UGA Football: Everything You Need to Know About Georgia vs Missouri

Top-ranked Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC) begins a stretch of seven consecutive SEC games this Saturday when it faces Missouri (2-2, 0-1 SEC) in Columbia. The Tigers dropped a heartbreaker at Auburn 17-14 in overtime last Saturday.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first quarter, top-ranked Georgia responded with 40 unanswered points and ultimately posted a 43-6 win. Stetson Bennett (13-for-19, 255 yards, 2 TDs) started at quarterback and helped the Bulldogs build a 33-3 lead before JT Daniels returned under center for the first time in two weeks. He threw a touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey. Nine different Bulldogs caught passes with four covering more than 20 yards. The stout Bulldog defense limited the Tigers to a pair of field goals on the day and had a goal line stand that ended with three seconds left in the game as Missouri turned it over on downs. The Tigers came in averaging 34.8 points a game. Missouri’s Tyler Badie, the SEC’s leading rusher, was held to 41 yards, while starting quarterback Connor Bazelak did not see action due to an injury. Also, Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith’s blocked punt resulted in a safety.

The Bulldogs are second in the league in Total Offense (531.5 yards/game) and Yards Per Play (7.6). Thanks in part to the performance of senior QB Stetson Bennett so far, the Bulldogs are third the league in Passing Offense (350.5 yards/game). Bennett has five touchdowns and one interception plus four rushing touchdowns this year. He is completing 74 percent of his passes and has 1,224 yards going into the Missouri contest.

Georgia transitioned from No. 3 in the preseason poll to No. 2 after week one and then to No. 1 in the AP poll prior to the South Carolina game. After whipping the Gamecocks 48-7, the Bulldogs assumed the top spot in the Coaches poll as well. Georgia has been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in 18 of the past 20 Associated Press (AP) polls, with the other two weeks at No. 3.

Despite a record 15 players getting selected in the NFL draft, including five defenders in the first round, Georgia’s defense, at least through the first four games, looks to be as strong as ever. The Bulldogs rank fourth nationally in Scoring Defense at 8.0 points/game. The Bulldogs whipped No. 11 Oregon 49-3 in the season opener in Atlanta, blanked Samford 33-0 in Athens, routed South Carolina 48-7 in Columbia, S.C., and bested Kent State 39-22 in Sanford Stadium most recently.

Senior OLB Nolan Smith, redshirt sophomore DB Kelee Ringo and senior S Chris Smith are the Dogs’ three returning defensive starters from last season’s team. For the third time in school history, Georgia led the nation in Scoring Defense. The 2021 unit allowed just 10.2 points/game and only 153 total points in 15 games.

A 2021 College Football Playoff national championship, a 2018 CFP title game appearance, 2017 Southeastern Conference Championship, four SEC Eastern Division titles, 67 wins and six bowl victories are more than respectable rewards as Kirby Smart rolls into his seventh season. That’s what Georgia got when it hired Smart, the former Georgia player and Alabama defensive coordinator, to head the program in December of 2015.

His impact, along with a stellar coaching staff, players, and a passionate fan base has put Georgia on the national stage six years running. His 2021 team became UGA’s first national champion since 1980, the first since 1982 to go undefeated in the SEC regular season, a No. 1 national ranking by all the major polls and the first ever to win 14 games. It marked the fifth straight team to finish the regular season ranked in the top ten of the College Football Playoff rankings. The team set 21 school records, highlighted by the nation’s top-ranked defense. The third-ranked Bulldogs defeated #2 Michigan, 34-11, in the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami and then No. 1 Alabama, 33-18, in the championship game in Indianapolis. The senior class also set the mark for most career wins by going 45-8. After the regular season, Smart was named SEC Coach of the Year for the second time in five years.

Georgia’s championship season enjoyed a fitting exclamation mark at the 2022 NFL Draft. The Bulldogs set a Draft record with 15 players taken, including five defenders in the first round, led by the first overall selection, junior Travon Walker.

