ATHENS — Georgia recognizes now how much Missouri helped last year’s team.
When the Bulldogs went up to Columbia, Mo., they did so as massive favorites and were cruising through the first month of the season.
Then the Tigers roughed up Georgia for the first three quarters before taking a 22-12 lead in the fourth quarter.
“A lot of adversity in that game we went through against Missouri last year,” defensive back Tykee Smith said. “Definitely a tough environment to play in but I think any road game in the SEC is a tough environment to play in. Just seeing the team come together and not bow our heads. Being able to battle together and come back. When the Ohio State moment came, we definitely lived in that moment when we played Missouri so we knew how to handle it.”
Georgia rallied by scoring two touchdowns on its first two drives of the final quarter before running out the clock to end the game. It was the only SEC game last season that Georgia won by single digits.
This year’s Missouri team seems to be a good bit better than the one that pushed Georgia last season. Even after losing leading receiver Dominic Lovett to Georgia, the Tigers still field an explosive passing attack. Luther Burden is second in the conference in receiving yards and has been even more productive than Lovett was a season ago.
He’s not the only talented Missouri wide receiver but all eyes will be on him when takes the field on Saturday.
“They’ve got good players. Eli (Drinkwitz) would tell you it starts with good players,” Kirby Smart said. “It starts with quarterback play. You look across the league and you say, ‘Man, who’s playing good in the country?’ They’ve got good quarterbacks, and they’ve got a good quarterback. When you’ve got a good quarterback, you’ve got a chance.”
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