Pregamin’ Georgia

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What the “Experts” are Saying

• Jack looked at Georgia’s offense, led by second-year starter Jake Fromm, and defense, which features a lockdown corner. Pete talked to Connor Riley of DawgNation, who is predicting another blowout win for the Dawgs.
• Our sister site, DawgSports, has a lot of great coverage to look over as well including: a quick preview; a podcast; a list of things that do and do not worry them about Missouri; and a cocktail recipe they’re calling, “The Lockdown.”
• Alex Schiffer gave his weekly five factors and broke down two drives that highlight Missouri’s defensive struggles. Peter Baugh highlighted Derek Dooley’s roots in Georgia.
• Dave Matter picked Georgia to beat Mizzou, and talked about why with Ben Frederickson.
• Athlon Sports says Drew Lock and Emanuel Hall are worth watching, but still thinks Georgia comes away victorious.

They won’t get any style points, but Missouri is 3-0 thanks to their resilience against Purdue. We know what was bad about that game. So what do you think went well against the Boilermakers?

Pete Scantlebury, Football Editor: Well, the offense looked as balanced, calm and methodical as it’s ever been. That really stood out to me. Yeah, there was that bad Drew Lock pick — although I appreciated what he was trying to do there — but when Missouri needed points the most, the offense delivered. Even better news: we got some real answers from some of the young guys. Hyrin White looks more than competent — he looks stellar — at left tackle, should Missouri need him again. Jalen Knox is the truth. Tyler Badie might be the most heady of all the freshmen, and Larry Rountree showed that he can be the feature back. This offense is d-e-e-e-e-p, folks.

Mitch Hill, Social Media Editor: The offense looked good, right? I think that was the most encouraging thing along with Rountree’s running. I would also have to go back and look, but despite all of the passing yards Purdue had, I do think Adam Sparks had a good game holding his receiver in check, which is nice.

Jack Parodi, Football Beat Writer: 40 points is 40 points, no matter who you play — yes, I understand Purdue lost to Eastern Michigan the week before. They’re not a great football team. Anyways, it didn’t seem like Mizzou’s offense looked amazing, yet they still put up 40 points on a Power 5 defense. Lock showed a lot of poise on the final drive, which is a great sign to see with SEC play coming up. This offense is elite, folks.

The bulldog is almost the perfect dog breed for a mascot: Cute enough to market to alumni, intimidating enough to strike an imposing stance on the field. But let’s say you needed to pick another breed to represent the Dawgs. Which are you going with?

Pete Scantlebury: You know, I actually think the bulldog is a terrible breed for a mascot. especially considering the amount of inbreeding and genetic issues with the UGA line of English bulldogs. Yeah, they’re cute as hell, but at what cost? Breathing issues, heart issues, gotta keep the skin clean all the time because of the folds. Not exactly the most durable breed to be bringing out on gameday in the heat. If I’m going with a breed for a mascot, get a mutt. Don’t want to go all PETA on everyone, but mutts are the best and they’re the ones that need homes. So, schools with live-dog mascots, maybe think about marketing the adoption of dogs by parading a beautiful g o o d b o y e mutt on the sideline on gameday.

Mitch Hill: A lab of whichever color you like and one that hunts. That screams SEC to me.

Jack Parodi: The Georgia German Shepherds. Thank god that’s not their actual mascot because that’s just really confusing and sounds awful. But, I got chased down by a German Shepherd when I was in first grade and it was pretty scary. Yet somehow people love those dogs and think they’re great. Personally, I’m not a fan. But hey, it’s a fitting kind of dog here.

Let’s say future you appears in your dreams tonight and says, “Mizzou beat Georgia in 2018,” but doesn’t tell you how. What do you think would need to happen to make that come true?

Pete Scantlebury: Missouri needs to win the turnover battle 3-0 and needs to hold the ball for 34 minutes exactly on offense. That’s how it wins this game.

Mitch Hill: I think there needs to be 2-3 TOs created by the defense, which could be Forced Fumbles or INTs. I think it all starts up front and if the D-Line can get a good push and make Fromm uncomfortable, that could change the entire game. I would also say something like Georgia’s best player would have to be suspended or miss the game, but that happened once and the world was introduced to Nick Chubb.

Jack Parodi: A few things will need to happen. It mostly comes on the defensive end for Missouri. In order to stop Georgia’s offense, the Tigers will have to start with shutting down the run. Fromm has only thrown the ball 46 times this year (15.3 passes per game) and ranks 89th in the country in passing yards per game (159.7 ypg). Although he’s sat out every fourth quarter thus far and has been unbelievably efficient, he’s not the focal point of their offense. The Bulldogs’ stout ground game has set Fromm up to succeed, as Holyfield and Swift bring in the linebackers, opening up 10 to 15 yard routes. Shutting down Georgia’s ground attack is feasible, as Missouri has an incredibly experienced front seven. Terry Beckner Jr, Brandon Lee and Terez Hall are all NFL prospects, and have been essential to the Tigers slowing down the opposition’s run game. If they can continue their solid play, it’s possible Holyfield and Swift can be held at bay.

Another key to stopping the Georgia offense is getting pressure on Fromm and making him uncomfortable in the pocket. Missouri’s secondary looked shoddy at best against Purdue, as David Blough set the school record for passing yards in a game with 572. Mind you, Drew Brees played in an up-tempo offense while he attended Purdue. That being said, the Tigers’ secondary is far-and-away the team’s biggest weakness. In order to counter their play and make life easier for them, Missouri will have to put pressure on Fromm to make quick decisions and roll out of the pocket. This would in turn make sure he never settles into a groove and ultimately, give Drew Lock a chance to get into a fair offensive shootout.

Offensively, Lock will have to continue to spread the ball around to multiple different receivers and have another efficient game out there.

PICK ‘EM! Let’s get a score prediction and who (besides Drew Lock) needs to ball out if Mizzou wants to come away with a big win.

Pete Scantlebury: I’m all-aboard the Drew Lock Hype Train. He is playing the best ball of his career, and even more, he seems to have gone to the next level in understanding what everyone is doing on offense. Because of him, I think Missouri is in this game until the end of the third quarter... but then it gets away from the Tigers in the fourth, as Georgia’s ground game wears down the defense and wears down the clock. I’m predicting a 45-31 scoreline in favor of Georgia.

As for who has to ball out for Mizzou to win, it’s simple. They need to have a star performance at each level of the defense. I’m saying Terry Beckner, Terez Hall (Cale Garrett is great, but Hall can be more disruptive) and Cam Hilton all need to have the game of their lives to win on Saturday.

Mitch Hill: This is a Mizzou page after all, so let’s have some fun. Mizzou 41 Georgia 34. TBJ is going to have a BIG game. MIZ.

Jack Parodi: I’d love to be a homer and say Mizzou is going to pull off the upset, but I’m gonna be real here: Georgia 48, Missouri 38. All I’ve got to say is good teams win, great teams cover (the line is UGA -15.5). Middle linebacker Cale Garrett will have to have a big game if Missouri’s defense will slow down Fromm and the Georgia offense. Not only will his physical play of reading gaps to stop the run be crucial, but the mental game of reading Georgia’s formations and putting his defense in the right positions to succeed will be extremely important as well.