished with 253 yards passing and those four scores. He was brilliant in the 53-28 loss where he defensive colleagues let him down. And since then, Missouri has won nine consecutive regular-season games. The team that everyone likes to forget about in the SEC East is suddenly scary again, looking for a big win once again to define a season.
Lock is back, ready to host the Bulldogs Saturday (Noon ET; TV: ESPN) in Columbia. He’s still there, and he’s still scary. So far this season, the Tigers are 3-0 and Lock is 78-for-113 passing for 1,062 yards, with 11 touchdown passes against just one interception. Only one Power 5 QB has thrown more TD passes this season.
The Bulldogs, now No. 2 in the latest AP poll, are ready for the challenge.
“It’s fun. I love it. That’s why people come to play at Georgia,” safety J.R. Reed said Monday. “That’s why I came here, is to play this good of competition. It’s great teams that can pass the ball, like Drew Lock, who might be a first-round pick, a first-round quarterback. That’s always fun. I love the challenge.”
It will be, without question, a challenge for the Bulldogs, especially on the road. Lock just might be the best quarterback in the country. Georgia coach Kirby Smart has nothing but respect for the senior who will be a sure-fire high pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
“I don’t know if his arm can get any stronger. He can make every throw. He threw the ball outside of the stadium last year on us,” Smart said. “I think the biggest thing is his maturity level, his confidence. He’s seen the coverages. He’s seen the checks. He understands where he wants to go with the ball. He’s got as fast of release as I’ve ever seen. He can get the ball out so quick, and he does such a good job of keying your defenders and knowing where to go with the ball.
“You can tell they really work hard on it, and I think he’s just more mature. I think anytime you play in this conference and you go to the venues he’s gone to, to have three years under your belt or being in your third year, it makes it a lot more comforting. He throws the ball with purpose. And he puts them in the right play a lot, and he’s a really good athlete. The guy takes off running on his some zone reads, he keeps the ball and he exposes people. He runs for 20 and 30 when he takes off and does it. He just doesn’t do it very often. You can tell he’s a good athlete. So I got a lot of respect for him, and you can tell the way he runs and scrambles and throws the ball he’s a competitor.”
Lock has played well so far, and that 11-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio is the first sign of that. In wins against Tennessee-Martin, Wyoming and Purdue, the Tigers have scored at least 40 points in every game. The offense is scary good, but that Missouri defense still leaves something to be desired. Georgia should be able to score at will, but the way Lock is playing, they might need to.
The Bulldogs, they remember. Point for point.
“Yeah, we’re focused 100 percent on Missouri because we know what they’ve done and we know how we felt during the game last year,” Smart said Monday. “There were some times they were really explosive on us, and we’ve got to go out and focus on playing these guys.”
Georgia is the prohibitive favorite to win the SEC East, but the most logical contenders so far are Missouri and South Carolina. The Dawgs beat Carolina 41-17 on the road two weeks ago, keeping veteran quarterback Jake Bentley in check.
And now comes another veteran QB, one with a better arm, better vision and a huge desire to have a big game on a national stage. Georgia, despite being 14-point favorites, should be concerned.
Very concerned.
Smart knows the challenge, and he refuses to look past the Tigers. He understands the daunting task at hand.
“As far as the rest of the SEC East or SEC, I can’t tell you. I’m not concerned with it,” he said. “I’m really focused on the challenges that Missouri presents, which is really big, physical players, an experienced quarterback, a tough place to play. All the combinations that you look for, they’ve got good players at each position.”
Another week another Upset Dawgs Alert article.
I’m actually enjoying it. It’s certainly better than the rat poison Bama gets every week.
Lock was “brilliant” losing by 25 points. I’m not sure I follow that logic.
Because you can’t seem to comprehend the fact that losing a game doesn’t mean you played poorly.
Losing like Auburn did by one point to LSU is one thing, losing by more than 3 touchdowns is something else entirely.
For the team as a whole, yes. But for the QB as an individual, very different. If you haven’t noticed, our defense is pretty bad. If our defense held UGA to 14 points last year, does that suddenly change your perception of Lock’s performance? If the answer is yes, then your previous comment should be retracted.
This could be a really good game if……. Mizzou can find some defense. Lock is going to get his throws in and Mizzou will score. Probably more points scored on UGA than any other sec team. But they won’t score every time they get the ball and UGA might if Mizzou doesn’t find that D somewhere. No way to stop UGA from scoring but if you can find a way to get some key stops you have a chance. Win the turnover battle and win on special teams. I think it takes all those things. Not 2 of 3 but all 3 to have a shot.
