Missouri vs Georgia: Start time, watch online, 3 things to know
What to watch for when the Missouri Tigers host the No. 16 Georgia Bulldogs in an SEC East matchup on Saturday evening.
The No. 16 Georgia Bulldogs will look to get back on track when they travel to Farout Field to take on the Missouri Tigers on Saturday evening.
After beating North Carolina in its season opener, Georgia was taken to the wire by Nicholls State, a FCS program that has gone 9-40 over the past four years. Highly touted freshman quarterback Jacob Eason completed 11 of 20 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his first career start.
Missouri stands at 1-1 in what is expected to be a down year under new head coach Barry Odom. The Tigers looked sluggish offensively in a 26-11 loss against West Virginia to open the season before rolling Eastern Michigan 61-21 to get in the win column behind five touchdown passes from Drew Lock.
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Both teams will be playing in their first SEC game of the season on Saturday evening. Georgia has aspirations of winning the wide-open East division, but will need to play much better with tougher opponents ahead.
Full details for Saturday’s contest between the Bulldogs and Tigers are below.
Date: Saturday, September 17
Start time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Colombia, MO
Stadium: Farout Field
TV Info: SEC Network
Live stream: WatchESPN
Here are three key things to know ahead of the SEC East matchup.
1. Georgia’s quarterback situation is still up in the air.
For the third straight week to open the season, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart will keep the starting quarterback competition open right up until game time.
Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert is back after throwing for just shy of 2,000 yards and 12 touchdowns last season as the primary starter for the Bulldogs. The two quarterbacks rotated in and out in the win over the Tar Heels, with Lambert completing five of eight passes for 54 yards.
Eason, one of the top recruits in the nation, got the start last week and generated a few big plays, but also had issues with accuracy and made a few mistakes. The advantage in upside clearly rests with Eason, and Georgia is going to need to get much more from its passing game to maintain a spot in the to 25.
This will be the most critical week of the quarterback competition either way, as Smart would probably benefit from deciding on a full-time starter before getting too deep into the SEC schedule.
2. The Tigers’ defense can make this game close.
Georgia is a touchdown road favorite over the Tigers, and should be plenty motivated following the terrible performance against Nicholls. While the Bulldogs clearly own the talent advantage, Missouri has a strong enough defense to make things interesting.
Odom was a terrific defensive coordinator at both Memphis and Missouri prior to his promotion, and retains much of a unit that put up great stats across the board last season. Missouri has consistently pumped out NFL-caliber defensive line talent, and lost only one major contributor at the position over the offseason.
The Tigers’ biggest strength in 2015 was its run defense, which will need to play at a high level to stop Georgia star Nick Chubb. Generating pass rush could also push the inexperienced Eason into a few mistakes, which could help out a Missouri offense that needs all the help it can get.
Don’t be surprised if Georgia again struggles to put up a huge point total against the Tigers’ stellar front line. Lock will need a tremendous game to pull off the upset, but Missouri at least has a chance at home behind its defense.
3. The Bulldogs need to improve in the trenches quickly.
Mark Richt often brought in some of the best recruiting classes in the nation during his time at Georgia, but faltered a bit near the end on both the offensive and defensive lines. That has shown during the first two games of 2016, as both units have not looked great.
One would expect an SEC team to dominate the trenches against Nicholls, but that wasn’t always the case last Saturday. Chubb often had nowhere to go, and only put up 80 yards on 20 carries. The Bulldogs will need that mark to improve against Missouri and the rest of the SEC, as they don’t figure to get a ton out of their passing offense.
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On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs have a very untested defensive line that couldn’t push aside a Nicholls team it should have dominated. The Tigers lost their top five offensive lineman from 2015, so this will be a good chance for the Bulldogs to start generating some pass rush.
This will be an important week for both units, as the Bulldogs have Ole Miss and Tennessee up next on the schedule and would like to see some improvement.