Rapid reaction: Eason's 4th-down TD pass stuns Missouri
Jacob Eason’s first signature moment came on a fourth-down touchdown pass on the road.
Not bad for the true freshman’s first road SEC start.
Eason hit Isaiah McKenzie for the winning touchdown as Georgia rallied in the final minute for a 28-27 victory Saturday night.
What it means: Just when it looked like Missouri would turn the SEC East into a four-team race, Eason rescued the Bulldogs with a dramatic game-winning drive. Georgia stamped itself a contender in the East.
What I liked
Quarterback play: Georgia and Missouri each have a young quarterback, but it certainly didn’t look that way Saturday. Eason and sophomore Drew Lock were brilliant in the first half, combining for 541 yards and 4 touchdowns. Eason was the more methodical of the two, leading the Bulldogs down the field numerous times and converting 4 third downs on his team’s first touchdown drive.
Lock showed how quickly the Tigers’ offense can move the ball on opposing defenses by getting it to his receivers in space, as he and receiver J’Mon Moore did on a 79-yard score in the second quarter.
Lock threw for 358 yards and three scores, but also threw three interceptions — his first three of the season. Missouri committed five turnovers.
Eason started the final drive on his 20 and converted the winning pass on 4th-and-10. He finished 29-for-55 for 308 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Missouri run defense: Missouri did a good job of filling gaps and preventing Georgia from running the ball in the first half. The Bulldogs tried to establish a ground attack early in the game, but could not get anything going on the ground. Georgia carried the ball 19 times in the first half for only 31 yards.
J’Mon Moore: The junior receiver had a night to remember for the Tigers. In the second quarter, Moore torched the Bulldogs on a slant route for a 79-yard touchdown. He scored again on a 6-yard pass to begin the third quarter. Moore was the team’s top offensive weapon against the Bulldogs and has emerged as a true threat. He finished with eight catches for 196 yards and two scores.
Isaiah McKenzie: An offensive catalyst in the Bulldogs’ first two games, McKenzie once again made several big plays for Georgia, including the game-winning catch. The junior receiver scored Georgia’s first touchdown on a 6-yard run and later gave his team the lead with a 20-yard touchdown catch before halftime. He made some nice plays on special teams, and it’s become clear that McKenzie is Eason’s favorite target.
Charles Harris: Missouri’s star defensive lineman had a slow start to the season, but quickly made up for that on Saturday night. Fighting double teams for most of the night, Harris had three sacks that ultimately ended Georgia drives. Harris generated pressure as the night wore on and came up big in other aspects of the game, like batting down a pass at the line of scrimmage on third down or blowing up the run game in the backfield.
What I didn’t like
Penalties for Mizzou: The Tigers had several penalties in the first half against Georgia, including one that led to a Bulldogs’ touchdown. On third-and-one, Missouri stopped Nick Chubb for a 1-yard loss but committed a substitution infraction on fourth down to keep Georgia’s drive alive. The Bulldogs then continued to march down the field and took a 14-10 lead on an Eason touchdown pass. Missouri had five penalties in the first half. A pass interference gave Georgia a key first down on its final drive.
Missed Georgia field goals: Special teams have been a problem area for the Bulldogs this season and played a big role on Saturday. Kicker William Ham missed two field goals in the second half, a 23- and 38-yarder, that would have tied the game at 27, had the kicks been successful.
Georgia’s secondary: Against Missouri, Georgia’s secondary was going to face a big test. A veteran unit, the Bulldogs’ defensive backfield wasn’t up to the task, surrendering several long gains through the air. Juwuan Briscoe, in particular, had a rough outing. The sophomore cornerback struggled to contain J’Mon Moore, who torched Georgia for 172 yards and a touchdown in the first half. The Bulldogs’ secondary looked much better in the second half, intercepting Lock three times at crucial junctures, but there are still some issues that need to be ironed out.
