2017 game summaries
2017 SEC Champions
#4 Georgia 53, Missouri 28
Oct. 14, 2017 • Sanford Stadium - Athens, Ga. ATHENS - A 696-yard explosion by the Georgia offense lifted the 4th-ranked and undefeated Bulldogs past Missouri in front of a capacity crowd of 92,746 at Sanford Stadium. Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm finished with a career-high 326 yards through the air with two touchdowns passing and one on the ground. The Bulldog rookie hit 18-of-26 passes and led a balanced Georgia attack that included the quartet of D’Andre Swift (94 yards), Sony Michel (86 yards), Nick Chubb (70 yards) and Elijah Holyfield (48 yards). Georgia struck first on its opening offensive possession. The Bulldogs marched 91 yards on seven plays, capped off by a Mecole Hardman 35yard end-around that put the home team on the board first. After a Missouri punt, the Tiger defense came up with a big play with Georgia backed up in its own territory. Cale Garrett picked off a Fromm pass at the Bulldogs’ 26-yard line, and his 21-yard return gave his team a short path to tie the score two plays later. The back-and-forth pace continued on Georgia’s next drive. This time, Riley Ridley reeled in a 19-yard pass while he was falling out of bounds to put the Bulldogs back ahead 14-7. Missouri quarterback Drew Lock then connected on a 63-yard bomb with Emanuel Hall down the right sideline to again tie the score. Michel had the answer for the Bulldogs on the next possession, racing 36-yards down field to give his team a 21-14 advantage early in the second quarter. Hall was not finished for the Tigers, however. The receiver used another 63-yard TD reception to tie it at 21-21. Georgia scored the final 13 points of the first half thanks to two Rodrigo Blankenship field goals and a Fromm TD rush. With a 34-21 lead, the Bulldogs’ scoring continued in the second half. Blankenship connected on two more field goals — one coming after Missouri muffed a punt to set Georgia up deep in Tiger territory. Michel put the Bulldogs up 47-21 in the third quarter with a 16-yard TD run. Georgia added another late score with a 59-yard pass from Fromm to Hardman in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs held on to stay undefeated.
Coach Kirby Smart said… “They have to embrace work if they want to be champions. We’ll find out about this team this week. Some call it an off week, some call it a bye week, we call it a work week. The seniors carry that load. They drive that message home. It’s their team and the young guys need to listen.”
SCORING SUMMARY
Missouri (1-5, 0-4) Georgia (7-0, 4-0)
14 14
7 0 20 13
7 = 6 =
28 53
UGA - Mecole Hardman, 35-yard run (Blankenship kick), 10:30, 1Q MU - Albert Okwuegbunam, 4-yard pass from Lock (McCann kick), 6:50, 1Q UGA - Riley Ridley, 19-yard pass from Fromm (Blankenship kick), 3:16, 1Q MU - Emanuel Hall, 63-yard pass from Lock (McCann kick), 0:34, 1Q UGA - Sony Michel, 36-yard run (Blankenship kick), 13:24, 2Q MU - Emanuel Hall, 63-yard pass from Lock (McCann kick), 11:34, 2Q UGA - Rodrigo Blankenship, 37-yard field goal, 7:01, 2Q UGA - Jake Fromm, 4-yard run (Blankenship kick), 3:53, 2Q UGA - Rodrigo Blankenship, 43-yard field goal, 0:00, 2Q UGA - Rodrigo Blankenship, 29-yard field goal, 10:49, 3Q UGA - Rodrigo Blankenship, 27-yard field goal, 8:26, 3Q UGA - Sony Michel, 16-yard run (Blankenship kick), 6:05, 3Q MU - Jason Reese, 27-yard pass from Lock (McCann kick), 12:19, 4Q UGA - M. Hardman, 59-yard pass from Fromm (Fromm pass failed), 10:27, 4Q Weather: Clear weather, 69 degrees with a calm wind.
team STATISTICS
First Downs Rushing: Att.-Yards Passing: Comp.-Att.-Yds.-Int Total Plays-Total Net Yards Fumbles: Number-Lost Penalties: Number-Yards Punts: Number-Yards (Avg.) Kickoff Returns: Number-Yards (Avg.) Time of Possession Third Down Conversions Fourth Down Conversions Sacks By: Number-Y ards
MU UGA 10 24 24-59 51-370 15-25-253-1 18-26-326-1 49-312 77-696 1-0 1-0 4-40 8-42 6-261 (43.5) 1-55 (55.0) 2-49 (24.5) 3-66 (22.0) 20:24 39:36 6 of 14 13 of 18 0 of 1 0 of 0 1-2 0-0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing Att. Yds. TD Long MU - Damarea Crockett 9 32 0 8 UGA - D’Andre Swift 6 96 0 71 Passing Comp. Att. Yds. TD MU - Drew Lock 15 25 253 4 UGA - Jake Fromm 18 26 326 2 Receiving Rec. Yds. TD Long MU - Emanuel Hall 4 141 2 63 UGA - Javon Wims 5 95 0 30 Punting No. Yds. Avg. Long MU - Corey Fatony 6 261 43.5 57 UGA - Cameron Nizialek 1 55 55.0 55 Tackles UT AT Tot. MU - Cale Garrett 4 8 12 UGA - Roquan Smith 4 4 8
Worth Noting…
Mecole Hardman breaks free on a 59-yard touchdown catch & run during fourth-quarter action against Missouri. Hardman finished with 172 all-purpose yards and two scores.
58
georgia bulldogs
• The Bulldogs’ 7-0 record marks the team’s best start since 2005 as Georgia improves to 6-1 all-time against Missouri. • The 696 yards is the second-highest single game yardage total by a Georgia team in school history (record is 712 vs. Fla. Atlantic in 2012). Georgia tallied 31 points and 407 total yards on 45 plays in the opening half. This already was more yards than the Bulldogs registered in their wins over App State, #24 Notre Dame, #17 Mississippi State and Tennessee. The 53 points was the most by theBulldogs since a 55-9 win over Charleston Southern in 2014 and most in an SEC contest since a 63-31 win over Kentucky in 2014. • The Bulldogs were 3-for-3 in the Red Zone in the first half and 6-for-6 in the game, staying a perfect 29-for-29 this season. • Senior S Dominick Sanders snagged the 14th interception of his career in the second quarter and returned it 18 yards. Sanders now holds the school record for career INT return yardage with 329, passing Jake Scott who had 315 on a school record 16 picks. Sanders is tied on the NCAA active career list with his 14 picks.
2018 spring football