Report: Missouri quarterback will not play against Georgia

What was shaping up to be an unpleasant weekend for the Missouri Tigers just reportedly got worse. 

Sources say the Tigers will be without starting quarterback Connor Bazelak for this weekend’s game against No. 1 Georgia. The news was first reported by Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports.

Bazelak left last weekend’s game against Vanderbilt in the fourth quarter with a soft-tissue injury. He was listed as questionable on Missouri’s weekly injury report on Thursday.

Missouri will likely play two quarterbacks in his place: redshirt freshman Brady Cook and true freshman Tyler Macon. Both quarterbacks have seen limited action this year. Cook is 5-for-5 with 29 yards and a touchdown, and Macon is 3-for-4 with 69 yards and a score. The true freshman stepped in for Bazelak against Vanderbilt as Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said he was better equipped to run a late-game offense.

Cook saw action in three games as a true freshman last year, including against Georgia in a blowout loss.

Incomplete Tigers offense set to face nation’s top defense

The signal callers have an incredibly tall task in front of them, as the Georgia defense is one of the best units in recent history. They are allowing just 6.6 points per game this season.

With inexperience under center, Missouri may need to rely more on running back Tyler Badie. Badie, a senior, is averaging 6.3 yards per carry this season with 11 touchdowns. In last weekend’s win over the Commodores, the running back became the first player in Missouri history with three 200-yards games in a season.

On the other side of the ball, Missouri has the worst scoring defense in the SEC, and they are allowing 283.9 yards per game on the ground, 130th in the FBS. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is very mobile, and the Bulldogs have leaned into the run game as of late. They have run 109 run plays and just 60 pass plays in their last three games. Bennett has 15 of those 109 carries for 98 yards. 

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has not named a starting quarterback for Saturday. JT Daniels is healthy once again, but Smart opted to start Bennett against Florida last weekend.

Missouri, who is just 1-3 in the SEC this season, is a 39-point underdog in Athens. Georgia leads the series 9-1 all-time, and the last time Missouri went to Athens, they were shutout for the first time since 2002.

The game kicks off at noon ET on ESPN.