The Bulldogs’ offensive line: It’s not easy for Georgia to establish a running game when teams stack eight or nine players in the box, but after being challenged by the coaching staff to improve after a lackluster game against Nicholls State, the Bulldogs’ linemen again struggled. Tyler Catalina gave up two sacks against Harris and looked lost at several points during the game. There’s no question that Georgia has talent in the backfield, which means that much of the blame lies up front.
Missouri’s running game: Missouri didn’t need to go to the ground often, but it lacked a running game for most of the second half that would have helped shorten the game. After an easy touchdown to begin the third quarter, Missouri had two three-and-outs and an interception. Without a steady run game, the Tigers became one-dimensional on offense. Fortunately, Missouri’s aerial attack was up to the task, but it will likely need more balance in the future.
Dropped passes by Georgia: The Bulldogs’ receivers didn’t do Eason any favors on Saturday night. Georgia had several big drops in the second half. McKenzie let a touchdown pass slip through his fingers on the left sideline of the end zone, and Reggie Davis dropped a bullet on third-and-seven late in the game that would have given the team a first down.
Who’s the man: Ultimately, Eason. But Harris was instrumental in shutting down the Bulldogs’ offense in the second half. The star defensive lineman accounted for three sacks and lived in Georgia’s backfield after halftime.
What’s next: Georgia will have another road SEC game next weekend against Ole Miss at noon. Missouri stays at home to welcome Delaware State for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
William McFadden covers the University of Georgia for Saturday Down South. For news on everything happening between the hedges, follow him on Twitter @willmcfadden.
I love Georgia. But we are playing like garbage. I’ll take 3-0 any way I can get it!
That was nerve racking. Eason stepped up big time with the game on the line. The Mizzou qb is legit.
It was a nail biter, but glad to come away with a win! Glad to know we can throw the ball, if only we could catch the ball to. Missouri played a better game, just to many turnovers.
There was no way I thought this game would be a shoot-out. It was a fantastic game to watch. Georgia made the plays when it counted. Good luck to the Dawgs and their fans.
3 wins. 0 losses. True freshman with a clutch moment and the growth continues. Who cares what happens this year, playing with house money. Kirby is overhauling the roster and we will be nasty going forward. Go dawgs
Great game from the Tigers. Good luck going forward!
His overhauling ideas scare me. No scholarships to kickers is a joke will cost us games every season till he changes that stance
That was a rough game to watch as a mizzou fan. Hats off to Georgia for making a play.
Congratulations to Eason, not because of the TD pass, but because he gets to dodge Cam Sutton.
Duck season is closed. Let ’em fly.
Seriously, why do Tennessee fans hang out on UGA message boards so much? In the immortal words of Mean Girls “why are you so obsessed with [us]?”
It’s not a bunch of Tennessee fans, it’s just this one guy… He’s been talking smack on just about every one of our posts. Don’t make this one guy make you hate all Vols fans. Go dawgs! P.s. You’re spot on, he’s obsessed with us b/c our program has outclassed his in every way, shape, and form since Lane Kiffin left them.
Train conductor, if you own a firearm make sure it’s loaded and gently place the barrel in your mouth then pull the trigger.
That’s not cool 30014. Suicide is never a joke. Not cool at all man.
The comment was figurative not literal. I guess I could have told him to stop with the stupid comments. My bad man, my bad.
That’s Covington for you…no class. PDADawg we disagree often but you’re right suicide is never a joke and you never know when someone is close. This football not life.
lmao don’t do him like that
Troll Train Conductor, you need to worry about Florida right now. Obsessing over Eason is just sad. If you need to go all OCD over passing, you might want to look in-house.
All the ducks Eason has caged can fly now.
Let them go with reckless abandon.
Already making excuses for a upcoming loss….
Wow!! MIZZOU stopped Chubb give them credit. They were not gonna let Chubb beat them and they shut him down. They were daring the freshman the whole game. Sometimes he delivered most of the time he didn’t. But, at the end he did. MIZZOU is gonna score this year their offense is pretty damn good actually. Lock made some young QB mistakes but all in all he had a pretty good game. The freshman QB for UGA grew up a little. And the fans grew older. Nice road win , UGA sort of stole this one.
