WATCH: Georgia Bulldogs Fans "Light Up Athens" Against Missouri
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ATHENS - A look at the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs' fans as they get ready for the fourth quarter against the Missouri Tigers.
*Bennett Leads Bulldogs: Georgia senior QB Stetson Bennett (11-for-17, 232 yards, 1 TD) got the start for the fifth straight week and sixth time overall this season. In the first half, Georgia punted on its opening possession and then had four straight scoring drives to build a 26-3 advantage.
Down 3-0 in the first quarter, the Bulldogs responded with a touchdown drive of 11 plays, covering 75 yards in 5:08 that culminated with a 35-yard TD pass from Bennett to Arian Smith on 4th-and-6. It was Smith’s second this year and third for his career. The Bulldogs are now 3-for-6 on fourth downs this year. On the next possession, Georgia went up 16-3 with a 62-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 47-yard completion to sophomore Jermaine Burton to the 1 yard line. Junior Zamir White capped the drive with a 1-yard score. The next possession resulted in a 20-yard field goal and a 19-3 lead. The final possession of the first half produced a 74-yard drive that ended in a TD that took 2:42.
*Dominating Half For The Defense: Top-ranked Georgia, which came in leading the nation in Scoring Defense (6.6 points per game), held Missouri to just a field goal on a 33-yard drive in the first half as the Bulldogs led 26-3. The Tigers came in averaging 34.8 points a game. The Tigers, who did not have their starting QB Connor Bazalek, had 110 yards of total offense in the first half. Missouri entered the game averaging 452.8 yards of total offense.
Georgia trailed for only the second time this season (at Auburn 3-0 in 1st quarter for a total of 5:29) when Missouri made a 35-yard field goal with 5:50 left in the opening quarter. It was a seven play, 33-yard drive in 3:16. Today, Georgia trailed for 5:08 before responding on its next drive by taking a 7-3 lead with 42 seconds left in the 1st quarter. Junior Lewis Cine had a team-high four stops.
*Array Of Targets: Seven different receivers caught a pass in the first half with four covering more than 20 yards. Sophomore Arian Smith had a 35-yarder for a TD. The longest of the half came by sophomore Jermaine Burton for 47 yards. Junior RB Kenny McIntosh had one for 31 yards. The leading receiver was AD Mitchell (3-for-38).
*Rushing Highlights: In the first half, Georgia tallied 67 rushing yards on 20 attempts and two TDs. Senior James Cook tallied 41 yards on nine carries including his fourth rushing TD, this one a direct snap out of the “Wild Dawg” formation. Cook now has 11 career rushing TDs. Senior Zamir White had seven rushes for 14 yards and one TD. White now has a team-leading nine TDs this year and 23 for his career.
*Special Teams Summary: Georgia blocked its second punt of the year, and this one resulted in a safety as the football went through the endzone. Junior Nolan Smith blocked it. This was the team’s second safety this year as the first one came by the defense versus South Carolina when Smith and Jordan Davis combined on a sack.
Senior punter Jake Camarda finished with one punt for a 44.0 average. Junior Jack Podlesny went 1-for-1 on field goals, making a 20-yarder. He is 13-for-17 on field goals this year. He made three PATs and is now 40-for-41 in PATs this year. Junior Kearis Jackson had one kickoff return for 26 yards.
*Game Captains/Starters/Coin Toss: The captains were senior Justin Shaffer (LG) and juniors Kearis Jackson (WR) and Travon Walker (DE). Redshirt freshman Broderick Jones made his first career start (LT), ending a streak of 19 straight starts by senior Jamaree Salyer who is sidelined due to an injury. Missouri won the toss and elected to take the football immediately.
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