Georgia football entered its Oct. 1 game at Missouri as heavy favorites over the Tigers. However, Georgia failed to get off to a strong start, kicking field goals and giving up a pair of fumbles in the first half.
Missouri made a few nice plays. Tigers quarterback Brady Cook escaped the pocket and connected on a few chunk plays to put Missouri in a position to get points.
UGA trailed 16-6 at halftime. Georgia added two more field goals in the third quarter, but Missouri scored on two as well. The Tigers took care of the football, but began to allow Stetson Bennett and Georgia to establish the run. Georgia scored on a Daijun Edwards touchdown and a Kendall Milton touchdown to take a 26-22 lead. The Bulldogs then forced a three and out. Georgia’s offense ran out the clock with a strong rushing attack to give the Dawgs a SEC East road win.
Here’s my quick thoughts after that “fun” game:
10
Let's get this one out of the way ... this team is not as good as last year's
Look, this one should be obvious. But there’s been plenty of people saying this team was better than last year’s team. They’re not. And it’s not really close.
Offensively, it’s about the same. But defensively, nope. This defense just does not have what last year’s did.
9
The offensive line needs to wake up
That was a tough game for the offensive line. The Bulldogs wore Missouri down late in the game, but the line was not doing much of anything for Georgia’s run game for a big chunk of the game.
8
The red zone struggles
Georgia spent plenty of time in the red zone, but it waited until the fourth quarter to get into the end zone. The same goes for the week prior against Kent State. This defense is not able to bail out the offense this year to the extent it did last year. If we’re in the red zone…we need to convert.
7
But on the other hand ... thank God for Jack Podlesny
Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny is my player of the game. Well, besides Missouri’s kicker Harrison Meavis, who went 5 of 5.
Podlesny was 4 of 4 and kept Georgia in the game, accounting for 14 points.
6
We need to get the ball to Darnell Washington more. And Brock Bowers could be even more involved.
I mean, every time Darnell Washington touches the ball, he makes something happen. He had three receptions for 64 yards. He needs more targets.
Bowers had five catches for 66 yards. That’s not bad at all, but he’s the best player in America. And, quite honestly, he’s probably our best running back, as controversial as that may sound. In a game like that … get them the rock!
5
Daijun Edwards can ball. And I like what we saw from Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Dominick Blaylock.
Georgia running back Daijun Edwards may be the third-string back, but he tied Kenny McIntosh with 11 carries. Both McIntosh and Milton had nice games, although Milton was limited after an early fumble. Edwards is a guy we could be seeing a lot more of.
And wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint seemed to make some plays for us when Georgia needed it the most. Stetson liked the junior a lot on Saturday night, and he stepped up with 46 yards on three receptions.
Also, how nice is it to see Dominick Blaylock back doing his thing? 42 yards on three catches.
4
Stetson spread the ball out a lot
Ten guys caught a ball from Stetson Bennett:
Brock Bowers: 5 rec., 66 yards
Darnell Washington: 3 rec., 64 yards
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint: 3 rec., 46
Dominick Blaylock: 3 rec., 42 yards
Ladd McConkey: 4 rec., 39 yards
Dillon Bell: 2 rec., 25 yards
Kearis Jackson: 1 rec., 14 yards
Kenny McIntosh: 1 rec., 10 yards
Arian Smith: 1 rec., 7 yards
Daijun Edwards: 1 rec., minus-1 yards
3
Defensively, too many big plays being allowed.
What happened to not allowing the big play?
Missouri had big plays on multiple occasions, including a long run of 63 yards that Malaki Starks stopped at the one-yard line. Also, the Tigers had a pass play of 46 yards.
But these big plays killed Georgia tonight, and made the game really stressful for the fans at home that were counting on them to stop a struggling offense.
2
A win is a win
Yep, that was ugly. Georgia should have cruised to a big victory over one of the worst teams in the league. But it didn’t, and that’s OK. Georgia is 5-0 and probably lost its No. 1 ranking, but who really cares? I’ll take an SEC road win, at night, any day.
1
Close games are not as fun as I remember them being...
You know, I was saying the other week that part of me actually misses those close games that keep me on the edge of my seat.
I take that back.
— UGA Football Live (@UGAfootballLive) October 2, 2022