UGA didnt steal this win! Mizzou played hard and that Drew Lock kid is going to be top QB in this league, but UGA won a game they tried to give away. UGA forced 5 turnovers and didn’t turn any of them into points. UGA also missed two very makeable field goals. also UGA’s D played better in the 2nd half. Lock had 322 yards passing and 20 points in the 1st half and 54 passing yards and 7 points in the 2nd half.
That is STOLE in my book!!!
Who’s the man: imo was Isaiah McKenzie. He was a nightmare for Mizzou.
Georgia did a great job and made the plays when they had to. The J’mon Moore fumble at the end was really painful. I really thought he was gone until the UGA defender made the game saving play by putting his helmet on the ball and causing the fumble.
Neither team could run the ball for sh*t.
Final word: These are the two of the best qb’s in college football. It’s gonna be crazy the next couple of years.
Mizzou fans are awesome! I bought a couple of y’all some drinks in Athens last year. Y’all are gracious winners and classy when you lose.
The fact that Mizzou holds Chubb to less than 75 yards, leads 3/4s of the game, and holds UGA to 4&10 inside the 15 yard line, then decides to show a blitz and fall back into coverage a tad bit too late and give up a TD. I don’t know whether it’s right or not to give credit or not. Guess so because ultimately We still fumbled the ball away to lose it. Good luck going forward Dawgs. We will see y’all next year.
O Line is the worst O Line I’ve ever seen at UGA. Nobody can run if the offensive line gets backed up and out muscles the entire freaking game. UGA has always had a strong O Line but this year, it’ll be their downfall. But hell of a game! Hats off to Mizzou! Looks like they have a great QB in the making of he can just complete less passes to the other team. Go Dawgs and Go SkinnyQB10!!! Killed it!
Vol Train Conductor is cracking himself up with the Eason Error thing.
Don’t ever change.
The O-line was atrocious, special teams still can’t execute a full game without a bonehead play, receivers are inconsistent, running backs had almost no YAC, the pass rush was missing (again), the secondary got torched in the first half, kicking remains muy mal, and a freshman QB had to throw the ball 55 times in his first road start. If you’d told me that before the game . . .
Very thankful to get out of Columbia with a win. These Dawgs are a work in progress, but as long as they keep plugging away and believing they’ll stay in games. Watching this young team grow up throughout the season may cause a few ulcers, but it should be worth it.
Watching Lock, Eason, Hurts and Patterson the next couple of years should be a sight to behold. By 2018 I doubt we’ll continue to hear how the SEC is lacking at the QB position.
Georgia got a big win so hats off to them, but I can’t believe how much Missouri has improved in just one off season. Their offense was atrocious last year, and all of a sudden they can sling it all around the yard. The new offensive coordinator is clearly a major improvement. If you guys can find a little more of a run game, then really watch out.
We have the talent and the size on the line of scrimmage to be great but those guys just don’t have the will and the aggression to be great. Leonard Floyd got drafted in the 1st rd(9th overall) because he had the will to be great and the aggression to dominate. Those are the kind of players Kirby must recruit if he want to win seccs. Kirby need to play D’Andre Walker, BH(rb) and Justin Young.
Mizzou is a well coached football team(but they need to keep their foot on the paddle with the lead) and the rest of the sec better bring their A-GAME!
First of all, congratulations to Georgia for making the plays need to win the game. Eason is a composed kid and did the deed.
Frankly, Mizzou has progressed better than I expected and I’m pleased Harris is finding his rhythm. But it was a heartbreaking game, nonetheless. Hard to win with five turnovers. I think we can cause a few headaches this year and perhaps stay competitive if we string possession rhythm together and get consistent. Again, hats off to the UGA playmakers, like that McKenzie kid.
