Mizzou Football Returns Home to Host No. 12/11 Georgia on Saturday

Mizzou Football Returns Home to Host No. 12/11 Georgia on Saturday

11/10/2020 12:28:00 AM | Football

Mizzou and Georgia to kick off at 11 a.m. on ESPN

MIZZOU FOOTBALL HOSTS GEORGIA ON SATURDAY
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
vs. Georgia	Columbia, Mo.	Saturday, Nov. 14	11:00 AM	ESPN	Stats

#NewZou Game Notes

Tigers Prepare for No. 12/11 Georgia Saturday Morning at #TheZou

Mizzou Football (2-3, 2-3 SEC) is fresh off of a bye week and will welcome three-time SEC East Division champion and No. 12/11-ranked Georgia (4-2, 4-2 SEC) to Memorial Stadium this Saturday at 11 a.m. The game will air on ESPN with Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek and Quint Kessenich on the call.
Mizzou last played on Halloween night in Florida, dropping a 41-17 decision to the Gators in Gainesville. Mizzou got a pick-six score from junior CB Jarvis Ware but failed to get much going offensively until late in that game. Junior LB Nick Bolton continued his All-SEC caliber season with 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss as he continues to lead the team in tackling this season. Sophomore LB Devin Nicholson posted a career-high 13 tackles as well, his second double-digit tackle outing this season.
Georgia is coming off of a 44-28 defeat against No. 8/8 Florida last Saturday in Jacksonville, and are hoping to avoid back-to-back regular season losses for the first time since the 2016 season.

Did You Know?

When Mizzou Football takes the field against Georgia it will be playing its fifth Associated Press-ranked team in six games to open the season, which marks the most ranked opponents the Tigers have ever played over the season's first six games since the AP released its first poll in 1936. Mizzou played four rated foes in the season's first six games to open both the 1975 and 1978 campaigns.
The most AP-ranked teams the Tigers have ever played in a single-season was seven en route to the 2013 SEC East title, while they have played six nationally-ranked foes four times (1972, 1975, 1976 and 2007) and had five such tilts in one year 10 times (1977, 1978, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2020).
It's worth noting that Kentucky was receiving votes at the time Mizzou beat them on Oct. 24.
Georgia, Mizzou, NC State, South Carolina, Kansas and Arkansas are the only teams in the nation that have already played four games against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of game. Georgia is the only team on this list that doesn't have a losing record in those contests (2-2 vs. teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of game).

Mizzou's All-Time Series with Georgia

Georgia leads the all-time series against Mizzou, 8-1, including 4-0 in Columbia.
Mizzou's first-ever SEC game came against the then No. 7-ranked Bulldogs in 2012. Mizzou took a 20-17 lead in that game with 2:39 to play in the third quarter before Georgia scored the final 24 points to earn a 41-20 win in Columbia.
Mizzou's lone win over Georgia came in 2013 en route to its first-ever SEC East championship. Mizzou went into Athens that year and earned a 41-26 win, scoring the game's final 13 points. Mizzou improved to 7-0 with that win.
Mizzou lost last year's game vs. Georgia, 27-0. Now Mizzou's starting QB, but then a freshman reserve, Connor Bazelak, came off the bench in last year's game at Georgia and went 8-for-12 for 64 yards in the first lengthy playing time in his career.
Georgia has won the series' last six games.

LAST TIME OUT

On each of Florida's first two offensive series, the Gators drove the ball down into the red zone. Coming into the game, Florida had converted touchdowns on 12-of-15 red zone appearances, settling for field goals just three times. But that's exactly what Mizzou forced Florida to do on each of those drives, keeping Mizzou in the game with Florida leading 6-0 after the first quarter.
Mizzou then grabbed momentum midway through the second quarter, thanks to an incredible effort by the defense. Junior All-SEC LB Nick Bolton broke through the Florida line and got a hand on Florida QB Kyle Trask's arm as he unloaded, causing an underthrow, which was read by Mizzou CB Jarvis Ware. Ware, a Florida native, slowed up and caught the short throw for an interception and returned it 59 yards for a score, giving Mizzou a 7-6 lead. It was Mizzou's first interception since last year at Vanderbilt (Oct. 19, 2019), snapping a nine-game streak without a pick. It was Mizzou's first pick-six since Cale Garrett had one against Troy last year (Oct. 5).
Florida tacked on a TD on an 18-yard screen pass from Trask to Kadarius Toney to take a 13-7 late in the quarter. Mizzou tried to go up-tempo on the ensuing possession, but a third-and-one fumble gave Florida the ball back deep in Mizzou territory. Florida added another TD, a 30-yard strike from Trask to Toney, and took a 20-7 lead into the half.
Junior CB Jarvis Ware tallied his first career interception, a 59-yard pick six, in the second quarter to give Mizzou a 7-6 lead. It was Mizzou's first interception in nine games.
Mizzou sophomore LB Devin Nicholson posted a career-best 13 in the loss.
Junior LB Nick Bolton finished the game with 10 tackles while adding 1.5 tackles for loss as he continued his All-SEC caliber campaign.
Senior RB Larry Rountree III rushed for his 30th career touchdown on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter. He moves into a tie for fourth on the school record book with Henry Josey.

