NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Saturday, October 17, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Stadium: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.
Line: UGA (-16)
Until they faced off against the rolling Tide of Alabama, Georgia was having a pretty good season. They entered the game against Alabama as the higher ranked team and the favorite, but the Bulldogs couldn’t stop the Tide. Although running back Nick Chubb holds the school record for straight games with at least 100 yards (13), the rest of Georgia’s offense couldn’t compete with Nick Saban and his NFL-ready defensive line.
Behind Chubb and QB Greyson Lambert, Georgia might have been able to recover their season. But then the unthinkable happened. In the first play from scrimmage of last week’s game against Tennessee, Chubb suffered a left knee injury and is expected to be out for the rest of the season. Preoccupied by Chubb’s injury, Georgia lost the game after Tennessee scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter.
As devastating as the injury is for the Bulldogs, if anyone knows how to survive without their star running back, it’s Georgia. Last season, Todd Gurley, Georgia’s star RB at the time, was suspended four games then suffered an ACL injury his first game back.
Georgia still managed to finish the season 9-3 but missed out on the chance to play in the SEC Championship game because of losses to Florida and South Carolina, despite beating SEC East champ Missouri 34-0.
Their loss against Tennessee on Saturday dropped Georgia out of the polls for the first time this season, so they’ll be looking to handily beat Missouri for a chance to get back in. But their 2-2 start in conference play blew their chances of being the Eastern division champs.
Missouri’s season hasn’t been faring much better. The Tigers are only 1-2 in conference play after losses to Kentucky and Florida, with their lone conference win coming against South Carolina.
Starting QB Maty Mauk was suspended indefinitely for unspecified reasons prior to the game against South Carolina. Missouri fared well under true freshman Drew Lock in the Carolina game, but he struggled against Florida last week. Lock finished the game 16-of-39 for 151 yards and two interceptions opposite Florida’s 4-3 defensive scheme and faces the less common 3-4 defensive scheme from Georgia.
Even without Chubb, Georgia should win easily behind Lambert (1,098 yards and nine TDs) and Sony Michel (145 yards in relief of Chubb last Saturday). It looks like Missouri will miss out on a third-straight SEC East Championship even if they somehow manage to win Saturday. Unless Lock can find his mojo again, Missouri won’t come out on top.
Prediction: Georgia 32, Missouri 14
Hannah Fields is a Tennessee Titans and SEC Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @hanfran7, “Like” her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.
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