1. Whatever Georgia is ranked this week, how far behind that can Missouri be ?
2. Three examples, the late hit by GA on James Franklin that put Maty Mauk in for the rest of the season in 2014, and last night the targeting penalty on a player that couldn’t protect himself. Richt is gone so he was not driving this. Wouldn’t you think the Georgia officials would be scrutinizing this, especially after the life threatening injury to a non-conference opponent in recent history.
3. Individual praise to D.Newsome, and I.Mac, for a very good game
4. Neither Georgia or Missouri are off to the best quality performance start BUT both teams played a lot better last night. At times both quarterbacks and some receivers looked professional.
5. Saw a lot of fun Georgia fans at the game last night.
6. Missouri fans are making good on their boycott of Missouri football pending proof that the fake racism bs is cleaned up. 57,000 vs 68, 000.
7. From the 50 yard line last night, I will say, that was a good seat to watch two ncaa and sec contenders growth and development.
8. Barry Odom, advice, Privately take over the defense coordinator position. Give Demonte Cross a raise and a list of things to study to get his job back next year. Every time the ball is snapped your defense is not ready. Advice for Josh Heupel, get more practice time developing deep play-book, both passing and running. Your roster is ready give them some imagination.
UGA’s Defense was terrible. I know. But, you have to be encouraged by the way MIZZOU’s Offense looked. Missouri tried to give UGA the game a couple of times. And, Missouri’s commitment to the run and stiff D, UGA couldn’t take it. Maybe when Eason is older , he can make a team that turns the ball over pay. But, not this year. Missouri wins some games.
I was waiting for wolfman to share his feelings. All good points except for 2. Not sure the relevance to UGA playing dirty under Richt or not, for that matter. The player was ejected and will be out the first half of the Ole Miss game.
Thank for your reply but, winning football games is less important than safety for the participants. Missouri v Georgia enjoyable attendance is not going to continue if like this. A lot of Missouri fans walked out of that stadium mad. Is forcing a fumble a way to win a game late?, yes. Is trying to do it in a violent way against a defenseless player an option? Never
@ Wolfman – If you’re referring to the Southern player that was paralyzed/injured when he attempted to block the UGA punter last year, I’m not sure what “dirty” play was involved. It was a clean play that he had his head down and he got hurt. It’s football and a contact sport. Sometimes these things happen. UGA flew his parents to Atlanta when he was in surgery and rehab. UGA wore his number on their helmets the rest of the season. They improved his house to accommodate his wheelchair and continue to provide support to his family. Sounds pretty classy to me. UGA was even recognized by the NCAA for their involvement and follow up AFTER the injury.
Jax Dawg, your point is well taken, the contrast between these examples is clear. BUT you are missing a very important point. That point is football injuries affect the health of players for life ! A lot of us have em. So if you are a coach and you encourage your players to force that fumble, you do it the way Georgia did it on Missouri’s last possession of the game NOT the way the targeting play looked to be planned (watch the video again).
and you can tell by the way the kick coverage was ready for the targeting fumble to happen, that this was discussed by the kicking team when before they went out on the field.
I think its impossible to say the kick coverage team went out there with the “intent” to flagrantly target the returner that way. Did he miss the fair catch call? Probably. I can’t conceive the coaches knowingly saying “Hey, we know you’ll be suspended for the 1st half of the Ole Miss game, but go ahead and level the guy for a targeting penalty”. Doesn’t make sense…
Wolfman, I’m just now seeing this and I sympathize with your sympathy for the players and their safety but I just don’t see it man. I guess MIZZOU does provide safe spaces… even for the football players. It was a great game and there was no dirty play. I thought this was football. Decaon Jones use to closeline people as a legal play!
Richt didn’t give out scholarships to kickers either. They started out as Preferred Walk-ons. But it does seem strange that a University with quite a good kicking heritage (Rex Robinson, Kevin Butler, Billy Bennett, John Kasay etc.) would have to rely on the misfits currently on the roster…..