The Kansas City Star isn’t convinced: Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm should consider bringing a lawn chair with him to Faurot Field, considering the lack of pressure Missouri got on Purdue quarterback David Blough. LOL, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I’m not sure it will be as “close” as it was last year frankly. Big Tigers fan here, but also realistic. Unless they find whatever Iowa ate before trashing Ohio State last year, I’m thinking UGa wins 49-24. 49 because I believe ball control/clock kill will keep it down. That said, no reason we can’t win all other games outside of Bama and UGa, but I’m sure we will I’ll step on our d@ck at least 2 more times after that.
I’m not sure it’ll be as close as last year either, but the 25 point spread you predict (49-24) is exactly how much Mizzou lost by last year too (53-28)
where does Georgia rank on the sacks list?
Where does Georgia rank on the points allowed list?
How does that compare to to what the original statement was about quarterback pressure?
Cause nobody cares if UGA doesn’t get a single sack as long as they get the W.
Umm the original statement was about gettin pressure on fromm… so you are in the wrong regardless… besides who needs to pressure the qb with risky blitzes when you keep them from scoring anyway.
No the original statement was how funny Missouri lack of pressure on the QB was, coming from a team last in sack in the nation. So yes you are wrong. No one said anything about wins, loses, or good defense. Georgia is a very good team but two good years doesn’t make you Alabama like you think you are
And mizzou is average at best so I am not just defending mizzou
I wouldn’t call Mizzou average. Average means middle of the pack. Mizzou is S&P at 29 … but 10th in offence. Mizzou is receiving votes in the top AP 25 and especially in the Coaches 25. Mizzou is ranked 4th in passing offence nationally. 7th in total offense. 74th in total defense but 8th in rushing defense. You read that right. 8th. We are 25% into the schedule now. We all played pud games. We all have some sampling. Mizzou is not average this year. (source: S&P and CFBSTATS)
Much of the reason Mizzou is 8th in defense is because Purdue was having so much success throwing they didn’t try to run the ball.
8th in “rushing defense” I meant.
You make a good point, but I wouldn’t expect to see that vanilla and less-than-violent pass rush this Saturday. Beckner came back because he knew they’re going to be special- hope it’s a great game and both teams stay healthy UGARMYRet.
Yeah, that Alex Schiffer (KC Star) is so snapchat clever. What is he? 15-years old? What is missed in this game is Purdue needed the win, like needed it. They did not want to go 0-3 for the first time in a million years. But they lost. Mizzou still won. Mizzou wanted it more. All else is irrelevant. This isn’t the Victoria’s Secret fashion show here. This is football. Only the “W” matters.
Kansas City, Missouri is Kansas Jayhawk country. They’ll take any shot, including cheap ones, at Missouri whenever they can.
So is Mizzou the east version of Ole miss, hopefully it will be the same kind of beat down.
No, Ole Miss has good receivers. Mizzou has a qb and thats it
Lol! Yes, Missouri has several talented receivers, including one who averages almost 30 yards a reception.
Someone has to catch the balls, right? Mizzou is ranked 4th in the nation in passing plays, 6th in long passing plays 20-70 yards. Frankly, people don’t watch Mizzou games and it shows here. (source: CFBstats)
You don’t study or watch much college football do you? Emanuel Hall leads the conference in receiving yards and the number two receiver from Bama isn’t even close.
I would have agreed with you last year at this time before Hall emerged. Now Mizzou is stacked with talent Lock can throw to.
If I remember right, Lock did most of his damage on 2 63 yd passes and was average for the rest of the game last year. In fact after you take the 2 63 yd passes out, Lock’s stat line was 13/23 passing for 127 yards and 2 TDs. Not exactly lighting it up. If Lock can throw 4-6 63 YD TD passes, Mizzou does have a shot. Not a good shot but they would have a shot if Lock throws 4-6 63 yd TDs.
Exactly. Writers simply look at stat lines and box scores rather than actually watch the game from the previous year. I was at the game and not one person in the crowd was ever actually nervous.
Pretending his long scores were flukes is silly. He led the country in all long ball categories for a reason.
They’re called “50/50 balls” for a reason. Not many teams build their offense around deep balls, and the ones that do tend to put up gaudy stats in games they lose.
One would have expected a certain percentage those so called 50/50 balls to land in Georgia’s lap. Didn’t happen. Your argument holds no water. Throw in the whole season last year and he threw only 13 int’s on 400+ throws.
