UGA Football: Georgia Football Postgame Notes Vs. Missouri

Daniels Directs Offense To Season High 49 Points: In a little more than three quarters of action, redshirt sophomore QB JT Daniels finished 16-for-27 for 299 yards and 3 TDs in a 49-14 victory. Georgia finished with 615 yards of total offense (299-passing, 316 rushing), the most since going for 656 against Arkansas State last year. This is the second straight game with 40+ points by the offense after a 45-16 road win over South Carolina.

In the first half, Daniels went 10-for-17 for 167 yards with 2 TDs as the Bulldogs carried a 21-14 halftime advantage. He directed touchdown drives on the first two possessions and then with the game tied at 14, he led a 75-yard TD drive in 43 seconds in the final minute of the first half. Also of note today, on a 3rd-and-8, he completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to James Cook for the second score of the contest.

On 3rd downs this year, Daniels improved to 16-for-19 for 270 yards and six TDs. Today, he finished 5-for-7 for 120 yards with all five resulting in a first down and two scores. In the second half on a 3rd-and-10 at MU 31, Daniels connected with Pickens for a TD to close out a 75-yard drive and a 28-14 edge. In the 3rdquarter alone, Georgia outscored the Tigers 21-0 with 284 yards of offense to MU’s 48. With 12:36 left in the contest and owning a 49-14 lead, Stetson Bennett came in at QB.

Defense Posts Second Half Shutout: Coming in today, Georgia ranked second in the SEC in Scoring Defense (20.6 points per game). The Tigers were held to 200 yards of total offense and 14 points. In the first half, Missouri tallied 14 points, running 32 plays for 121 yards of total offense. Seventy-five of those yards came on the Tigers eight play TD drive. The Tigers second TD drive covered just one yard following a blocked punt. In the second half, the Tigers were shutout and held to just 79 yards of total offense on 22 plays. Lewis Cine led the Bulldogs with four stops.

Big Second Half For The Running Game: In the first half, the Bulldogs had 71 rushing yards on 19 attempts and finished the game with 316 yards after going for 245 in the second half on 26 rushes. Redshirt sophomore Zamir White had a team-high 37 yards on eight carries in the first half and finished with 126 yards on 12 attempts. Then, White had 44 yards on his first two carries of the second half and ultimately went over 100 yards with a 43-yard TD scamper to make it 35-14 in the 3rdquarter. It was his third 100+ yards game of his career. James Cook added a nine-yard rushing TD to go with a receiving score. He is the first Bulldog to do that since 2018 when D’Andre Swift did it against Alabama.

Freshman Daijun Edwards got his first career TD, a six-yarder and finished with a career-high 103 yards on 11 attempts. Today was the first time since the 2018 Kentucky game that the Bulldogs had a pair go over 100 yards. That day it was Swift (157) and Elijah Holyfield (117).

Receiving Leaders: Sophomore George Pickens (5 rec., 126 yards, 2 TDs) to lead the receivers. In the first half, junior running back James Cook had just one catch but it covered 37 yards for a TD. Pickens first half score covered 36 yards and was his team-leading fourth of the year. It gave the Bulldogs a 21-14 lead with 37 seconds left in the half. In the second half, Pickens tied his career-high with his second TD, a 31-yard strike on 3rd-and-10, and it put him over the 100-yard mark for the second time in his career. He had two TD catches versus the Tigers last year and had 175 yards in the 2020 Sugar Bowl win over No. 7 Baylor. Freshman tight end Darnell Washington had a career-long 35-yard catch and finished with two for 61 yards while freshman Jermaine Burton had five for 38 yards.

Special Teams Summary: Redshirt sophomore PK Jack Podlesny went 7-for-7 in PATs and missed a 43-yarder in the rain in the fourth quarter. Georgia has made an NCAA record 329 consecutive PATs as the streak includes six kickers dating back to 2014. Junior punter Jake Camarda finished with two punts for a 49.0 average and took care of the kickoffs with all of them resulting in touchbacks. Georgia had a punt blocked that Missouri took over at the UGA 1-yard line and converted to a game-tying touchdown with 1:20 left in the first half (14-14). It marked the first time since the 2015 Alabama game that the Bulldogs have had a punt blocked.

Points Off Turnovers: Junior Eric Stokes notched his team-leading fourth interception on Missouri’s opening possession and returned it 27 yards to the MU 23. It led to a TD and a 7-0 edge. Georgia now has 9 interceptions, on the year, the most since 2017 when the Bulldogs had 12.

For Starters: The longest streak on defense belongs to junior DB Eric Stokes now at 24. The longest active starting streak on offense is 10 for left tackle Jamaree Salyer. Center Trey Hill saw his streak end at 26 as he’s injured. Redshirt sophomore Warren Ericson made his second career start but first at center. He started the 2020 Sugar Bowl at right guard. Junior nose Jordan Davis returned in a starting role after missing the last three games. Also, senior STAR Mark Webb started after missing the last game.

The Captains: Seniors Ben Cleveland, Malik Herring and Monty Rice served as the captains. Rice has now been a captain a team-high four times this year. Georgia won the toss and elected to defer until the 2nd half.

“Weather” or Not It Matters: At kickoff, the temperature here was 39 degrees. In the Kirby Smart era, the previous coldest temperature at kickoff was 40 degrees against Missouri last year in Athens. The last time Georgia played a game that began in the 30s was the 2014 Belk Bowl in Charlotte on Dec. 30. It was 39 degrees, and the Bulldogs defeated Louisville 37-14.

Series History: With the 49-14 win, Georgia now leads the all-time series 9-1 including 5-0 in Columbia. The 49 points here was the most by the Bulldogs in Columbia.

Up Next: Georgia (7-2) will play host to Vanderbilt on Saturday, Dec. 19 at noon.