Georgia prepared for fight against Missouri with SEC East control up for grabs
ATHENS, Ga. — This isn’t your average Georgia-Missouri matchup. In fact, it’s different from any of the last 11 since the Tigers joined the SEC.
For just the fourth time since 2012 will the two teams meet both ranked. The previous three came in 2013 and 2014, Missouri’s first two years in the league when they made appearances in the SEC Championship Game, and 2020.
Where this one is different though is the stakes with both teams inside the top-20. It’s the first time that’s happened – aside from the 1960 Orange Bowl matchup in the days of the Big Seven. Furthermore, with Missouri at 7-1 and Georgia 8-0, the top spot in the SEC East is up for grabs with an inside track to the conference championship game going to the winner.
“Eli has done a tremendous job with this team. We thought they were really good last year when we went to play them, and that proved to be true. They’ve gotten better,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said on Monday during his opening press conference to Missouri week in Athens.
Smart credits the improvement after a 6-7 campaign last year to quarterback Brady Cook, explosive playmakers on offense and a tough, aggressive defense.
On the season, the fourth-year junior out of St. Louis has thrown for 2,259 yards and 15 touchdowns with a 69.8% completion percentage. Only three of his 242 attempts have been intercepted with none in the first five games.
Who is he throwing to? Look no further than Luther Burden, a former five-star that Georgia recruited heavily. Also a native of St. Louis, he’s got 905 yards and six touchdowns in eight games, an average of 113.1 a game.
Theo Wease and Mookie Cooper also contribute to the receiving effort with 64 catches, almost 800 yards and five touchdowns between the two of them while Cody Schrader leads the rushing attack with 807 yards and nine touchdowns on 140 attempts.
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“I think they’re going to do a lot of that with Luther Burden of Theo Wease,” Bulldog defensive back Tykee Smith said of the expected Missouri game plan. “They got a couple of good receivers so I’m just looking forward to the game plan. We’re going to get started on that today.”
Defensively, the Tigers gave Georgia fits last year, holding UGA to its second lowest total of 2022. The Bulldogs entered the fourth quarter without a touchdown on the board and just 12 points. They ended the day with 26 in total.
Missouri attacked Georgia’s offensive line with pressure, and it’s something that the Bulldogs are expecting to see again.
“It’s still early in the week. Definitely haven’t had the chance to go out there and practice against it a little bit. I can’t give you all of that yet, but one thing I can say is that we’re definitely aware of how good those guys are,” center Sedrick Van Pran said. “They’re a tremendous team. Just watching some of the games on TV, you can see some of the havoc and pressure that they’re able to create. They have a bunch of great players, 99, 6, if I’m not mistaken number 90 as well. All of these guys create a lot of havoc and do some great things for them.”
“It’s just understanding that those guys have been the heartbeat of their defense. It’s been the way that they’ve been able to kind of dominate,” he added. “I think it’s just understanding what they are there for and just understanding through film and different things like that ways to try and, I guess, minimize their effect.”
Kickoff time for Saturday’s game is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. As of Monday, the Bulldogs are 16-point favorites.