Tigers Winning Games in Different Ways

In looking at Mizzou's last two wins – against defending national champion LSU and then against Kentucky - it is clear that Mizzou is willing to play whatever type of game is necessary to win.
Against LSU, Mizzou won a shootout with the visiting Tigers, 45-41, piling up 586 total yards of offense, including 406 passing, exploiting an LSU secondary for four scores through the air.
Then, in Mizzou's next game vs. Kentucky, the Tigers played smashmouth football and dominated both lines of scrimmage to earn a dominant 20-10 win. It was a methodical beatdown that was never as close as the final score indicated.
It is clear that Coach Drinkwitz is comfortable building game plans around the style of game that he believes it will be. The LSU win was a shootout that the Tigers looked comfortable playing in, making plays all over the field. Kentucky, conversely was an old-school approach winning in a style that the Wildcats were used to winning in. Key proof of that has been the quarterback play in each of the two Mizzou wins.
Against LSU, freshman QB Connor Bazelak was 29-for-35 for 406 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 11.6 yards per attempt and 14 yards per completion. Six of the eight pass-catchers against LSU had a long grab of 20+ yards, including three of 40+ yards, as Bazelak was asked to stretch the field and exploit the LSU secondary.
Against Kentucky, Bazelak was asked to be much more of a game manager, as he completed 21-of-30 passes for 201 yards. That's 6.7 yards per attempt and 9.5 per completion. That's a stark contrast from the game he played against LSU, but Mizzou was content to possess the ball and trust its defense to limit Kentucky.

Rountree is a Work Horse

There were certainly plenty of eye-catching stats from Mizzou's win over Kentucky, but the real story was the smashmouth rushing attack keyed by senior RB Larry Rountree III. Mizzou rushed the ball 62 times, and Rountree toted the ball on a career-high 37 of those attempts, going for 126 yards and two scores. When asked after the game if he was sore, he replied with: "I could play tomorrow."
In the fourth quarter, as Mizzou was attempting to put the game away, he seemed to get stronger. Clinging to a one-score lead at 17-10, the Tigers took the ball back with 10:11 remaining in the game. On the ensuing drive, Rountree carried the ball six times for 23 yards, helping Mizzou orchestrate a 15-play, 61-yard drive that spanned 7:04 while ending in a freshman K Harrison Mevis field goal, extending the lead to 20-10 with 3:07 remaining, icing the game.
On the game's final drive, he added seven more yards on two carries and had 30 yards on eight carries over the final two drives as Mizzou milked the clock.
Arguably one of the game's most exciting plays came on the penultimate drive that put the game away as Rountree carried the ball for four yards down to the UK 19-yard line, running over defender Kelvin Jospeh at the end of the run, resulting in a thunderous celebration from the Mizzou bench. No one was stopping Rountree.
After rushing 14 more times in Mizzou's last game at Florida, Rountree moved his career carry total to 638, most among any active Power 5 player and second-most nationally, trailing only UAB's Spencer Brown. Rountree's 3,180 career rushing yards are sixth-most among active college football players and most in the SEC. Below is a look at each category:

Active Rushing Leaders (Yards)
Rank	Player, Year (School)	Games	Rushes	Yards	TDs
1.	Travis Etinenne, Sr. (Clemson)	50	621	4,644	65
2.	Spencer Brown, Sr. (UAB)	45	828	3,862	41
3.	Chubba Hubbard, Jr. (Oklahoma State)	31	571	3,384	33
4.	Joshua Mack, Sr. (Liberty)	38	584	3,197	24
5.	Trey Ragas, Sr. (Louisiana)	44	537	3,183	34
6.	Larry Rountree III, Sr. (Mizzou)	43	638	3,180	30