I thought he did throw an Interception against UGA?..
Both Lock and Fromm threw interceptions in this game. But I don’t see where someone has brought this up in this string.
The post right before mine brought it up…
I think that’s because of the misuse of the term 50/50 balls at the outset. 50/50 balls is not a term for long throws. 50/50 balls are desperate balls either could catch, much like a Hail Mary. The term “interception” was not used.
LMAO. It’s not a 50/50 ball when the QB delivers a perfect strike to a streaking receiver and the defender has zero chance of defending it cuz he’s burnt like toast. I just rewatched the highlights from last years game….those weren’t 50/50 throws by any stretch of the imagination.
Very true about last year. The offense was too one-dimensional which is why it was surprising Georgia didn’t contain him until the 2nd half. It wasn’t just about one game, it was like that for much of the season even when they were on the winning streak. This year is much different on offense. Lock is better and he has as many targets as Mahomes has in KC. Unfortunately for Missouri, Mizzou’s defense is comparable to last year.
By the way, Fromm threw for 326 against Mizzou last year. Lock was good but not as good as Fromm that day.
Georgia had the 8th ranked pass defense last year. How many yards do you believe Lock could have mustered against Missouri’s 108th ranked pass defense?
“Lock was good but not as good as Fromm that day.”
True enough, Cclau, but the opposing D quality may have had something to do with that..
Well, actually, Lock threw for 4 touchdowns on those 253 yards. Fromm had 2 on 326. I think you meant, “I’ll take the win any day,” or something like that.
Just a guess but here goes………….
DEFENSE…..
The Dawgs will run a four man front with the linebackers looking to drop into coverage (especially with UM’s tight ends).
The Tigers won’t win the game running the ball but we will at the same time be on the look out for some kind of ground attack.
OFFENSE………
I was reading some comments on the Missouri page – they are apoplectic about their defense.
Look for the Dawgs to run the ball, control the clock, and keep the ball away from Drew Lock. By the third quarter, UM’s D-line will begin to whither away.
If the game becomes a shoot-out, I have all the confidence in the world with Jake Fromm slinging it 30-35 times. We have a superb WR corps and TE corps. Hot Rod may need to kick us a few FG’s.
GO DAWGS!
If UGA needs (not makes, but needs) FGs to win this game, they are in trouble down the road.
I think you are reading this inaccurately need as in we will be stopped a few possessions not need as in win the game… you can only NEED one field goal to win a game.
I get what you’re saying, but I think that’s a misleading way to use need. I think of need as require. If FGs are required for UGA to win against Mizzou, they will have a hard time in some of their remaining games.
If you win by 27 and make 2 FGs, you didn’t need the FGs.
If you win by 8 and make 3 FGs, you didn’t need every FG, but you needed the FGs.
And as you say, if you win by 1, any FG you made was necessary.
Basically, UGA only NEEDS FGs if they are the only form of scoring that accounts for the margin of UGA’s victory over Mizzou. You can make some gameflow arguments, but I still think that if UGA needs to rely on its kicker to win or even control this game, they are in trouble because they are almost certainly nowhere near as good as they will need to be to win some of their remaining games.
“Since last loss to Georgia, Drew Lock and Mizzou have been rolling”
Let’s take a quick look at who they’ve been “rolling” against…shall we?
’17 Idaho, (4-8)
’17 Connecticut, (3-9)
’17 Florida (4-7)
’17 Tennessee (4-8)
’17 Vanderbilt (5-7)
’17 Arkansas (4-8)
’17 Texas (Loss) (6-6)
’18 TN-Martin (0-3)
’18 Wyoming (1-2)
’18 Purdue (0-3)
Might need my glasses but I didn’t see a single team with a winning record.
That is quite the schedule.
So Georgia doesn’t count wins against inferior teams? You guys are trying really hard to sell the obvious fact that Georgia is the better team. Are you trying to convince yourselves?
Nope.
I don’t follow Georgia’s schedule but I know off the top of my head they beat Notre Dame, Auburn and Oklahoma. That may trump the slew of W’s Mizzou has encountered above.
Of course those you’ve listed were bigger wins. We still beat our scheduled competition. Makes me smile you guys expect Missouri fans to be ashamed of it. Should bama fans be ashamed of taking ole miss to the woodshed last week?