*2-4 (includes 2017-19, ’21 SECCGs, 2018 & 2022 CFPNC)

%Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic; ^Liberty Bowl; $Rose Bowl Game; ~Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl; !CFP National Championship

Rushing Yards: 222, Nick Chubb vs. #22 UNC (9/3/16)
Rushing TDs: 3, Sony Michel UK (11/18/17); vs. #2 Oklahoma (1/1/18)
Longest Rush: 83-TD, D’Andre Swift @ #9 UK (11/3/18)
Passing Yards: 401, JT Daniels MSU (11/21/20)
Passing TDs: 5, Stetson Bennett UAB (9/11/21)
Receiving Yards: 197 (8 rec.), Jermaine Burton MSU (11/21/20)
Receiving TDs: 2, by 7 different Bulldogs multiple times
Longest Pass/TD Pass: 89-TD, S. Bennett to Brock Bowers UAB (9/11/21)
Tackles: 15, Nakobe Dean vs. #8 UF (11/7/20)

Sacks: 3, Trenton Thompson vs. TCU (12/30/16); Azeez Ojulari vs. #8 UC (1/1/21); Channing Tindall @ UT (11/13/21)
TFL: 3, Azeez Ojulari #7 AU (10/3/20); Thompson vs. Nicholls (9/10/16); 3, Azeez Ojulari vs. #8 UC (1/1/21); Channing Tindall @ UT(11/13/21)

Under Kirby Smart, Georgia has registered 26 scores on defense and special teams. The Dogs are 23-1 (loss came versus #8 UF in 2020) when they register a non-offensive score under Smart.

This year, the Bulldogs have had a safety versus Kent State. In 2021, Georgia had six of these scores: Chris Smith’s 74-yd INT return (#3 CU); Jamon Dumas-Johnson’s 20-yd INT return (UAB); Safety (SC); Zamir

Kirby Smart is one of 11 Power 5 head coaches who are leading their alma maters.

Offensive Coordinator – Quarterbacks Coach – Todd Monken
Fain & Billy Slaughter Co-Defensive Coordinator – Inside Linebackers – Glenn Schumann
Co-Defensive Coordinator – Will Muschamp
Passing Game Coordinator – Wide Receivers – Bryan McClendon
Run Game Coordinator – Running Backs – Dell McGee
Defensive Backs Coach – Fran Brown
Assistant Coach – Tight Ends – Todd Hartley
Offensive Line Coach – Stacy Searels
Assistant Coach – Defensive Line – Tray Scott
Assistant Coach – Outside Linebackers – Chidera Uzo-Diribe

The Bulldogs will feature four new on the field coaches. Bryan McClendon, who won an SEC title with Georgia as a receiver in 2005, returns as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. He most recently held the same spot for Oregon from 2020-21. McClendon was a graduate assistant at UGA in 2007-08 and was the running backs coach from 2009-15. Stacy Searels will be Georgia’s new offensive line coach after serving in the same role for the Bulldogs from 2007-10. He has most recently been North Carolina’s OL coach for the last three years. Another pair of coaches will join UGA for the first time in their careers. Fran Brown was named the defensive backs coach after serving as the secondary coach at Rutgers. Chidera Uzo-Diribe is the Bulldogs’ new outside linebackers coach following a stint in the same position at Texas Christian University.

Georgia’s offensive line returns three of five starters. C Sedrick Van Pran (19 consecutive starts), RT Warren Mc- Clendon (team high 28 consecutive starts) and RG Tate Ratledge (four consecutive starts) all got the nod in the first four games along with LT Broderick Jones (four consecutive starts) and LG Xavier Truss (four consecutive starts). Jones started the final four regular season games last year when Jamaree Salyer went down with an injury. Ratledge also started the 2021 opener but was lost for the year with an injury sustained in the fourth series of that contest. Warren Ericson relieved Ratledge for the final 14 games of 2021 and returns this year. Amarius Mims is also back and is lining up at either tackle position while Devin Willock has earned a spot in the regular rotation as well at OG. They have helped Georgia pile up 42.3 points/game and 531.5 yards/game thus far.