Active Carry Leaders
Rank	Player, Year (School)	Games	Rushes	Yards	TDs
1.	Spencer Brown, Sr. (UAB)	45	828	3,862	41
2.	Larry Rountree III, Sr. (Mizzou)	43	638	3,180	30
3.	Shai Werts, Sr. (Georgia Southern)	41	633	2,794	25
4.	Travis Etinenne, Sr. (Clemson)	50	621	4,644	65

Rountree Ranks Among Program's All-Time Greats

Mizzou senior RB Larry Rountree III passed Tiger legend Brock Olivo to move into third place on Mizzou's all-time rushing list as he now has 3,180 yards on 638 career carries (4.98 average). He needs 19 yards this Saturday to become the school's all-time leading rusher by a tailback, passing Tiger great Zack Abron in the process.
He has an outside shot at catching transcendent QB Brad Smith who is the school's all-time leading rusher with 4,289 yards. Rountree is 1,154 yards back of that mark. Below is a look:

Rank	Player (Years)	Yards	Total Carries
1.	Brad Smith, QB (2002-05)	4,289	799
2.	Zack Abron, RB (2000-03)	3,198	692
3.	Larry Rountree III, RB (2017-20)	3,180	638
4.	Brock Olivo, RB (1994-97)	3,026	686

The Kentucky game marked Rountree's 11th career 100-yard rushing game and second of the season. He is one of six Tigers to record 10+ games of 100 or more rushing yards, joining Brad Smith (18), Zack Abron (11), Henry Josey (11), Joe Moore (11) and Devin West (11). Mizzou is 10-1 when Rountree rushes for 100 yards in his career.
Rountree tallied his 30th career rushing touchdown against Florida. That moved him into a tie for fourth place all-time at Mizzou with legend Henry Josey. Below is a look at where Rountree ranks on Mizzou's all-time rushing TD list (running backs unless otherwise denoted):

Rank	Player (Years)	Rushing TDs
1.	Brad Smith, QB (2002-05)	45
2.	Zack Abron, RB (2000-03)	40
3.	Corby Jones, QB (1995-98)	38
T4.	Henry Josey, RB (2010-13)	30
T4.	Larry Rountree III (2017-20)	30
T6.	Devin West, RB (1995-98)	28
T6.	Derrick Washington, RB (2007-09)	28

Rountree is averaging 0.70 touchdowns per game in his career. Should he average that mark for the final five games this season, he would finish with 33 career rushing TDs, which would be fourth-most in Mizzou history and second-most among Mizzou running backs.
Additionally, Rountree now has 16 runs of 25+ yards in his career, tied for the third-most in school history. He also has 21 rushes of 20+ yards, fifth-most in Mizzou history. Below is a look:

Rank	Player (Years)	Rushes of 25+
1.	Brad Smith, QB (2002-05)	35
2.	Henry Josey, RB (2010-13)	20
T3.	Larry Rountree III, RB (2017-20)	16
T3.	Tony Temple, RB (2004-07)	16

Rank	Player (Years)	Rushes of 20+
1.	Brad Smith, QB (2002-05)	50
2.	Tony Temple, RB (2004-07)	30
3.	Henry Josey, RB (2010-13)	27
4.	Corby Jones, QB (1995-98)	24
5.	Larry Rountree III, RB (2017-20)	21

BOLTON TACKLING AT HISTORIC PACE

Entering the halfway point of the season, Mizzou junior All-SEC LB Nick Bolton once again finds himself ranked among the nation's elite in tackles. After posting 10 more tackles and a tackle for loss at Florida, Bolton sits 19th nationally and fifth in the SEC with his 10.6 tackles/game average.
Bolton was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week following Mizzou's win over Kentucky, posting seven tackles in the dominant defensive performance, While the seven tackles may not seem like many by Bolton's lofty standards, it's important to note that he tallied those seven solo tackles among just 28 team tackles against Kentucky as the Wildcats ran just 36 offensive plays.
Since Oct. 12, 2019, after Mizzou senior captain LB Cale Garrett went down with a season-ending injury, Bolton has tallied 124 tackles over the last 12 games (10.3 per-game average).
The last Tiger to average better than 10.3 tackles per game over a nine-game span was LB Kentrell Brothers during his All-American 2015 season when he led the nation with 152 tackles. Brothers averaged 13.0 tackles per game in the first nine games of the 2015 season.
Bolton's 17 tackles at Tennessee are tied for the second-most at Mizzou since the turn of the century and are the most since a 20-takcle performance by LB Sean Weatherspoon against Buffalo on Sept. 20, 2008.
Bolton has entered the prestigious 21-MPH club at Mizzou as the strength staff tracks each players' top speed. At 6-0, 235 pounds, Bolton is by far the heaviest player on the team to run faster than 21 MPH, showing why he has NFL scouts turning their heads to watch him play.

