Georgia and Missouri will square off this Saturday in a game that was originally supposed to take place on November 14th. The Tigers are 5-3. After losing their first two games of 2020, they've won five of their last six, including the last three. In Missouri's last two games. the Tigers have scored 91 combined points.
Georgia shut out Missouri last season 27-0. In nine all-time meetings against the Tigers, the Bulldogs have shut out Mizzou three times, including the first-ever matchup in the 1960 Orange Bowl (14-0). The Dawgs have won all four meetings in Columbia, Missouri, and have outscored the Tigers 146-76 in those games.
I crunched quite a few stats last week in preparation for the Vanderbilt game. If you didn’t see them, you can check out this link. Instead of giving you the same numbers again, I crunched some different ones for your amusement.
Stats Crunch
JT Daniels threw for two touchdown passes in the South Carolina game, compared to his four against Mississippi State. The six total is even more impressive when you realize he only has 38 completions and 54 attempts on the season. His touchdown percentage is tied for fourth highest in the nation at 11.1 percent, or one for nine. Here are the top six.
If Daniels throws for four again, it will set a record for most thrown by a Georgia quarterback against Missouri, although several times, a Bulldog has come close in this short series.
Daniels is averaging ten yards per pass attempt this season. Only Matt Robinson in 1974 (10.88) and Aaron Murray in 2012 (10.09) have averaged a higher total for the Bulldogs. His average is the 12th highest in the nation among players with at least 50 throws this season. On some of the passes, the completions have gone a lot farther. This next graphic shows the list of Bulldogs with receptions for 40 yards or more in game under Kirby Smart.
If you watched UGASports LIVE this week, you heard Coach Jim Donnan, Radi, Jake, and Dayne discuss why the Dawgs may throw to the tight end spot this week. Georgia tight ends have caught at least 30 passes in a season seven times since 2000. If you're curious about some other teams, Alabama has had this happen five times and Auburn just once in that same time period. Here are those seven players.
Leonard Pope was the last tight end to outright lead the Bulldogs in receptions back in 2005. A season after in 2006, Martrez Milner tied for the team lead in receptions, with wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.
Each week I offer a list of how Georgia running backs have fared in each quarter this season. There was no change in an off-week, of course, but you'll want to click the link above to see how it looks now after four different Dawgs had at least 75 yards on the ground against the Gamecocks. Two of those four, Zamir White and James Cook, also had a pair of touchdown runs. Having a pair do that in the same game is rare. Only 13 times since 1996 has Georgia had a game in which two different players had two or rushing touchdowns in the same game. And some of the players on this list may surprise you.
On the season, Zamir White now has nine touchdowns (T-4th in SEC), with at least one touchdown rush in seven of his eight games. With one more rushing touchdown, he'll join three others to achieve the double-digit milestone under Kirby Smart. Check out the list of most touchdown rushes in a season by a Bulldog since 2016.
As I mentioned above, Zamir is tied for fourth in the conference with nine touchdown rushes. One of the players above him in that stat was Kevin Harris of South Carolina. He had just one touchdown rush against Georgia, and just 53 yards on 17 attempts for the game. This week, Georgia faces another player ahead of Zamir on the list: Larry Rountree III. Rountree is currently the active leader in the SEC in career yards rushing with 3,583. He would have had more, but in three games against the Bulldogs, he's compiled only 79 yards rushing on 23 attempts. It seems Georgia has had its way against Missouri over the years in stopping the run, as you can see here.
The longest run Missouri has had against Georgia is 16 over the last six meetings.