Senior PK Jack Podlesny is back for his third season as UGA’s top kicker. Podlesny has made 43 of 52 field goal attempts in his career (82.7 percent) and drilled 129 of 130 PATs. This season, he is 8-of-9 on field goals and a perfect 20- for-20 on PATs. During the 33-0 win over Samford, he scored a career-high 15 points, which was the most for a Bulldog since All-American Rodrigo Blankenship scored 17 against Missouri in 2017. Podlesny was 4-of-5 on field goals versus Samford and hit all three of his PATs. Podlesny leads the SEC in Scoring with 44 points (11.0 points.game). He is also handling kickoffs and has 23 touchbacks out of his 31 kickoffs.

Early enrollee Brett Thorson, a native of Australia, had a season-long punt of 56 yards at South Carolina. He has punted only six times in 2022 (only once in the first half) and has averaged 45.0. Georgia did not punt versus KSU, and that was the first time since the 2018 UMass game. The Bulldog snappers return in senior Payne Walker (FGs/PATs) and junior William Mote (punts).

Senior Stetson Bennett, a native of Blackshear, Ga., began his career with the Bulldogs as a walk-on in 2017 when he was redshirted. Bennett transferred to Jones College (Miss.) where he started in 2018 and then returned to the Bulldogs on scholarship in 2019. He saw action that season in five games including throwing passes in four of them. In 2020, he started five games and then got the nod in the final 11 contests of the 2021 national championship season.

In his Bulldog career, Bennett is 18-3 and has completed 64.9 percent of his passes (383-for-593, 5,525 yards, 44 TDs, 15 INTs).

On the road against South Carolina, Bennett connected on 16 of 23 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a rushing touchdown and 36 yards on the ground.

Bennett is the first quarterback to open a season with four straight games of 250 or more yards passing plus a rushing touchdown in each game. He joins Tim Tebow (four) as the only two SEC players since 2004 to have at least four consecutive games with 250 passing yards and one rushing score.

Bennett earned Walter Camp National FBS Offensive Player of the Week and Manning Award National QB of the Week honors while leading No. 3 Georgia to a 49-3 rout of No. 11 Oregon in this season’s opener. He directed the Bulldogs to seven touchdowns on their first seven drives and finished 25 of 31 for a career-high 368 yards and two touchdowns. Bennett also had a 1-yard rushing score against the Ducks. Bennett’s 368 passing yards in the win was the most in a season opener by a Bulldog since 1994 when Eric Zeier tallied 485 yards in a road win over South Carolina.

He ranked fourth nationally in Passing Efficiency (176.7) last year, which broke the school record in that category previously belonging to Aaron Murray (174.8, 2012).

Bennett helped Georgia complete a historic 8-0 SEC regular season and its first undefeated regular season since 1982.

During the CFP National Championship Game versus No. 1 Alabama, Bennett finished 17-for-26 passing with 224 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. Trailing 18-13 with 10:14 left in the game, Bennett directed a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive that gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead at the 8:09 mark (a two-point conversion failed). Georgia never relinquished its lead to collect its first national championship in 41 years. Bennett was named the game’s Offensive MVP as was the case in the CFP Semifinal Orange Bowl victory over Michigan.

*Ties school record

Georgia’s tight end room is loaded. Along with 6-4, 230-pound All-American and 2021 Freshman of the Year Brock Bowers, the top targets here include 6-7, 270-pound junior Darnell Washington, 6-5, 255-pound redshirt sophomore Arik Gilbert and 6-5, 225-pound freshman Oscar Delp.

Bowers leads the group this year with 15 catches for 276 yards while Washington has seven for 120 yards. In the win over Kent State, Bowers accounted for 137 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns. His first carry of the game was on the second play of the game and went for a 75-yard touchdown. This marked the first time Bowers had scored two rushing touchdowns in a single game and gave him four rushing scores in his career.

For the second time in his career, Bowers had two receiving touchdowns and a rushing score in the same game. He did it during the road win at South Carolina and also at Vanderbilt last year. He finished with five catches for 121 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown against the Gamecocks.

