No. 13 Georgia travelled to Missouri without its best player and Heisman Trophy front-runner Todd Gurley, but played nearly a flawless game in beating the No. 23 Tigers 34-0 Saturday in Columbia. Freshman running back Nick Chubb had 38 rushes for 143 yards and a score while quarterback Hutson Mason turned in arguably his best performance as a Dawg in completing 22 of 28 passes for 156 yards and a score.
Jeremy Pruitt’s defense allowed just 147 total yards in a dominant effort. The Bulldogs’ defense caused five turnovers, including four interceptions by quarterback Maty Mauk, in clinching its first-ever road shutout over a team ranked in the AP poll.
Georgia’s backup running back, Brendan Douglas, rushed for 65 yards and scored on a high-flying 15-yard run in the third quarter in which he flipped over the goal line after leaping a defender.
It was a satisfying win for the Bulldog Nation, which had been shocked with news of Gurley’s suspension on Thursday. Georgia’s defense was probably the most surprising sight for fans, as the unit had struggled against every opponent except Troy this season. The unit caused turnovers on each of Missouri’s first three possessions and held Mauk to less than 100 yards passing.
Meanwhile, the Bulldog offense rolled up 379 total yards using a rather conservative game plan that featured a lot of Chubb on the ground and short passes from Mason through the air.
Malcolm Mitchell led the Bulldogs in catches with six, but had just 27 yards. It was an encouraging performance, however, for the one-time star wideout who has been limited by injuries for most of this season and last season. Senior Michael Bennett caught five balls for a game-high 53 yards and a score. Bennett’s diving catch of a nine-yard pass from Mason gave Georgia a commanding 20-0 lead in the first half, a lead that would stand at halftime.
Georgia was an efficient 12 of 21 on third downs and 2-for-2 on fourth downs while holding the hosts to zero conversions on seven third-down opportunities.
Reportedly, Georgia had requested the early start time so it could return to Athens at a decent hour Saturday night. Like pretty much everything on Saturday, it worked out well for the Bulldogs.
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