There is a difference… Missouri lost to every team with a winning record and only beat the bad teams… Even Texas took them behind the woodshed in the bowl… Sure you beat your scheduled competition that had losing records….
We weren’t that great of a team that year, no argument there. The one loss was after losing the OC and OLine coach. Can’t say tejas would have lost had the coaches not departed, but who knows? Does bama lose a natty if kiffin called the game?
We rattle those wins off with lesser supposed star power than 90% of or competition and literally made two coaches lose their jobs. MIZ
What does Bama and Kiffin matter in this conversation?… You can play the hypothetical game I’ll stick with what actually happened last season…
Bama and Kiffin were brought up because you referenced the Texas loss. I explained I felt we would have more than likely had a better showing and related it to Bama probably not losing the National Championship had Kiffin peen present calling plays. Not too much of a deviation from the convo.
Right.. So like I said, you play the hypothetical game… We seen what happened..
Look no further than your last SDS statement Matt. “While the schedule may include cupcakes, the dominant performances speak for themselves” MU averaged 45+ points a game during that 10 game stretch you chose. That’s pretty dominant.
Dominant against those 10 teams that went 31-61. Who wouldn’t be dominant?
Yup, mizzou really screwed the pooch by winning 9 out of their last 10 games. Can you believe their audacity in winning by 20-30 points (40 in a couple)? They better right the ship!
Proud that the Captain is defending his team. Good job.
Yup. Pretty much sums up their “roll.” To date this season, Mizzou hasn’t played anyone with a defense, and the only “offense” they faced, from an 0-3 squad no less, lit them up for nearly 600 yards passing with a backup QB. This game will only be a showcase for the disparity between UGA and the rest of the SEC East. Same Mizzou as last year… …slayers of FCS and weak FBS squads, scrappers against the mediocre FBS squads, and fodder for everyone else.
This game will let us know where we’re at as a team. I think mizzou can compete with (and beat) most teams in college football right now, but elite teams like Georgia are another story. We could lose by 40 points and it wouldn’t necessarily mean mizzou is a bad team, it just means that elite teams are head and shoulders above everyone else. Since joining the sec we’ve beat Georgia, lost close games to Georgia, and gotten rolled by Georgia. It’s tough to predict what kind of game we’ll see on saturday but there’s one thing that is certain – you can never look at last year and use it as an indicator for this year.
The one loss and close games were against mediocre Richt teams and Kirby’s first year. This UGA team bares no resemblance to those teams.
I could say the same about Mizzou.
You know, I recall the posts during the Richt years. I was here. It’s funny how the narrative has changed to fit the new one.
Oh, the new Richt narrative. Revisionism. You should have been here then, but you were probably a pupa at that time.
The only concern is the point spread lol….. 14
points? give me the dawgs.
That surprised me too. Mizzou is in for a long day.
Georgia will have covered the spread halfway through the 1st quarter.
Then in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th quarter? Do you understand betting?
The explanation I heard on the radio for the point spread is due to injury uncertainty with UGA’s starting LT and starting WR. We’re not certain if they will play.
Has the spread moved at all this week? I haven’t been following.
Has Mizzou actually beaten a team with a winning record since they last played UGA?
Negative. And they are 3-0 this year against teams with a mind-blowing 1-8 record.
Absolutely, Mizzou needs to apologize and discount winning games scheduled for them, just like Georgia does.
I don’t always agree with, Wolf. But I get a different insight out of his posts. The closer you are to being s**t, the easier it is to find flies — to pull the wings off of.
Half the teams in the SEC have losing records every year, in-conference. We must be one messed up group of football flunkies then, said you, and your classic greek not an argument.
Except half of the teams don’t have a losing conference record every year….
You never post anything that’s actually true….
^^ Wolfman’s posts are laden with half-truths or outright blatant misrepresentations of the facts.
I just noticed the picture of Lock at the top of this article. That looks like one hell of a bruise on the inside of Lock’s throwing hand….must have been from two weeks ago. It obviously didn’t bother him last Saturday at Purdue.
I’m hoping beyond hope, that both sides of the ball for Mizzou have some surprises in store for this week. Perhaps we aren’t really all THAT bad in our secondary? Maybe we were playing some extremely basic coverages because Acey was out? Is it a stretch to think that maybe we did this so as to not put too much on film for Georgia? I don’t know….but it would be nice if that was the reality.
The truth probably is that our secondary is young and our zone coverage sucks. Maybe we can grow up some between now and Saturday.