Bledsoe Emerging as Elite Playmaker

Mizzou may have the best trio of safeties in the SEC (more on that later), and one of the keys to that trio is senior Joshuah Bledsoe. In each of Mizzou's last two wins, Bledsoe made the game-winning defensive play. Big-time players make big-time plays, and Bledsoe has personified that moniker recently.
Against LSU, it was his fourth-down pass breakup as LSU QB Myles Brennan was looking for Terrace Marshall, Jr., in the end zone on an out-route from the 1-yard line. Bledsoe – nicknamed Jiggy by his teammates – jumped the route and knocked the ball down to seal the win.
Against Kentucky, with Mizzou up 10 late, Kentucky completed a pass on first down and Bledsoe made the tackle. In the process, he ripped the ball from WR Josh Ali for a fumble. That gave the ball back to Mizzou and the Tigers milked the clock from there.

RAKESTRAW PUTTING TOGETHER A FINE FRESHMAN SEASON

Mizzou head coach Eliah Drinkwitz went viral back in February during national signing day when a video of him reacting to Ennis Rakestraw, Jr. committing to Mizzou made its way around the internet. A three-star prospect, Rakestraw was a late-bloomer who began to garner interest from schools like Alabama and Texas late in the recruiting cycle, but he stayed solid to his commitment and chose the Tigers. Through the first half of his freshman season, the Tigers are fortunate he did.
Rakestraw leads the Tigers five passes defended and he's pitched in eight solo tackles and a tackle for loss while starting every game, the only Mizzou cornerback to do so.
Rakestraw started his first game, becoming the first Tiger defender to start his first game since Jordan Ulmer in 2017. Before that, the last defender to make a start in his first collegiate game at Mizzou was Justin Smith in 1998. Smith of course is on the NFL Hall of Fame ballot and is a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

JEFFCOAT MAKING AN IMPACT

In his third year with the program, RS sophomore buck DE Trajan Jeffcoat has shined this season. Through five games, he leads the team with 3.0 sacks and seven QB hurries while pitching in 12 tackles (10 solo).

TIGERS MAY HAVE THE SEC'S BEST TRIO OF SAFETIES

One of the strongest position groups for the Tigers on this year's defense is the safety position. Mizzou's two elder statesmen on the back end of the defense – FS Joshuah Bledsoe and boundary safety Tyree Gillespie – are long-known as being one of the nation's elite safety tandems. But, after the first half of the season, we also need to insert SS Martez Manuel into the conversation.
Manuel – whose SS spot is a hybrid linebacker/safety position as part of Mizzou's five-DB scheme – is currently third on the team with 31 tackles and is second on the team with his 3.5 tackles for loss.
The trio has combined for 60 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, eight pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Gillespie has 28 tackles and three pass breakups and is gaining attention around the league as a guy who could have a huge impact at the next level.
Bledsoe, mentioned earlier for making big-time plays, has 21 tackles and leads the safety group with four pass breakups (second on the team behind only freshman CB Ennis Rakestraw, Jr.). Bledsoe also has the aforementioned forced fumble and recovery to clinch the win against Kentcuky.
Coached by defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, a rising young star in the coaching profession who landed at No. 8 on The Athletic's Assistant Coaches to Watch list over the summer, Mizzou's safeties are a proven commodity in the SEC.
Gillespie was tabbed a 2020 second-team All-SEC pick during the preseason by the league's coaches after posting 50 tackles over 12 games last year, including 4.0 tackles for loss, one sack and seven pass break-ups.
Bledsoe, who made the jersey change from #18 to #1 this season, finished 2019 ranked third on the team with 49 tackles (35 solo) with 4.0 tackles for loss. He added a team-high 10 pass break-ups with a fumble recovery and also forced fumble. His 49 tackles were a new single-season career-high and he became the first Mizzou safety in more than a decade to post 10+ pass break-ups in a single season and just the eighth Mizzou defender to do so since 2009.

