Georgia Bulldogs Escape Columbia With Sloppy, 26-22 Victory
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COLUMBIA, MO - Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs made Georgia fans sweat it out tonight, but they come from behind and steal away a victory from the Missouri Tigers, 26-22.
News and Notes from Georgia’s win...
Offense Held To Field Goals In First Three Quarters And Then Rallies With TDs In Fourth: Top-ranked Georgia fell behind 13-0 with 8:53 left in the first half and were down by 10 points in the final quarter before rallying for a 26-22 victory over the Tigers.
Senior PK Jack Podlesny accounted for 14 points with four field goals and a pair of PATs. Georgia’s first points cut it to 13-3 in the second quarter. Two key plays on the drive included converting a 3rd-and-9 play with an 18-yard completion by senior QB Stetson Bennett to junior WR Dominick Blaylock and a 33-yard reception by sophomore TE Brock Bowers. Georgia failed to score in the first quarter for the first time since last year’s national championship game as Alabama led 3-0 before the Bulldogs came back for a 33-18 victory. The Tigers led tonight 3-0 after the first quarter. Georgia finished the first half with 182 yards of offense on 35 plays.
In the second half after the Bulldog defense forced a three-and-out, Georgia responded with another field goal, this one from 29 yards out as a 16-play, 67-yard drive in 7:47 that stalled at the Mizzou 8. The field goal cut the deficit to 16-9 and then a 52-yard Tiger field goal pushed their lead back to 10 at 19-9 with 4:31 left in the 3rd. Podlesny’s fourth field goal of the night, a 29-yarder made it 19-12 with 2:15 remaining in the 3rd. Georgia notched its first TD with 939 left in the game on a Kendall Milton 1-yard run to cap a 10 play, 75-yard drive to close the gap to 22-19. Georgia trailed 22-19 with 7:15 left, and Bennett directed a 68-yard TD drive on 7 plays capped by a one-yard run by junior Daijun Edwards, his first of the year, to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the night and after the PAT it was 26-22 wih 4:03 remaining. Georgia got the ball back with 3:39 left and ran out the clock to move to 5-0 overall, 2-0 SEC.
Bennett finished the night 24-for-44 for 312 yards with Bowers his leading receiver (5-for-66 yards). Georgia had 480 yards of total offense on 80 plays. Georgia improves to 11-1 all-time in the series with Mizzou including 6-0 in Columbia.
Points & Deficits To Ponder: Georgia faced a pair of 13-point deficits in the first half and were down 10 in the 4th quarter. The Bulldogs trailed 13-0 with 8:53 left and then 16-3 with 3:16 remaining in the first half and then 16-6 at halftime. Coming in, Georgia was outscoring its opponents in the first half 108-16. Georgia trailed by 10 (19-9) with 4:31 left in the 3rd quarter and by seven (19-12) with 2:15 left in the 3rd and to start the 4th quarter. A 56-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis extended the Tigers lead to 22-12 with 14:09 left and then Georgia closed it to 22-19 with 9:30 left in the game. Georgia took its first lead with 4:03 left, going up 26-22.
The Bulldogs overcame their largest 4th quarter deficit (10 points) since the 2021 Peach Bowl when No. 8 and undefeated Cincinnati was up by 11 (21-10) with 13:20 remaining. Georgia would rally for a 24-21 win.
The Last Time: Georgia executed a fake field goal as Stetson Bennett rushed for five yards on 4th-and-3 at the Mizzou 22. It was the team’s first since the 2020 Sugar Bowl when Georgia’s Jake Camarda ran for a first down. Tonight’s drive ended with a 34-yard FG. The last time Georgia trailed at the half was last year’s national championship game to Alabama 9-6 and then rallied for a 33-18 win.
The Georgia Bulldogs WIN the 2021 NATIONAL TITLE!
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A Look At The Defense: The Tigers tallied 294 yards of total offense on 53 plays and were held to just one TD and five field goals.The Bulldog defense forced a three-and-out to open the second half and again once Georgia grabbed its first lead of the contest in the fourth quarter. The Tigers hit a 41-yard field goal with 4:11 left in the first quarter for a 3-0 advantage, marking the first time Georgia had trailed this season. Junior DL Jalen Carter returned to action on defense in the 2nd quarter and then left with a knee injury and did not return. Mizzou put together an 81-yard drive in 12 plays for a 10-0 lead with 12:43 left in the second quarter. Cody Schrader’s 63-yard scamper was the longest play allowed by the Bulldogs this season, and it led to a field goal and a 16-3 advantage.Georgia entered the game ranked fourth nationally in Scoring Defense, surrendering just 8.0 points a game. The leading tackler for the Bulldogs was Jamon Dumas-Johnson with a career-high eight stops while freshman Malaki Starks was next with six.
It’s Good: Senior PK Jack Podlesny made a 40-yard FG with 6:36 left in the half to cut Mizzou’s lead to 13-3 and a 34-yarder to end the first half to make it a 16-6 contest. With 5:53 remaining in the 3rd, he hit one from 29 yards to make it 16-9 and another 29-yarder with 2:15 left in the 3rd to make it 19-12. He is 12-for-13 in field goals this year with the lone miss coming on a 54-yard attempt against Samford. Podlesny entered tonight’s game second nationally in scoring with 44 points. Tonight, he had 14 points (4 FG, 2 PATs).
Points Off Turnovers: Missouri scored three points off two Bulldog miscues while the Tigers did not have any turnovers in the first half.
Junior RB Kendall Milton fumbled after a 35-yard gain and Mizzou recovered at the UGA 46. It did not lead to any points as the Tigers ran three plays and lost one yard total. Senior QB Stetson Bennett fumbled and Mizzou took over at the UGA 36. It led to a 49-yard field goal. The Bulldogs are now +2 for the year with 31 points off turnovers while opponents have scored 13 points off five turnovers. Last week against Kent State, the Bulldogs had three turnovers in the first half that led to three points.
For Starters, Game Captains: Georgia had one first-time starter in junior DB Tyke Smith as this was his first at Georgia and 18th in his career after having 17 starts while at West Virginia. Also of note, redshirt sophomore WR Arian Smith saw his first action of the season after getting hurt in fall camp. He had a 7-yard catch in the second quarter. Missouri won the toss and elected to defer the ball until the 2nd half. Sophomores Jamon Dumas-Johnson (LB) and Brock Bowers (TE) plus juniors Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (WR) and junior Dan Jackson (S) were the captains.
Up Next: No. 1 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) plays host to Auburn next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS). The Tigers (3-2,1-1 SEC) fell 21-17 to LSU on the Plains tonight.
The Georgia Bulldogs WIN the 2021 NATIONAL TITLE!
Check out DAWGSTRUCTION NOW!
