What Went Well? What Went Wrong against Missouri?
Not much went wrong against Missouri for Georgia on Saturday, and this list will reflect that today. The 49-14 victory over a top-25 ranked Missouri Tigers’ team was a complete performance for Georgia in a season that hasn’t turned out many complete performances for Georgia.
What Went Well?
George Pickens
George Pickens was plain and simple one of the best players on the field on Saturday. The sophomore receiver got off to a slow start this season but has picked it up ever since JT Daniels’ debut.
The connection formed between the former quarterback from Southern California has been instrumental to Georgia’s offensive success in recent weeks.
Saturday was no different as George was a step above them all at receiver as he brought in seemingly every 50-50 ball thrown his way. Pickens racked up 126 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions on Saturday.
Balanced Offensive Gameplan
Coaches talk about the importance of having a “balanced offense.” Under Coach Monken, Georgia is striving to play a balanced offensive gameplan.
Saturday was one of the most balanced games we’ve seen out of an offense in the Kirby Smart era. Georgia was able to gain 299 yards through the air while rushing for another 316 yards. These two numbers amounted to a very successful 615 total yards.
Running Back Room
Georgia’s depth and talent at the running back position is one of the best in the country. Saturday was another example of that as Georgia played every healthy scholarship back on the roster.
Zamir White rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries. While freshman running back, Daijun Edwards stepped up in Kendall Milton’s absence as Edwards rushed for a career-high 103 yards on 11 carries.
What Went Wrong?
Offensive Line’s First Half Performance
The offensive line struggled in the first half against a stingy, physical Missouri defense. This resulted in some pressure in the face of JT Daniels. Missouri’s gameplan was to get after JT Daniels and make him rebound from getting hit.
While JT would rebound with a late first-half touchdown pass to George Pickens, it looked like it rattled the Georgia offense in the second quarter.
Special Teams Blunders
One of the only downsides to Saturday’s win was the special team’s unit’s performance for Georgia.
The day finished with Georgia being the host of a having a punt blocked, which resulted in a short field touchdown for the Missouri offense and a muffed punt that was luckily recovered by the Dawgs. The mishaps wouldn’t end there as Jack Podlesny missed his only field goal attempt.