ATHENS — Missouri was determined not to let Georgia run the football on Saturday, often dropping a safety closer to the line, stuffing the box and daring UGA to pass.
“Show me!” The Tigers seemed to be saying to coach Kirby Smart.
The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs (9-0, 7-0 SEC) did just that, scoring a 43-6 victory over Missouri at Sanford Stadium with 337 yards through the air and 168 on the ground.
”When people take away the run game,” Smart said, “we have to be explosive and take shots.”
The Georgia defense remains the star of the show, mind you, limiting the Tigers to 273 total yards and limiting their two-quarterback rotation to 152 yards.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett got off to a slow start, but at the end of the first quarter, he delivered what might have been the biggest play of the game after UGA trailed for only the second time all season.
Bennett, facing a fourth-and-6 and trailing 3-0 to Missouri with time winding down in the first quarter, lofted a pass into the waiting arms of Arian Smith for a 35-yard touchdown and the 7-3 lead.
“Arian might be the fastest dude in the country playing football,” Bennett said. “I think they went zero (coverage, no safety help) there, and it was definitely man to man.
“I just trusted him to get to a spot, and he got there and finished the play off.”
That deep ball didn’t seem to discourage Missouri, however.
The Tigers continued to load up to stop the run. It didn’t help that Georgia was missing starting left tackle Jamaree Salyer to a foot injury.
Bennett didn’t always take advantage of the open targets, but when he did, the redshirt senior made Missouri pay as the Bulldogs built a 26-3 halftime lead.
Georgia had just 67 yards on 20 carries, averaging 3.4 yards per carry through the first 30 minutes. Not so impressive considering the Tigers entered the day last in the NCAA (130th) in run defense, allowing 283 yards per game and 6.24 yards per carry.
But on the flip side, Bennett enjoyed an 11-of-17 passing first half that netted 232 yards. He ultimately finished 13 of 19 for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“I had all kinds of time in the pocket, which makes it so much easier to throw the ball,” Bennett said. “I don’t think I got touched other than when I ran.”
Perhaps more importantly, because of Missouri’s run-stop strategy, Georgia was able to get wide receivers involved who have only recently returned from injuries.
Smith’s TD catch was his first reception since the second game of the season.
Jermaine Burton, who has been hobbled by a groin injury, made his first catch in more than a month and his first touchdown grab since the third game of the season.
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint nearly doubled his season production, catching 2 passes for 18 yards after entering the day with just 3 receptions through the first eight games.
Even JT Daniels got into the game, seeing his first action since exiting the Vanderbilt game with a 35-0 lead in the first quarter last September.
Daniels entered in the third quarter and promptly directed a 7-play, 41-yard drive capped by his 7-yard TD pass to Ladd McConkey.
Daniels was 7-of-11 passing for 82 yards with a touchdown and an interception, Burton tipping a ball thrown behind him high into the air and leading to the pick.
“When you miss as much time as JT missed, you’re not going to be very sharp,” ESPN commentator Greg McElroy noted. “It’s one of those things, it’s very difficult on a passing attack.”
Difficult yes, but also necessary.
Smart surely knew before the game he would play Daniels, with Georgia’s next game a road trip to Tennessee.
Missouri was looking to win the game on Saturday when it loaded up on the run and forced Georgia out of its comfort zone.
But the Tigers ultimately did Smart and the Bulldogs a favor.
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