Kirby Smart describes emotions of comeback road victory against Missouri

Missouri gave Kirby Smart and Georgia a scare Saturday, but the Bulldogs found a way to survive. Georgia trailed all game until 4:03 remaining, when Daijun Edwards punched in the go-ahead score from the goal line to take a 26-22 lead.

That would be the final touchdown of the game for either team as the Bulldogs escaped Columbia with their undefeated record still in tact. Speaking postgame on the SEC Network broadcast, Smart did his best to describe the emotions the team was feeling.

“Absolutely there’s a lot of emotions,” he said. “It’s hard in the SEC, guys. I’ve been in this league a long time and there’s nothing easy about the SEC. When you go on the road in the SEC, you better be prepared.”

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Georgia entered halftime trailing 16-6 after totaling just 33 yards rushing in the first half. However, the Bulldogs were able to find more success in the second, as they turned things around to finish the game with 169 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Smart credited the change to an adjustment the offense made in the second half, as Georgia opted for more gap scheme runs as opposed to zone.

“It helped with the penetration they were getting,” Smart said. “Sometimes, penetration can hurt you running some of the zone plays. Did a good job. We weren’t very efficient all day. Defense played their hearts out. We’ve got a lot of things to figure out on offense. We’ve got to be better at running the ball. Got to be more explosive. We’ve got to get some wideouts back.”

It wasn’t just the running game that looked different in the second, though. Quarterback Stetson Bennett also bounced back from a lackluster first half to finish 24-of-43 passing for 312 yards. It was the first time all season that he failed to score a touchdown, and Kirby Smart knows he’ll have to be better than he was against Missouri going forward as well.

“He didn’t play his best game — he’ll be the first to tell you that,” the coach said. “But give Missouri some credit. These kids came out here and fought today, and when you play on the road in the SEC — I say it all the time — it’s one of the toughest places to play.”

Georgia will hope for a stronger start next week when it heads back to Athens for a matchup against Auburn at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.