Scouting report: Mizzou football faces toughest test of year
Mizzou football heads to Georgia to take on the No. 6-ranked Bulldogs. The winner has the inside track on the SEC East title.
It’s that time of the year again. Mizzou football hasn’t lost in November since 2016. The Tigers have won nine straight, and they put that streak on the line this week as they face No. 6 Georgia.
The Bulldogs have won five straight in this series, and though Georgia has beaten Mizzou plenty over the years, the games haven’t been too lopsided besides the shutout in 2014.
Last year, Missouri lost by two touchdowns, but a couple iffy calls went against the Tigers. In 2017, the game was close at halftime before Georgia ran off with the victory. The two games before that, Georgia won by a combined four points.
Mizzou football has a chance to pull off the upset Saturday. South Carolina did it. It seems unlikely to most, especially given the way the Tigers have played since their Ole Miss win.
Here’s a look at Georgia:
The Bulldogs are led by quarterback Jake Fromm. The junior is 30-6 as a starter and has a 70 percent completion percentage, third in the conference. Fromm plays behind one of the best offensive lines in the SEC. The team has only given up four sacks this year.
Before the year started, Fromm was a first-round pick. Right now as it sits, with the year he’s having, Fromm has slipped to the No. 4 or 5 QB in the draft. But last week, he was the reason Georgia won against Florida.
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Fromm went 20 of 30 for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia hasn’t had a go-to guy outside, but it found just that against Florida. Fromm hooked up with Lawrence Cager seven times for 132 yards and a TD.
The passing game hasn’t been great, but it was last week. It has been helped by the rushing attack.
D’Andrew Swift is second in the conference with 838 rushing yards. He has a 6.21 average per rush, which is best among RBs with more than 100 rushing attempts. Swift also has seven rushing TDs.
On defense is where Georgia has been tops in the SEC.
The Bulldogs haven’t given up a rushing TD this season. Georgia hasn’t given up more than 20 points this season, and not more than 17 in any of its wins.
With Missouri coming in with quarterback questions, running the football is what the Tigers likely will turn to. Georgia will be there to try to stop it, just as it has all this year.
The Bulldogs defense is a total team effort, with linebacker Monty Rice the top tackler on the team with 50. He had nine stops in last week’s win abasing Florida.
Georgia’s best pass rusher is linebacker Azeez Ojulari, who has 4.5 on the year. As a team, the Bulldogs aren’t great in this department, having brought the QB down 18 times this year. Ojulari is the only guy with more than 1.5 sacks.
The Bulldogs haven’t gotten as many turnovers as they should, either. They only have four interceptions and four fumble recoveries on the season. Eric Stokes has eight pass deflections on the year, which is one behind the most in the SEC. Georgia is going to load the box and stop the run. Kelly Bryant is a game-time decision, but Mizzou is hopeful that he will start. Mizzou must test the secondary, and see if it can get down field this weekend.
Georgia has given up big plays to worse teams than Mizzou, so the Tigers need to take advantage of their opportunities this weekend.
Next. Mizzou basketball: Tigers face NCAA Tournament team Northern Kentucky. dark
If they do that, there’s a chance Mizzou takes the victory. A win here puts Mizzou back in the driver’s seat for the SEC East crown. It’s nice to make it to November with a chance to win the title. It’s been five years since the Tigers have been able to say that. But with that said, it still is unfortunate that the Tigers dropped games to Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
A win Saturday could make up for that in a way.