Offensively, it would also be nice to see if Dooley breaks out any new formations we haven’t seen yet. Kind of a curveball if you will, to keep the Georgia D honest. Again, this probably won’t be the case, but it would be nice to see something new….if for no other reason than to make the Georgia D have to think instead of just play and react.
Should be an entertaining game, that’s for sure. Going with my heart on this one instead of my head: Mizzou 34 Dawgs 31
Your heart really thinks Mizzou’s Defense can hold UGA to 31 points? Interesting!
Probably not. But I think this game will tend to be a bit lower scoring than most. Both offenses, trying to keep the other side off the field, will slow things down and use the run more. I think that will keep the overall score lower than might otherwise be the case.
It is possible that it is a shadow rather than a bruise. Look at the shadow where his right arm enters the jersey. The hand and arm are at similar angles, and the shadows are somewhat comparable (even though caused by different objects). Lighting in places like stadiums can cause strange shadows where you might not expect them. I think his helmet is actually the cause.
Stickum + dirt. Mystery solved.
At least Tom didn’t do anything as stupid as Keith Farner and list 5 areas where Mizzou is inarguably “better” than UGA. Much easier to not look like a fool when one doesn’t make outlandish statements such as that.
Much like Carolina, the Dawgs will roll.
51-24. Like with Sakerlina, Mizzou keeps it close in the first half. The Dawgs depth will win win out however, just like it did against Sakerlina, breaking huge runs for scores in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Let’s face it Mizzou is the underdog in this one and rightfully so. Still it’s at our house, we do have a strong offense and one of the best QB’s in the country. I can recall many a time where we surprised and beat a highly ranked team. Mizzou/Oklahoma and the 2007 Mizzou/KU games come immediately to mind. In both cases Mizzou beat teams ranked either #1 or #2 in the nation. Anyone pretending it isn’t a possibility isn’t being honest with themselves. Still – I wouldn’t bet the house on Mizzou without 17-21 points. No reason to believe our DE’s will put any pressure and with average or below average secondary – it’s going to be a high-scoring game. 50-38 seems about right to me. We’ll need a plus 2-3 turnover margin and a huge special teams score to put the scare into them. Take the over. MIZ….
“Mizzou/Oklahoma and the 2007 Mizzou/KU games come immediately to mind. In both cases Mizzou beat teams ranked either #1 or #2 in the nation”
But mizzou loss it’s edge when Gary Pinkel resigned and your team is going through some down years like tenn and fla (your team moved to the sec east at a good time). Like those teams, it takes time to start over so don’t expect too much.
Pinkel will only be a Mizzou legend so long as he is a stat. Nothing more.
One other point – maybe just maybe our Defense has played it vanilla till now and Acey being out hurt. Maybe, just maybe we bring some exotic blitz packages and our secondary steps up to keep it close. Mizzou will have to take some risks to keep it close – I’m talking going for it on 4th and 2 (multiple times), linebacker blitzes, a few trick plays…maybe try and bust out a kick return. Without several surprises – don’t think Mizzou can hang because of a weaker defense – especially the weak spots at DE and Corner.
MuDiverDude, I like your attitude. I’ve found Mizzou gets affected by team leaders when they leave a game. I know, odd. Acy was a big loss in the secondary at Purdue, psychologically. I saw the same thing when Beckner left with an injury. This is a maturity thing. Never shake your head. Next man up.
Chalk me up as being “not concerned.”
Oh the hyperbole…
Dawgs just need to stay focused. Lock is good and has couple of potentially great receivers. This will be a good test for Reed, Baker and the younger DB guys! Much different than SC with a one trick pony in Deebo with no real QB (Bentley). BTW that one pony was locked in the stable by the best CB in football…. bet he knows who Baker is now. Lock is a legitimate threat. It’s time for Kirby to “let the Dawgs out” in Columbia and see what this Ferrari can do!
I like Deebo, I think he has a great pro career ahead of him. He’s scary on returns. It’s one game.
Lol says the bandwagon jumper who waits until after the sc/ga game to create an account, pathetic but still laughable.
Class of 94, you get kudos for using the word “apoplectic” on a football forum. I could almost feel people hitting their Google button. Bravo.
^^^ this I lol’d
buried lede: 53-28 loss
Journalism 101 for dawg 88: Yes, you used the “lede” spelling. But Mizzou is unranked and Georgia is #2. There would be no lede value anyway unless Mizzou won. No need to bury. So this is mental masterbation.
M-A-S-T-U-R-B-A-T-I-O-N.