Delp’s first career catch was also the first touchdown of his career on a 28-yard strike from Carson Beck against South Carolina. Before Delp, the last Bulldog to score on his first career catch was Arian Smith at South Carolina in 2020.

Bowers burst on to the scene last year and had one of the finest seasons ever by a Bulldog pass catcher. A native of Napa, Calif, he was named the FWAA Freshman of the Year, the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year and the SEC Freshman of the Year. He tallied 56 receptions for 882 yards and 14 touchdowns (13 receiving, 1 rushing), all team-bests and school records for a tight end. The 13 TD catches was the most ever by a Bulldog.

Bowers has had five 100-yard receiving games in his career; three of his career TD catches have covered 75+ yards; his first career TD catch covered 89 yards against UAB.

With Zamir White and James Cook off to the NFL, Georgia’s veterans in the backfield are senior Kenny McIntosh, as well as juniors Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards.

McIntosh had nine catches for 117 yards (both career highs) to go along with five carries for 18 yards and a touchdown during the rout of No. 11 Oregon in the 2022 opener.

Milton scored both a rushing and a receiving touchdown against No. 11 Oregon for the first time in his career.

In the season-opening win over No. 11 Oregon, Kenny McIntosh led the Bulldogs with 117 receiving yards on nine catches. It was the most yards by a Bulldog running back since 1995 when fullback Larry Bowie tallied 156 yards on 10 catches against Virginia in the Peach Bowl.

McIntosh’s nine catches were the most since 2013 when Todd Gurley had 10 (for 77 yards) against #7 Auburn.

For the year, McIntosh is the leading receiver with 21 for 227 yards (10.8 avg.). 100+ Yards Receiving By A Bulldog RB In The Modern Era 156, Larry Bowie on 10 catches, 1995 Peach Bowl vs. Virginia in Atlanta 117, Kenny McIntosh on 9 catches, 2021 vs No. 11 Oregon in Atlanta 112, James Cook on 4 catches, 2021 Capital One Orange Bowl vs. No. 2 Michigan in Miami, Fla. 101, James Cook on 4 catches, 2020 at No. 2 Alabama

This marks the third year that Todd Monken is directing the Georgia offense. Currently, the Bulldogs are averaging 42.2 points/game, which ranks 17th nationally.

The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 169-32 this season, including 106-16 in the opening half.

Georgia’s offense generated 49 points against No. 11 Oregon in the 2022 season opener. The Bulldogs tallied 571 yards of offense on only 62 plays and scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions of the game.

Ten different Bulldogs caught a pass in the win over Oregon as Georgia amassed 439 yards through the air, which is the most ever in the Kirby Smart era.

Georgia’s leading receiver against the Ducks was Kenny McIntosh (9-117-0). Also of note, WR Ladd McConkey scored receiving and rushing touchdowns in the same game for the second time in his career (@ Vanderbilt, 2021) versus Oregon as WR AD Mitchell also snagged a touchdown catch.

McConkey is ranked second on the team with 16 catches for 227 yards (14.2 avg.) and a score. He is also the primary punt returner with five for 49 yards.

The Bulldogs are 25 of 26 in the Red Zone this year with 17 touchdowns and eight field goals, which ranks 14th nationally.

In 2021, Georgia featured the nation’s top Scoring Defense allowing just 10.2 points/ game. In six games last year, Georgia did not allow an offensive TD and that led the FBS.

This season, the Bulldogs rank fourth nationally in Scoring Defense, giving up just 8.0 points per contest. The defense has posted 10 scoreless quarters in 2022.

Georgia is 14th in the country with opponents advancing to the Red Zone only six times and coming away with two field goals and two touchdowns.

The 2022 Bulldog defense kept No. 3 Oregon to only a field goal in the season opener. This marked the first time Oregon had failed to score a touchdown in a game since 2017. Late in the fourth quarter, Georgia had an impressive goal line stand late that ended at the two yard line following a 19-play, 87-yard drive that lasted 8:47.

