Facing fourth and 10 from the its own 20-yard line with less than 90 seconds left in the game, Missouri needed a stop against the Georgia offense to clinch what would’ve been a statement win for first year head coach Barry Odom. Instead Bulldogs quarterback Jacob Eason found wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie in the end zone to finish the Georgia comeback and beat the Tigers 28-27.
Tigers senior cornerback Aarion Penton was on the coverage for the play and failed to stop McKenzie despite making huge plays for the Missouri defense the entire night.
Penton had three pass break-ups in the game and had a few plays where he flirted with his third interception of the season.
“I was playing man with no help,” Penton said. “I really think I should’ve played off. It was my mistake. I told everyone it was my fault.”
McKenzie was a problem for the Tigers all night, finishing with 122 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Odom admitted after the game that he put the game in the defense’s hands when Georgia took over with 3:32 left in the game for what would be the game’s deciding drive. He expressed no regret in the play call, saying that the Tigers got what they wanted, on the coverage; they just didn’t get the result.
“We wanted to press it a little tighter on our coverage,” the coach said. “I think we jumped outside and the quarterback put it on the money. If I had to play it over and do it again I’d call the same thing.”
TIGERS CONTAIN CHUBB
The last time Georgia star running back Nick Chubb was in Columbia, he was an unknown name filling in for then-suspended running back Todd Gurley. Chubb had his coming out party against the Tigers in 2014, rushing for 143 yards on 38 attempts with a touchdown in Missouri’s 34-0 loss.
On Saturday, Chubb was a near non-factor in Georgia’s victory, rushing for 63 yards on 19 attempts, averaging a mere 3.3 yards a carry.
“I think our run defense was excellent,” Odom said. “What we did on the line of scrimmage, those guys did a great job of taking away what I thought was a pretty good running attack.”
What really did Missouri in was the play of Georgia’s true freshman quarterback Jacob Eason who threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns. Eason made gutsy play after gutsy play down the line to spark the Bulldog’s comeback win.
Eason kept Missouri’s defense on its toes all night and consistently converted on third down, which was something the Tigers couldn’t stop the entire game.
A few Tigers weren’t as impressed with Eason’s performance.
“I guess they were pretty good,” defensive tackle Rickey Hatley said. “Just making some short passes. I didn’t see nothing spectacular from them.”
MCANN CAN
After struggling with extra points through Missouri’s first two games, freshman kicker Tucker McCann was perfect Saturday night, after going three-for-three on extra points and drilling a pair of field goals from 33 and 47 yards respectively.
Despite his early struggles on extra points, McCann continued to have a strong showing on kickoffs, averaging 65 yards a kick with five touchbacks.
INJURY UPDATE
Missouri had linebacker Terez Hall, center Sam Bailey and defensive back Logan Cheadle all go down with an ankle injury during Saturday’s game. Odom didn’t provide updates on their condition. Freshman defensive back Christian Holmes also left the game with an undisclosed injury from a play on special teams. Odom said senior running back Alex Ross was scratched after having discomfort in his ankle during practice this week.