Geez, I thought Mizzou was supposed to have a great journalism program.
The fact that you caught the spelling proves my point. Jack freely.
Gamecocks: Hey Mizzou, ask us about what it’s like when the media puts the Dawgs on upset alert!
“What’s it like when the media puts the Dawgs on upset alert!” Be clever, please.
There’s really not much to be clever about. The result did remind me of this time in the ’80s when I saw a Yugo run into an 18 wheeler though.
Uh … no … sorry, didn’t do it.
It will be an interesting game. How will Chaney decide to attack the Mizzou defense. If they decide to turn Fromm and the receivers lose, they could easily put up 400 yards passing. Do they keep it on the ground on almost every 1-2nd down in order to control the clock?
Either way, I think the Dawg’s score on almost every position. Maybe Mizzou has a decent run defense, but it’s hard to say at this point.
Lock and his receivers will answer some questions about Ga’s secondary. Can’t wait. GOOOODAWGS!
If by “interesting game” you mean complete blowout, then I agree with you!
I don’t think he will try the Wyoming method. He will try to bigger day Fromm and I hope young DC Walters learned something last week. I’m not a Blough or Fromm detractor. It makes a better game if both teams can move the ball.
I don’t think Smart will try to win with offense. I think he will bank on his defense.
Lol at Mizz fans, seriously did they not watch the second best team in the East get destroyed at home by GA. Sure upsets can happen but this one shouldn’t be close. Their best argument is Drew Lock is a decent QB. It’s going to take more than Lock to not get embarrassed.
Look, we didn’t write the article. Most Mizzou fans are not holding out more than a puncher’s chance for this game in case Lock just goes nuts. We know the odds. Sure, there are a few wildly optimistic folks, but most of us are going to be hoping for the best while understanding the extreme odds.
There are going to be a million posts like this on the CFB internet over the next few days, because there aren’t that many great games this week, and this one will be heavily hyped. And everyone will be saying things like this. But those of us that have been watching the games are not the ones out there making wild predictions about Saturday.
You get it, some of these other Mizzou fans don’t, there are some wild posts on here lacking logic. I just wonder how many will be here next week excuse free. As far as the SDS staff, they are doing their job by hyping it up.
Most have now determined that SCar is/was not the second best team in the East. Do you have a TV or internet?
Bill Belichick forgets South Carolina is actually in dead last in the east sitting at 1-1 total and an 0-1 conference record.
What was that Missouri vs Florida score about 4-5 games back?
I’ll make the same call on this game that I did on the SC game. It’s a home game for Mizzou and they have some punch from 1st-day draft athletes. I can see this staying close in the first half – especially if Chaney uses a ball-control ground attack to keep Lock on the sideline as much as possible. By the second half, however, when substitutions rise and conditioning becomes critical, UGA will keep throwing elite players out there while Mizzou struggles badly to match the talent level, size, and speed. There’s a reason Kirby’s teams have a tendency to blow games wide open in the third quarter (if they haven’t already done so by halftime) and this is why. It’s not halftime “adjustments” in most cases. It’s having many more bigger, faster, better-conditioned players that simply take over the game after an opponent’s initial emotional mojo has worn down.
That’s been the formula for a 17-2 run since Kirby’s approach has taken root in Athens. The only two losses have been against teams that could match up physically against the Dawgs on both sides of the ball. Missouri is not one of those teams.
There’s also an aspect of defense on the field too long. Combine GA balance offense and Mizzou’s pass heavy offense and there defense will be toast by third Quarter.
I’ve always felt that it was no coincidence that fast-attack, air-raid offenses often seem to be partnered with “bad” defenses, and that is exactly why. The old adage about a good offense being the best defense can also be a liability when that D is forced to play 35 minutes or more, and that typically happens with quick-strike units.
One of those old school fundamentals. Heavy big play passing offense puts your defense right back on the field. The best way to keep a high powered passing O from scoring is keep them off the field with balance O eating up the clock. Then you send out your fresh Defense.
The longest the Mizzou defense has been on the field this year is 31 minutes and change. Dooley seems to have throttled things down a bit.
The best rundown of the game-plan I have read. The objective for Mizzou is to thwart that. Period.
Looking forward to the game. Eager to see if our young secondary has grown up enough to avoid being burned too badly against a possible no. 1 pick. Lock is gonna get his yards. UGA is second in the nation in points allowed, but kind of middling in yards allowed. I’m fine with that trend continuing while the D matures.
UGA wins big…no upset