UGA Football: Georgia vs Missouri Post Game Notes
Top-ranked Georgia (9-1, 7-1 SEC) registered its fourth SEC win by at least 25 points this year, the most since four in 2022, in tonight’s 48-21 win.
The Bulldogs are now 126-22 in the Kirby Smart era including 61-6 at home. Georgia leads the Missouri series 13-1 including 9-0 under Smart.
As the No. 1 ranked team under Smart, the Bulldogs are now 34-3.
Since the Auburn loss, Georgia has outscored its opponents 117-36 in wins over #17 Florida in Atlanta, #10 Ole Miss in Oxford and #22 Missouri in Athens. Those teams were averaging 39.6, 37.1 and 30.2 points per game and lost 27-8, 42-7 and 48-21.
Georgia tallied 48 points, gaining 468 yards on 60 plays with 182 rushing yards and 286 passing. Georgia came in leading the SEC and ranked fifth nationally in Scoring Offense at 41.1 points per game.
Fifth-year QB Gunner Stockton finished 18-for-24 for 252 yards, 1 TD passing, 1 TD rushing, playing a little more than three quarters. He left after the first play of the 4th quarter following a 26-yard completion to Craig Dandridge Jr.
The Bulldogs scored on their first five possessions, posting four TDs, a field goal and then had their final two drives of the half end with punts.
Georgia’s 21-point 1st Quarter was the most since the Western Kentucky game (21) and second to the 28 against TSU in the season opener.
The Bulldogs are outscoring opponents 129-14 in the 1st Quarter this year and 261-64 at the half.
Georgia tallied 21 points in the 1st quarter, 10 in the 2nd, 10 in the 3rd and 7 in the 4th. The Bulldogs have scored in 37 of 40 quarters this season.
At halftime, Georgia led 31-7 with 264 yards of offense (92-rushing, 172-passing) on 37 plays.
Georgia got the ball to start the 2nd half at the Mizz 46 following a career-long 58-yard KOR by Sacovie White-Helton. On a 3rd-and-7 at the MIZ38, Stockton hit tight end Jaden Reddell for a 22-yard completion. The drive ended with a 40-yard FG by Woodring and a 34-7 lead.
Georgia made it 41-7 after going 85 yards on six plays capped by Nate Frazier’s three-yard TD, his third of the game and ninth this year.
Georgia’s second TD drive today covered 60 yards on four plays in two minutes and featured a 33-yard catch by junior Isiah Canion and an eight-yard TD run by Stockton for a 14-0 lead with 10:33 left in the 1st quarter.
Junior Nate Frazier made it 7-0 on a four-yard rush to cap a two play, seven-yard drive in 45 seconds following an INT by Raylen Wilson. Frazier added a three-yarder for his 8th TD of the season and a 21-0 lead in the 1st quarter to finish an 11 play, 87-yard drive in 5:58. Coming in today, the Tigers had surrendered only five rushing TDs on the year. The Bulldogs made it 31-0 with a 61-yard march on five plays in 2:21, capped by a 12-yard catch by Canion with 6:52 leff in the 1st half.
Missouri’s first five drives today covered a total of 31 yards and ended with an interception and four punts. *The #22 Tigers trailed 31-7 at the half with 115 yards of offense. Mizzou went 75 yards in eight plays to make it 31-7 with 3:05 left in the 1st half.
On 4th-and-goal from the UGA 2 with 5:15 left in the game, the Tigers converted to make it 48-21, going 81 yards in 13 plays in 7:32.
Senior Raylen Wilson notched his first career INT on the first play from scrimmage today. It set up a seven-yard TD drive and a 7-0 lead. Mizzou came in leading the SEC and 11th nationally with just six turnovers lost this year. Also, the Tigers had thrown just two INTs across 300 attempts, which led the SEC and was seventh nationally.
The leading tacklers today were Justin Williams with a career-high 10 followed by Chris Cole and Rasean Dinkins with six each. The Tigers became just the 2nd team this season to score more than 20 points on the Bulldogs, finishing with 286 yards of offense on 61 plays.
Georgia had 182 rushing yards on 34 attempts (5.4 avg) with 5 TDs. Coming in today, the Tigers had allowed just five rushing TDs this season and were holding opponents to just 95.8 rushing yards a game, which ranked third in the SEC and 14th nationally.
Junior Nate Frazier had a team-best 72 yards on 14 carries and three TDs while Dwight Phillips Jr., had 66 yards on seven carries. Phillips had a 29-yard scamper in the 2nd half, the longest allowed by the Tigers this season.
Junior TB Chauncey Bowens saw his first action since Oct. 3 (Vandy), and on his first carry today, he scored a five-yard TD to make it 48-14.
Ten different Bulldogs caught a pass. Freshman Craig Dandridge Jr., had a team-high six for 85 yards while junior Isiah Canion was next with four for 63 yards and one TD, his first as a Bulldog and fifth of his career. Talyn Taylor had three for 63 yards.
Senior PK Peyton Woodring had 12 points on six PATs and two FGs (40, 41) plus he took care of the kickoffs.
Woodring now has 436 career points and that ranks second in UGA history, trailing only the 440 by Rodrigo Blankenship (2016-19).
Woodring added to his record Career PAT total today and now has 226.
Junior punter Drew Miller had three punts for a 43.3 yard-average including a 50-yarder and placed one inside the 20.
Coming in today, Missouri had allowed only one punt return for 8 yards this season. Georgia finished with four for 45 yards (Sacovie White-Helton (2-for-37 including a 30-yarder) and Tyriq Green (2-for-8). White-Helton began the 2nd half with a career-long 58-yard KOR.
Georgia got one turnover and turned it into 7 points. The Bulldogs are now +8 in Turnover Margin this season and have scored 93 points off 18 turnovers. Missouri recovered a muffed point at the UGA 24 with 2:01 left in the game, and it led to a 29-yard missed FG.
Georgia’s captains were Nate Frazier, Earnest Greene III, Khalil Barnes and Elijah Griffin.
Georgia won the coin toss and elected to defer the football until the 2nd half. After today’s win, Georgia is 6-0 when it wins the toss this year and 3-1 when it doesn’t. Every team that has won the toss this season in a Georgia game has elected to kick off.
Sophomore center Cortez Smith II made his first career start. It marked the first time this season that the Bulldogs didn’t have the same starting five up front as fifth-year center Drew Bobo was ruled out due to injury.
Georgia (9-1, 7-1 SEC) faces #17 South Carolina (6-3, 4-3 SEC) in Columbia on Nov. 21 at 7:30 pm ET (ABC). The Gamecocks are at Arkansas tonight.