Georgia’s first touchdown allowed this year came at South Carolina in game three this year with 53 seconds remaining in the game.

The Bulldogs forced three interceptions during the victory at South Carolina. Freshman Malaki Starks had his team-leading second pick, one that he returned 42 yards, while S Dan Jackson and ILB Trezmen Marshall each had their first INT. ILB Jamon Dumas-Johnson led the team with six stops.

Georgia’s leading tacklers in the win over No. 11 Oregon were senior Chris Smith (six) and Starks (eight). Both Bulldogs also registered interceptions that eventually turned into 14 points. The picks came on the Ducks’ second and third possessions and helped Georgia build a 21-0 lead.

This marked Smith’s fourth career pick and his second in a row in a season-opening game after returning his interception for a score against No. 3 Clemson in 2021 for the game’s only touchdown. Smith shared SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors following his performance against Oregon. He snagged his second pick of 2022 during the win over Kent State.

Georgia lost the turnover battle for the first time this year as Kent State forced three miscues and the Bulldogs created only one.

Dumas-Johnson and Mondon set career highs with six stops apiece against the Golden Flashes. Dumas-Johnson equaled his sack total from 2021 against Kent State with two sacks and also added another tackle for loss.

1. Alabama, 41-4
T2. GEORGIA, 38-5
T2. Clemson, 38-6
T4. Cincinnati, 36-6
T4. Louisiana, 36-7

2016: 12 points in two games (KOR, PR)
2017: none
2018: 12 points in two games (PR, Blocked Punt Ret.)
2019: none
2020: none
2021: 6 points in one game (Blocked Punt Ret.)
2022: none

Longest PR For a TD: 82 yards by Isaiah McKenzie vs. Louisiana, 2016
Longest Blocked PR For a TD: 8 yards by Eric Stokes @ Missouri, 2018
Longest KOR For a TD: 43 yards by Terry Godwin @ South Carolina, 2016

Currently, there are four Bulldogs who have blocked a kick/punt in their Georgia career. This season, freshman OLB Jalon Walker blocked a punt that resulted in a safety versus Kent State.

Jalen Carter’s blocked field goal against Alabama in the 2022 CFP National Championship Game changed the momentum in the third quarter and ignited the Bulldog offense. The Bulldogs would outscore Alabama 20-9 in the final quarter.

Overall, Georgia blocked five kicks last year including punts against No. 8 Arkansas (Dan Jackson) and Missouri (Nolan Smith), a field goal by Kentucky (Devonte Wyatt, 1st round pick Green Bay) and a PAT (Carter versus Kentucky).

Stetson Bennett: Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week, Manning Award Quarterback of the Week, Davey O’Brien Great 8 (vs. #11 UO); Manning Award Stars of the Week, Davey O’Brien Great 8 (@ SC)

Chris Smith: SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week (vs. #11 UO)

Jack Podlesny: Lou Groza Award Stars of the Week (SAM)

Kearis Jackson: Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member (Georgia leads the nation with 22 selections since award’s inception in 1992)

Brock Bowers: SEC Offensive Player of the Week, John Mackey Award TE of the Week (@ SC)

This past summer, former Georgia defensive lineman Richard Seymour became the latest Bulldog elected to the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played for New England from 2001-08 after being drafted sixth overall. He was a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots and appeared in a fourth Super Bowl. Seymour, a native of Gadsden, S.C., was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and a five-time All-Pro pick. He played for Oakland from 2009-12 and then retired. Seymour finished his career with 496 tackles and 57.5 sacks. At Georgia, Seymour was an All-American in 2000 and a two-time All-SEC selection.

Seymour joined Charley Trippi, Fran Tarkenton, Terrell Davis and Champ Bailey as Bulldogs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On a related note, Bailey is set for induction to the College Football Hall of Fame in December in Las Vegas. He was one of the most versatile players in Georgia history including logging more than 1,000 snaps on offense, defense and special teams during the 1998 Bulldog campaign when he earned First Team All-America honors. A Folkston native and also a record-setting track and field athlete during his UGA career, he will be the 16th Georgia player to join the College Football Hall of Fame. He was the seventh overall pick by Washington in the 1999 NFL Draft and played 15 seasons for Washington (199-2003) and Denver (2004-13). He was a 12-time Pro Bowl selection and was inducted in the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.