BADIE A STAR IN THE PASSING GAME, TOO

Dating back to last season, junior RB Tyler Badie has emerged as a threat in the passing game. In fact, he has caught five of Mizzou's last eight TD receptions, and six of the last 10. Here is a look:
- vs. LSU - Bazelak to Niko Hea for 5
- vs. LSU - Bazelak to Badie for 21
- vs. LSU - Bazelak to Micah Wilson for 41
- vs. Alabama - S. Robinson to Badie for 54
- at Arkansas - T. Powell to Jonathan Nance for 10
- vs. Tennessee (2019) - M. Wilson to Badie for 15
- vs. Tennessee (2019) - K. Bryant to Badie for 7
- at Kentucky (2019) - K. Bryant to Badie for 74
On his last five scores, Badie has taken it to the house from all parts of the field, averaging 34.2 yards per score as he continued to be dynamic with the ball in his hands.

TOUCHBACK MASTER

Mizzou redshirt junior K Sean Koetting has mastered the art of the touchback since taking over kickoff duties this season.
In his career, Koetting has posted 24 touchbacks in 25 attempts, including 23 of 24 through five games this season.
He is second nationally in touchback percentage, and leads the nation among players who have played more than two games. Only Penn State's Jordan Stout is doing so at a better clip (9-for-9 over two games).

A Historic Performance for Bazelak

It's important to note that Mizzou's win over LSU ago featured a redshirt freshman quarterback making his second career start and first of the season guiding Mizzou's dominant offense. Connor Bazelak, who had shined in backup duty in Mizzou's first two games, got the start for Coach Drinkwitz and excelled against the defending national champions.
In his second career start, Bazelak engineered an unbelievable day for the Mizzou offense. At 85.3 percent (29-of-34), Bazelak posted Mizzou's best-ever completion percentage against a ranked opponent or FBS opponent, a mark that is also a Mizzou freshman record. The only performance better than Bazelak's was Chase Daniel's 94.1 completion percentage against Southeast Missouri during his senior season in 2008.
Bazelak's passer rating of 242.4 was the sixth-best mark in program history, with the other five coming against SEMO, Iowa State, Missouri State, Nevada and Idaho, as it was the best-ever rating against a ranked team for a Mizzou QB. The previous best rating by a Mizzou QB in an SEC game was Drew Lock's 210.3 at Florida in 2018.
The redshirt freshman passed for 406 yards and four touchdowns – the first Mizzou freshman to pass for four touchdowns in a game since Maty Mauk against Kentucky in 2013 – and the 14th-most passing yards by a Mizzou QB ever.
Only six Mizzou QBs have ever thrown for more yards than Bazelak did against LSU – keep in mind it was his second career start.
He led the offense to 586 total yards, including 406 through the air, and at one point completed 15 consecutive passes, the longest such streak since Chase Daniel had 20 straight against Buffalo in 2008 - Bazelak's streak ended on a ball he had to throw away after being flushed from the pocket.
Bazelak is the only SEC QB since the turn of the century to have 400 yards, 4 TDs, 85% completion pct. and 0 INTs in a game. Only two other QBs have accomplished a similar stat line against a Power-5 opponent over the same time frame - Geno Smith and Philip Rivers.
Keep in mind, he did all of this with Mizzou's top two WRs and three of the group's top five out of the lineup due to COVID-related issues.
Bazelak won the following awards following Mizzou's win over LSU:
- SEC Freshman of the Week
- Davey O'Brien National QB of the Week
- Orange Bowl Player of the Week
- Manning Award Star of the Week
- Davey O'Brien Award Great Eight List

TIGERS HAVE A BUDDING YOUNG STAR AT KICKER

We would be remiss if we didn't mention true freshman kicker Harrison Mevis as the Tigers get ready to take on Georgia this weekend. A native of Warsaw, Ind., Mevis was the No. 2-ranked kicker nationally coming out of Warsaw Community High School by Kohl's Kicking. He has lived up to those expectations early in his young career, connecting on eight of his 10 field goal attempts this season, with one of his misses coming from 56 yards.
He is the first Mizzou kicker ever to connect on his first five field goals as a collegiate kicker, and he did so in incredible fashion, hitting a pair from 50+ yards. His 52-yard field goal vs. LSU marks the longest by a Mizzou freshman in program history.
He is also the first Mizzou freshman to make a 50+ yard FG since Jeff Jacke in 1988.