Sunday grade card: Georgia
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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’ 27-0 loss at Georgia.
Quarterback: It certainly wasn’t an ideal environment for Taylor Powell to make his starting debut, facing the nation’s No. 8 overall defense on the road in front of a hostile crowd. The results were about what you might have expected. Powell finished 10-22 for 84 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He made a few nice throws, such as a 20-yard completion down the sideline to Jonathan Nance in the third quarter, but he also displayed inaccuracy on a few short balls. His interception came at a crushing time, on Missouri’s only drive that crossed the Georgia 30-yard line. Powell didn’t get a lot of help, as the rest of the offensive grades will reflect, but he didn’t look like a guy who could be the future answer for the Tigers at quarterback, either. Connor Bazelak looked better in his limited action, looking poised and flashing his arm strength, so that at least provides some hope for the future of the position. GRADE: C-
Running backs: No surprise, Missouri couldn’t get much going on the ground against Georgia’s fourth-ranked run defense. The Tigers averaged just 2.9 yards per carry, a season low, even when adjusted for sacks. The coaching staff looked like it wanted to find creative ways to get Tyler Badie, who started in place of Larry Rountree III, the ball early in the game, but couldn’t seem to connect on any of those plays. Neither running back ever had a ton of room to operate, but you would hope one of your playmakers could manufacture a big gain eventually. Obviously, that didn’t happen Saturday, as only one Missouri rush went for 10 yards or more. GRADE: F
Wide receivers: With senior slot receiver Johnathon Johnson not making the trip due to an illness, Missouri’s struggles at wideout continued. Only two receivers caught more than one pass. After receiving a lot of offseason fanfare, Jalen Knox continues to be a non-factor. Kam Scott failed to haul in a deep ball down the sidelines when it appeared he could have given a bit more of an effort and committed a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Nance, who had the best game of any wideout, dropped a pass in the end zone. Of all Missouri’s offensive issues, receiver might be the most glaring. GRADE: F
Tight Ends: Missouri at least made a concerted effort to get preseason all-American Albert Okweugbunam the ball, and not just in the red zone. Okwuegbunam received a team-high nine targets. Early on, he looked good, fighting for extra yards on one catch and converting a third down on another. But he failed to secure two passes in traffic in the second half that hit both of his hands and committed a false start penalty for the second game in a row. His inconsistency remains frustrating, and at this point in his college career it seems foolish to expect that to change any time soon. Daniel Parker Jr. wasn’t a factor, at least in the passing game. GRADE: C
Offensive line: Missouri struggled mightily to open up any holes in the running game, which has been a theme in the Tigers’ four losses this season. While Georgia’s defensive front is extremely talented, the fact that the issue has persisted most of the season does not reflect well on the Tiger line. They were better in pass protection, but still allowed a couple sacks. A group that was thought to be a strength entering the season has been one of the biggest contributors to the team’s current slide. GRADE: D
Defensive line: Missouri’s defensive front held up pretty well against Georgia’s loaded offensive line. The Bulldogs failed to top 4.5 yards per carry for just the third time this season. The defensive tackles, in particular, found themselves in the backfield on several plays. The lack of production at defensive end continues to be a concern, but overall, the defensive line, like the unit as a whole, played about as well as you could expect considering it was on the field for more than 35 minutes and got no help from the offense. GRADE: B
Linebackers: Nick Bolton continues to be one of the few bright spots for Missouri. He totaled nine tackles Saturday, which actually snapped a streak of three straight games with double-digit stops, but he had a sack and another tackle for loss. Making his second start in a row, true freshman Devin Nicholson played better than he did at Kentucky, finishing with six stops. The fact that Missouri only allowed two rushing plays of more than 11 yards to Georgia’s vaunted rushing attack is a silver lining for the Tigers. GRADE: A
Secondary: We knew Saturday would represent the biggest test of the season for Missouri’s secondary. For the most part, the secondary held up pretty well. When they got beat, though, it often seemed to lead to big plays. Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm completed fewer than half of his passes, but five of his 13 completions went for more than 15 yards, and he had a 68-yard touchdown called back due to penalty. The Bulldogs specifically seemed to target Jarvis Ware, who spent much of the night covering freshman George Pickens. Pickens caught two touchdowns, one with Ware in coverage, and drew a pass interference flag on Ware. Overall, it’s a bit of a step back for a group that entered Saturday ranked fourth in the country in pass defense, but the secondary is far from the reason Missouri lost. Grade: C
Special Teams: Special teams didn’t play a major role in the outcome. Tucker McCann stayed busy (as a punter only), and the Tigers perhaps could have been a bit better covering punts, as they allowed a couple decent returns, but at least this week, popular scapegoat Andy Hill doesn’t deserve any criticism. GRADE: B
Coaching: Fans will blame the head coach because the team lost, and in a sense, it’s fair that the buck ultimately stops with the man in charge of the program. But I’m not sure any coach in the country could have won a game with this Missouri roster against this Georgia roster. The Bulldogs were simply more talented at almost every position. There are several valid big-picture concerns that can be pinned on the coaching staff, such as offensive scheme and player development, and the continued personal foul penalties are a red flag. But at least from an in-game coaching standpoint, I don’t see much Odom could have done to change Saturday’s result. GRADE: C-
Final Overall Grade: D