Another Fast Start Leads To A Comfortable Georgia Football Victory Over Missouri

ATHENS, Ga. — The first play from scrimmage resulted in an interception by the Georgia defense, and away the top-ranked Bulldogs went Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium. Georgia scored on its first five possessions, led No. 22 Missouri 31-0 midway through the second quarter, and rolled to a 48-21 win in front of a sellout crowd of 93,033.

Georgia (9-1, 7-1 SEC) jumped on the Tigers in all phases of the game. The offense piled up 468 yards, the defense held Missouri (6-4, 3-4) to 286, and special teams got two field goals from Peyton Woodring and a couple of big returns from Sacovie White-Helton.

Quarterback Gunner Stockton completed 18 of 24 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for an 8-yard touchdown. Nate Frazier had three rushing touchdowns and led the Bulldogs with 72 yards on 14 carries, while Dwight Phillips Jr. added 66 yards on seven carries. Craig Dandridge Jr. had a career-high six receptions for 85 yards, plus a 22-yard run, to lead the wideouts.

Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons’ first pass of the game went right to linebacker Raylen Wilson, who grabbed the interception, the first of the senior’s career, and returned it 29 yards to the Tiger 7-yard line. Two plays later, Frazier took a pitch to the left from Stockton and ran the ball into the end zone for a 7-0 lead 61 seconds into the game.

Georgia’s defense forced a quick three-and-out on Mizzou’s next drive, and the Bulldog offense again wasted no time scoring. Frazier ran for 15 yards to the Tiger 45, followed by a 33-yard Stockton pass to wideout Isiah Canion. Two plays later, Stockton tucked the ball and ran it in from the 8 for a 14-0 lead with 10:33 to go in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs’ next drive also ended in the end zone, this time with Frazier running the ball in from the 3 for a 21-0 lead with 2:03 to go in the first. The drive began with Stockton being sacked for a loss of 5 yards, and then the offense continued to click, with Stockton making plays through the air and Frazier and Phillips getting it done on the ground. Stockton was 4 of 5 for 51 yards on the 11-play drive.

Georgia added to its lead with 10:43 left in the half on Woodring’s 41-yard field goal, making it 24-0. After the Bulldogs’ next defensive stop, the Tigers had completed five drives, with the longest at four plays.

With 6:52 left in the half, Stockton found Canion in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown to push the lead to 31-0. Canion, a 6-foot-4 junior who missed multiple games with an injury before returning last week against Ole Miss, had three receptions all season coming into Saturday. The touchdown grab was his third of the game, and his first score as a Bulldog after two seasons at Georgia Tech.

Missouri, which finished 2 of 11 on third down, got on the scoreboard on its next possession, getting into the end zone on a 15-yard pass from Simmons to Naeshaun Montgomery with 3:05 to go in the half. The score was the first allowed by the Bulldogs in the first half in three games, after shutting out Florida and Ole Miss for three quarters in their previous two matchups.

At the half, Georgia led 31-7 and had a 264-115 advantage in total offense. The Bulldogs got the ball to start the second half, and they had excellent field position after White-Helton’s 58-yard kickoff return. White-Helton finished with 95 yards on three returns.

A 22-yard completion to tight end Jaden Reddell on third-and-7 moved the ball to the Tiger 16. Georgia couldn’t take full advantage of White-Helton’s long return, but Woodring made a 40-yard field goal with 10:42 left in the third for a 34-7 lead.

Frazier found the end zone again midway through the third, scoring on a 3-yard run one play after fighting through multiple Tiger defenders on a 17-yard rush. Earlier in the drive, Phillips took off up the left side for a 29-yard run, and that was followed by a 22-yarder by Dandridge. Frazier’s third TD of the game made it 41-7 with 6:15 to go in the third.

Missouri’s Donovan Olugbode caught an 11-yard Simmons touchdown pass to cut the Bulldog lead to 41-14 with 45 seconds to play in the third. Georgia answered with a six-play drive that included a 26-yard completion to Dandridge, a 29-yarder to a twisting and turning Talyn Taylor on the right sideline, and running back Chauncey Bowens, who missed the previous four games with an injury, scored on a 5-yard run to make it 48-14 with 12:53 to play.

The Tigers got a 2-yard touchdown on a fourth-down throw from Simmons to Kenric Lanier II with 5:15 remaining, making it 48-21. Linebacker Justin Williams led the Georgia defense with 10 tackles, and linebacker Rasean Dinkins added six.

The Bulldogs head to Columbia, S.C., next weekend to take on No. 17 South Carolina. Georgia is 55-19-2 all-time against the Gamecocks, including wins in eight of the past nine meetings.