Our columnist Mark Bradley gives his take on the game.
1. Even in losing, Georgia still is the front-runner to win the SEC East. True, the Bulldogs trail Missouri in the standings, but without quarterback James Franklin, who suffered a separated shoulder in the fourth quarter, it might be a while before the Tigers win again. (Their next two games are against Florida and South Carolina.) On a day when Georgia's dream of playing for the BCS title came to a realistic-if-not-fully-official end, we must note that a Dec. 7 date in the Georgia Dome would still make for a nice consolation prize.
2. Then again, Georgia's defense has to get a lot better in a hurry or there will be more losses. The numbers weren't out-and-out terrible Saturday: Missouri gained only 375 yards — every opponent except North Texas had managed at least 400 — and converted only five of 12 third downs. But the Tigers drove 79, 52 and 75 yards to first-half touchdowns, and with Georgia missing its two best tailbacks and three of its top four receivers, this was a time for the defense to prop up the offense. The D accomplished little until the third quarter. In the fourth it yielded a flea-flicker touchdown pass with Mizzou down to its backup quarterback.
3. Georgia made four turnovers; Missouri made none. Two Georgia errors — an Aaron Murray blindside-sack-and-fumble and a Murray misread of Mizzou's zone defense — led to 14 points, and a fumble by fourth-string tailback Brendan Douglas inside the Missouri 10 near the end of the half thwarted a chance to cut into a 28-10 deficit. But the key part was that Georgia's defense forced nothing. Halfway through the regular season, a unit populated by four- and five-star recruits has managed one interception and three recovered fumbles. (The key fumble by LSU's Odell Beckham Jr. came on special teams.)
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