Season 4 Volume 9: Mizzou

Intro

It kind of feels nice that our path to the playoff is so set in stone. Win out and you are in, drop another and head to another New year’s six bowl. Trust me, if I could take back the South Carolina game I would. Four turnover days where everything seems to be going wrong usually happen at least once a year (2017: Auburn, 2018: LSU, admittedly much better teams). What Georgia showed on the field in Jacksonville is who Georgia is. Stout, physical, athletic defense. Efficient, deep, methodical offense. This is how I expect Georgia to play the rest of the year now that some of the early season kinks are worked out. I expect Georgia to be in Atlanta and I expect them to put up an absolute Dawg fight with home field advantage against the #1 team in the country.

Offensive Recovery

I was really encouraged by Georgia’s offensive performance against a talented Florida defense. There were a lot of early plays that should have been TDs and turned into FGs due to execution. Fromm missed a few TD throws but also played a ridiculous game under pressure. Georgia was doing anything to get to the perimeter. They had a very simple quick toss play out of the shotgun that made it easy for Swift to get to the edge and turn the corner quickly. A ton of developing drag routes over the middle. Those types of routes require a ton of time and Fromm had all day as Thomas and Wilson were absolutely stoning outside rushers. Fromm did an excellent job in RPO with deciding between run/pass based on number of men in the box. The Dawgs threw the ball a ton with 6/7 men in the box and were extremely successful in doing it. Great decisions by Jake and Coley, if execution issues get cleaned up, that’s a three score game.

Defensive Dominance

This defense is something special. The only team in the last 20 years to not give up a rushing TD through 8 weeks. There are no Roquan Smith’s but our depth is unbelievable. Here are a few bullets on the things that stood out the most.

· When Tyler Clark is allowed to free rush on 3rd and short, I’m not sure there is a player in the country that can stop him. Most downs, his job is to soak up offensive lineman to allow LBs to rubdown backs. But he is the ultimate difference maker on 3rd and 2

· Monty Rice is as solid as the come. Never going to blow you away but will always make the tackle without being knocked backwards

· Richard Lecounte has been really good in run support without blowing too many coverages as of late

· Jordan Davis is a physical freak that requires offensive coordinators to game plan around

· The defense has established the “Havoc” they set out to produce at the beginning of the year. Azeez Ojulari and Nolan Smith could turn out to be first round picks

· Eric Stokes is as solid as D’andre Baker last year. Even if he gets beat, he has the speed to recover and always plays the ball extremely well, avoiding PI calls

· Mark Webb is usually a bit soft in man coverage, giving receivers plenty of room to make catches but he is a sure tackler in space

Mizzou Preview

I expect Georgia to run away with this one late. It could take a few possessions to feel out Missouri’s defense but the talent discrepancy is immense. After a light rushing performance last week, I expect us to go over 200 yards on the ground while putting up another 200 through the air. I expect the defense to continue their stingy, bend don’t break type play. The toughest defensive match up for the Dawgs all year has been active TEs. Mizzou has one of the best TEs in the country in Albert O. Linebackers need to be ready for the coverage test. Other than that, I don’t think Mizzou has the weapons offensively to pace UGAs offense whether or not Kelly Bryant plays. Dawgs 38 Mizzou 13

Bucky’s Easy Money of the Week

Last Week: 2-3

2019: 20-20

Overall: 110-101-3: 52% win percentage

1. Virginia (-16.5) vs Ga Tech: Virginia

2. Notre Dame (-8) vs Duke: Notre Dame

3. Penn St (-6.5) vs Minnesota: Penn St

4. Florida (-27) vs Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt

5. Alabama (-6) vs LSU: Alabama