UGA Sports Communications
ATHENS, Ga. — A 696-yard explosion by the Georgia offense lifted the No. 4-ranked and undefeated Bulldogs past Missouri in front of a capacity crowd of 92,746 at Sanford Stadium on Saturday.
The 696 yards is the second-highest single game yardage total by a Georgia team in school history (record is 712 vs. Fla. Atlantic in 2012). The Bulldogs’ 7-0 record marks the team’s best start since 2005 as Georgia improves to 6-1 all-time against Missouri.
Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm finished with a career-high 326 yards through the air with two touchdowns passing and one on the ground. The Bulldog rookie hit 18-of-26 passes and led a balanced Georgia attack that included the four running back tandem of D’Andre Swift (94 yards), Sony Michel (86 yards), Nick Chubb (70 yards) and Elijah Holyfield (48 yards).
“The offense really saved us,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “They did a tremendous job converting third downs, making plays and answering the bell. We had two deflating plays defensively and the offense had the backs of the defense.”
Georgia struck first on its opening offensive possession. The Bulldogs marched 91 yards on seven plays, capped off by a Mecole Hardman 35-yard end-around that put the home team on the board first.
After a Missouri punt, the Tiger defense came up with a big play with Georgia backed up in its own territory. Cale Garrett picked off a Fromm pass at the Bulldogs’ 26-yard line to set the Tigers up at the 5. Missouri capitalized on a 4-yard pass play to knot the score at 7-7.
The back-and-forth pace continued on Georgia’s next drive. This time, Riley Ridley reeled in a 19-yard pass while he was falling out of bounds to put the Bulldogs back ahead 14-7. Missouri quarterback Drew Lock then connected on a 63-yard bomb with Emanuel Hall down the right sideline to again tie the score.
Michel had the answer for the Bulldogs on the next possession, racing 36-yards down field to give his team a 21-14 advantage early in the second quarter. Hall was not finished for the Tigers, however. The receiver used another 63-yard TD reception to tie it at 21-21.
Georgia scored the final 13 points of the first half thanks to two Rodrigo Blankenship field goals and a Fromm TD rush.
With a 34-21 lead, the Bulldogs’ scoring continued in the second half. Blankenship connected on two more field goals — one coming after Missouri muffed a punt to set Georgia up deep in Tiger territory. Michel put the Bulldogs up 47-21 in the third quarter with a 16-yard TD run.
Georgia added another late score and the Bulldogs held on to stay undefeated. The team now has a bye week and will take on Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
