Missouri vs Georgia: Five Keys to the Matchup

Despite Missouri's (5-3) record, they provide a handful of challenges for Georgia, especially defensively. Here are five key matchups for Saturday's game.

Despite Missouri's (5-3) record, they provide a handful of challenges for Georgia, especially defensively. Missouri is second in yards allowed per game, third in points allowed, and number one against the pass allowing just 144.5 yards through the air per game. 

The problem with Missouri this season is the unpredictability with which they've played with, not to mention they've yet to play a game against a ranked opponent. 

Head Coach Barry Odom is a defensive coach by nature, and Missouri has arguably the second-best defense in the conference behind Georgia's, with considerably less talent. 

They are well-coached and play an extremely exquisite scheme on both ends of the ball. 

Here are five key matchups for Saturday's game.

1.) Can UGA tackle Bryant, Badie, and Roundtree in space? 

Kelly Bryant adds an aspect of variability to any offense with his ability to create plays with his feet, but combined with an offensive scheme like Missouri's that is designed to get athletes on the edge in one on one environments, things get interesting. Add on top of that an explosive athlete like Tyler Badie who offensive coordinator Derek Dooley does a great job of getting the ball in a variety of nonconventional ways. 

Larry Roundtree III is the cherry on top. The bruising, downhill back that every spread-option team needs. The SEC is no stranger to Roundtree III, last season he rushed for 1,216 yards as a sophomore. 

Can Georgia's first defender bring down the ball carrier on Saturday? 

2.) UGA's OLine vs. Exotic Slants & Blitz's from Mizzou

Missouri's defensive line is big and physical, no doubt about it, but the obvious observation when you put on Mizzou tape is the stunts. It's slant after slant after slant, and on third down, it's a walked up blitz look. Six to seven defenders standing in each and every gap, not knowing who's rushing and who's dropping. It's not a look Georgia has seen a lot of this season. Most SEC teams these days play big boy, stand your ground, gap sound defense, whereas the Tigers play more of a slant and scrap method, sending 4 guys left, and wrapping 2 defenders into the voided gaps. Make sense? If not, here you go...

Kobie Whiteside destroyed this play & picks up the sack. #MizzouVines pic.twitter.com/TCZHKxszki

— Joe (@JDec89) September 7, 2019

Can Georgia's offensive line pick up the slants? If so, expect to see long, explosive runs from Georgia's backs. 

UGA QB, Jake Fromm

3.) Jake Fromm vs Missouri's Third Down Defense

You don't have the nation's fourth-best defense against the pass without being elite on third down as well. Missouri's defense is allowing 30% conversion rate on third down. That's 12th in the country, just behind UGA at 11. 

Jake Fromm had a career day on third down against Florida, but this is no Third and Grantham. Missouri does a great job of disguising looks. Will Jake Fromm be able to identify the open man postsnap, we already know he's one of the nation's best presnap. 

4.) Can Missouri's interior OLine hold up vs. Davis and crew?

Jordan Davis was back for the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday in Jacksonville, and if you're one of those box score scouts, you may not know the impact Davis had in his return. What the simple 2.0 tackles and a half-sack don't show is the countless number of plays where Davis is occupying multiple blockers, allowing the Monty Rice's and Tae Crowder's of the world to run free. 

Missouri's interior offensive line is suspect when left on an island in both the run and pass game, which does not bode well for what's coming there way Saturday. 

5.) Redzone Offenses

Georgia is the third-ranked team in the entire country in redzone scoring offense, scoring points on 97.1% of their redzone possessions. 

Missouri, on the other hand, is ranked 124 out of 130 eligible teams in redzone scoring. Scoring points on just 68.6% of their redzone possessions. 

This boils down to a few factors based on my research: 

• Georgia is a power run team that has no problem running in tight spaces I.E. the redzone. Missouri is a spread run team that wins in space, space that's limited in the redzone. 
• Georgia has one of the most accurate field goal kickers of all-time in Rodrigo Blankenship. Tucker McCann has hit just 64.7% of his kicks this season.