Senior receiver/returner Kearis Jackson was recently named to the 2022 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Jackson is one of 11 players from the NCAA FBS selected based on their commitment to community service.

Georgia leads the nation in Allstate AFCA Good Works Team honorees with 22 since the award’s inception in 1992, including 17 since 2000.

Jackson, a native of Fort Valley, Ga., is one of only two players from the Southeastern Conference on the FBS 2022 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The SEC leads all conferences with 82 all-time selections.

The Bulldogs had six first-time starters on defense in their opener versus No. 11 Oregon: ILB Jamon Dumas-Johnson, DE Mykel Williams, ILB Smael Mondon, DB Javon Bullard, DB Kamari Lassiter, N Nazir Stackhouse. Williams became just the ninth true freshman starter to make his debut in a season opener in the Kirby Smart era. In game two, true freshman Malaki Starks earned his first start for the Bulldogs. Freshman WR Dillon Bell, junior DL Zion Logue and senior DL Tramel Walthour both started for the first time at South Carolina.

Georgia had seven first-time starters in the 2021 season opener against No. 3 Clemson in Charlotte. The Bulldogs had 19 first-time starters in 2020, including seven in the opener.

Georgia featured 12 true freshmen in its 2022 opener against No. 11 Oregon after having an NCAA record 15 players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. A total of 21 true freshmen have played during the 2022 campaign.

During the 2021 season opener, six true freshmen saw action against No. 3 Clemson in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium. In 2021, a total of 24 true freshmen played for the Bulldogs.

#11 Oregon:Nolan Smith, Kenny McIntosh, Christopher Smith, Sedrick Van Pran
Samford:Zion Logue, Warren Ericson, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint
S. Carolina:Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Kearis Jackson, Warren McClendon
Kent State:Nolan Smith, Sedrick Van Pran, Darnell Washington, Chris Smith
Missouri:
Auburn:
Vanderbilt:
Florida:
Tennessee:
Miss. State:
Kentucky:
Georgia Tech:

GAME ONE:
UGA: 7 (Longest: 38-yd pass, Bennett to McIntosh)
#11 ORE: 0

GAME TWO:
UGA: 4 (Longest: 37-yd pass, Bennett to McConkey)
SAM: 1 (36-yd pass, Crittendon to King)

GAME THREE:
UGA: #1 UGA: 4 (Longest: 78-yd TD pass, Bennett to Bowers)
USC: 3 (Longest: 46-yd pass, Rattler to Bell)

GAME FOUR:
UGA: 3 (Longest: 75-yd TD run, Bowers)
KENT ST.: 3 (Longest: 56-yd TD pass, Schlee to Walker)

GAME FIVE:
UGA:
MIZ:

GAME SIX:
UGA:
AUB:

GAME SEVEN:
UGA:
VAN:

GAME EIGHT:
UGA:
UF:

GAME NINE:
UGA:
TENN:

GAME 10:
UGA:
MSU:

GAME 11:
UGA:
UK:

GAME 12:
UGA:
GT:

Georgia is +4 in turnover margin. The Bulldogs have 31 points off seven turnovers. Opponents have 10 points off three turnovers. Georgia did not have a turnover in its first three games before having three against Kent State.

#11 Oregon: UGA got 14 pts. off 2 TOs; UGA did not have any TOs.
Samford: UGA got 3 pts. off 1 TO; UGA did not have any TOs.
S. Carolina: UGA got 14 pts. off 3 TOs; UGA did not have any TOs.
Kent State: UGA got no pts. off 1 TO; KSU got 3 pts. off 3 TOs.
Missouri:
Auburn:
Vanderbilt:
Florida:
Tennessee:
Miss. State:
Kentucky:
Georgia Tech: