Each Sunday, PowerMizzou.com will hand out a position-by-position grade card for Missouri from Saturday's game. Here are the marks from the Tigers’ 43-6 loss to No. 1 Georgia.
Quarterback: With Connor Bazelak sidelined due to injury, Tyler Macon and Brady Cook were thrust into a brutal spot. Not only did they have to combat a hostile road environment, but Georgia's top scoring defense in the country. Both made a few nice plays, particularly as rushers. Macon ran for 42 yards and Cook for 32. But Missouri struggled to get anything going through the air. The Tigers threw for just 152 yards and averaged 4.75 yards per attempt. Those figures both represented not just season lows but the lowest marks since Eli Drinkwitz took over as head coach. Both quarterbacks were hurt by drops, and no one has found much success through the air against Georgia this season, but Missouri will certainly need those numbers to improve going forward, regardless of who is behind center. GRADE: C-
Running backs: Missouri couldn't get Tyler Badie going, which was a bad sign for the rest of the offense. Badie mustered just 51 total yards on 14 touches. He sat out most of the second half, and the combination of Dawson Downing and BJ Harris wasn't any better, gaining a combined six yards on five carries. Most of that is attributable to Georgia's defensive line dominating the point of attack, but at some point you would like your best player to make something happen. GRADE: C
Wide receivers: The quarterback play left quite a bit to be desired. But Missouri's receivers sure didn't help out the two freshmen behind center. Barrett Banister dropped a pass on Missouri's first possession and Keke Chism couldn't corral a beautiful ball that Cook dropped into his hands on a third and nine. If it wasn't for Tauskie Dove making a couple nice contested catches on the game's final drive, this grade would have been an F. GRADE: D
Tight Ends: The only Missouri tight end who caught a pass was Messiah Swinson. Daniel Parker Jr. had one that he probably should have hauled in, even though it wasn't a perfect pass from Macon. Niko Hea probably made the best play of the game from the position group when he knocked down a batted ball that looked like it would be intercepted. The tight ends weren't utilized as much in the blocking game with most of Missouri's rushing success coming from the quarterback position. GRADE: C-
Offensive line: Missouri's offensive line was pretty clearly overmatched by Georgia's defensive front, but that doesn't come as a surprise. The Bulldogs have dominated every opposing offense this season at the line of scrimmage. Georgia finished the game with two sacks and six tackles for loss, plus flushed the Missouri quarterbacks out of the pocket on several other dropbacks. Badie didn't find much room to run, and when Missouri tried to pound the ball into the end zone against Georgia's second-string in the final seconds of the game, it couldn't. GRADE: D
Defensive line: If there's one reason for Missouri fans to be optimistic following this game, it's the Tigers' run defense. Missouri entered Saturday dead last against the run, while Georgia came in rushing the ball on more than two-thirds of its offensive snaps. The Tigers' struggling defensive front looked like it would be out-manned by Georgia's offensive line. Yet Missouri only gave up 168 yards on the ground, 101 of which came after halftime. The front four didn't look to get blown off the ball like it has at times this season. You would like to see a bit more pass rush from the front four, but this still might have been the best performance of the season for the unit. GRADE: B
Linebackers: Like the linemen in front of them, Missouri's linebackers looked much better against the run. Chad Bailey tied for the team lead with 10 tackles. Blaze Alldredge returned to the starting lineup and looked better. Bailey got exposed in coverage at least once, but again, no one was expecting perfection from a Missouri front six that has been victimized for much of the year. By the way, Wyoming transfer Chuck Hicks saw his first game action of the season in the second half. GRADE: B-
Secondary: Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks put his secondary in a tough spot with his game plan. By selling out to stop the run, he dared Georgia to take advantage of single coverage on the perimeter. It was probably the right strategy, but the Bulldogs did indeed take advantage. Georgia's two quarterbacks, Stetson Bennett and JT Daniels, combined to throw for 337 yards and three touchdowns. A couple of Bennett's long completions were simply plays where Georgia's receivers beat Missouri's defensive backs for jump balls. The one bright spot for the Tiger secondary was Jaylon Carlies, who tied for the team lead with 10 tackles and recorded his fourth interception of the year, but even he got beat on Georgia's first touchdown. GRADE: D
Special Teams: Despite its other struggles, Missouri's special teams have generally been pristine this season. That wasn't the case at Georgia. The Tigers' nearly had their first punt of the game blocked, then the second time Grant McKinniss took the field, Georgia got to him. For some reason, Missouri lined up with no protection to the left side of McKinniss, and the Tigers were lucky the ball bounced through the end zone for a safety rather than resulting in a Georgia score. Later, Missouri attempted a surprise onside kick to start the second half that initially appeared successful but got overturned due to an illegal block. Even Harrison Mevis's performance came with a blemish. Mevis missed his first field goal of the season when his 48-yard attempt doinked off the left upright. GRADE: C-
Coaching: No amount of coaching likely could have overcome the talent advantage Georgia held over Missouri, especially with Bazelak sidelined. Credit Drinkwitz for having his team fired up and ready to play when it took the field, and credit Wilks for putting together a game plan that actually stopped the run. While Georgia still scored 41 offensive points, making the Bulldogs beat you through the air was the right move. But there were also a few questionable coaching decisions. If Missouri had any chance of keeping the game close in the first half, it couldn't afford the three-and-out that occurred after Drinkwitz dialed up a swing pass on third and six, which went for no gain. The Tigers probably also should have gone for it on fourth down and one later in the first half, even though they were on their own 34-yard line. Georgia would score anyway. GRADE: C
Final Overall Grade: C-
