University of Missouri
#6 Georgia
Mizzou Football Falls at No. 6 Georgia, 27-0
11/9/2019 9:35:00 PM | Football
ATHENS, Ga. – Mizzou Football lost at No. 6 Georgia, 27-0, Saturday night (Nov. 9) at Sanford Stadium. The loss drops the Tigers to 5-4 on the year and 2-3 in SEC play while Georgia improved to 8-1 with a 5-1 mark in SEC play, sitting atop the SEC East standings.
Mizzou's defense limited Georgia to just 339 total yards, despite the Dawgs coming into the game averaging 462.1 total yards per game (26th nationally). The offense, however, struggled to get on track without starting QB Kelly Bryant, who missed the game with a hamstring injury suffered in the Tigers' previous game at Kentucky (Oct. 26). Mizzou mustered just 198 total yards of offense against a Georgia defense that ranked eighth nationally in total defense coming into the game.
Mizzou will be back at home next Saturday (Nov. 16) against No. 10 Florida in an 11 a.m. kickoff on CBS. Mizzou is 5-0 at home inside Memorial Stadium this season.
Top Performers
- Sophomore LB Nick Bolton continued his All-SEC caliber season with nine tackles. Among his nine tackles were two tackles for loss, including his first sack of the season and the first full sack of his career. In five SEC games, Bolton has 55 total tackles (11.0 per game).
- Mizzou CB Jarvis Ware tallied a career-high seven tackles.
- Mizzou junior DT Jordan Elliott was again tremendous in another All-SEC type performance, posting four tackles in the loss. Elliott now has 10 tackles over his last two games after posting a career-high six at Kentucky in Mizzou's previous game.
- Freshman QB Connor Bazelak came into the game in the fourth quarter and completed 8-of-12 passes for 64 yards.
Turning Point
As the game moved to the second quarter, Mizzou's defense was pinned deep in its own zone as Georgia looked to extend its 7-0 lead. Mizzou held Georgia out of the end zone after a two-yard rush on second down and then on third-and-goal from the two, senior S Ronnell Perkins came on a blitz to force an incompletion and Georgia had to settle for a field goal.
Two drives later, Mizzou began moving the ball deep into Georgia territory as RS junior TE Albert Okwuegbunam caught two passes for 17 yards on the drive. Redshirt sophomore QB Taylor Powell then looked for his All-American TE one too many times and forced a ball into double coverage and Georgia picked it off and returned it 71 yards to set up another field goal. Georgia added one more field goal as time expired in the second quarter and took a 16-0 lead into the locker room.
That was all Georgia needed as Mizzou again struggled to move the ball on offense in the second half, despite Mizzou holding Georgia out of the end zone on eight straight offensive drives. After its opening-drive TD, Georgia didn't find the end zone again until the 14:02 mark of the fourth quarter.
Game Notes - Offense
- Mizzou redshirt sophomore QB Taylor Powell made his first career start Saturday. He finished the game going 10-for-22 for 84 yards. He set career highs for completions (10) and attempts (22) in the game.
- Coming in for Powell in the fourth quarter, freshman QB Connor Bazelak recorded his first career pass attempts and completions. He went 8-for-12 for 64 yards.
- Senior WR Jonathan Nance caught four passes for 45 yards in the game.
Game Notes - Defense
- Despite the loss, the pass defense held strong against Georgia QB Jake Fromm, resulting in a career-low 44.8 percent completion percentage for the three-year starter.
- Mizzou's defense limited the Bulldogs to a 2.3 yards per carry average in the first half. Georgia came into the game averaging an incredible 6.1 yards per carry in the first half this season.
- The defense allowed just 27 total yards of offense in the second quarter, and that mark was a -6 before Georgia's final drive that led to a field goal as time expired in the opening half. The defense limited Georgia to just 4.3 yards per play in the opening 30 minutes.
- Sophomore LB Nick Bolton tallied the first full sack of his career in the second quarter. It was his first sack of the season as his last came against Oklahoma State on Dec. 31, 2018, in last year's Liberty Bowl.
- With one less game played than his counterparts, Bolton is tied for the most tackles in the SEC with 82 tackles (9.1 per game).
- Junior DT Jordan Elliott tallied four tackles in the game and now has 10 over this last two games after tallying a career-high six last time out at Kentucky.
- RS junior DE Tre Williams matched his career high with four tackles. He's tallied his four tackles four times, most recently in against Florida (Nov. 3, 2018).
- Sophomore CB Jarvis Ware recorded a career-high seven tackles. The performance bested the previous career mark he set with five tackles against Troy (Oct. 5).
- RS freshman LB Devin Nicholson tied his career-high with six tackles. He set the career mark in Mizzou's previous game at Kentucky (Oct. 26).
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