Conference play hasn’t been easy for the Missouri Tigers thus far this season. The Tigers dropped to 1-2 in the SEC following an ugly loss to No. 11 Florida, and are now looking to pick up the pieces when they travel to Athens for a showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are also coming off a loss, which likely felt like a gutshot to their SEC East title aspirations. Which hurting SEC East team will emerge as winner this coming Saturday?
Read on for a preview of this matchup. You can also click here for a breakdown of the matchup between No 10 Alabama and No. 9 Texas A&M.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Missouri Tigers vs. Georgia Bulldogs Preview
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens
When: Saturday, October 17, 7:30 PM ET
Line: Missouri Tigers (+16) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (-16); total: 46.0 – view all NCAA Football lines
Betting on the Missouri Tigers (4-2)
[sc:NCAA240banner ]The Tigers are falling victims to their offense that has no bite in it. Missouri, which is seventh worst in total offense among all FBS schools, failed to score in double digits for the second time this season, when it suffered a 21-3 loss to Florida on Saturday.
The Gators are no joke on defense (16th in total defense in the nation), and Missouri visibly had a hard time punching holes through Florida’s stop unit that let the Tigers generate just 257 total yards. Missouri’s passing game was particularly problematic for the team, as backup quarterback Drew Lock took over the suspended Maty Mauk and completed just 16 of 39 passes for 151 yards and no touchdowns while also throwing two interceptions. In addition, the Tigers went just 1 of 14 on third downs.
It was a letdown performance for Lock, who, just a week before the Florida game, passed for 136 yards and two scores on an efficient 21 of 28 attempts in the Tigers’ 24-10 win over South Carolina. Up against Georgia’s passing defense that allows 194.3 yards per game, Lock will be hard pressed anew to come up with a solid outing.
A little help from Missouri’s backfield should help take away some defensive pressure off Lock and receivers J’mon Moore (205 receiving yards, two touchdowns) and Nate Brown (200 receiving yards, four touchdowns). Missouri is better at running the ball, as the Tigers average 194.3 rushing yards per game, second best in the SEC. Ish Witter and Russell Hansbrough tops the Tigers with 318 and 166 rushing yards, respectively.
The under is 2-0 in Missouri’s last two games.
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Betting on the Georgia Bulldogs (4-2)
How will Georgia play without its best player? We’re about to get a look at how that plays out for the Bulldogs, who won’t have Nick Chubb when they welcome Missouri in Athens, where Georgia is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in its last five games.
After going 4-0 in their first four games, the Bulldogs have now been hit with back-to-back losses to No. 13 Alabama and unranked Tennessee, respectively. The loss to the Vols was especially damning for Georgia, largely because that game saw the Bulldogs lose Heisman Trophy candidate Chubb to a gruesome knee injury.
Chubb looks like he’ll need at least several weeks to heal so it’s now up to Sony Michel and Keith Marshall to fill in the void left by their star running back. Michel is second to Chubb in team carries (63), rushing yards (421), and touchdowns, while Marshall has 155 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. That said, Georgia would likely turn more to its passing game with Chubb on the sidelines. Quarterback Greyson Lambert, who passed for 279 yards and two touchdowns in Georgia’s 38-31 loss to Tennessee, would have to complement the backfield with a solid outing. Missouri’s a hard team to crack on defense, but the Tigers will have their hands full in trying to bottle up Lambert and company.
Speaking of defense, Georgia is 43rd in the nation against the rush (137.5 rushing yards allowed per game) and 42nd against the pass (219.8 passing yards allowed per game).
Georgia is 5-5 ATS in its last 10 games as the home team.
Writer’s Prediction
Georgia (-16) wins, 31-24.
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