Missouri caught observers' attention during an impressive winning streak last season, and Greg McElroy expects the Tigers to threaten SEC East favorite Georgia on Sept. 22.
Recently, the SEC Network analyst told SEC Country that the Bulldogs' Sept. 22 trip to Faurot Field is the SEC's biggest "upset alert" game in 2018. The Tigers finished 7-6 last year after losing to Texas in the Texas Bowl. Before that loss, Missouri won six consecutive games to close the regular season.
Georgia was 13-2 after winning the SEC and losing to Alabama in the National Championship Game in January.
“Missouri’s a handful,” McElroy said.
“I would say Georgia at Missouri on 9/22. You’ve got to hang a lot of points on them. I think they’re good. I think they’re going to be a handful. Down the stretch [in 2017], they were playing really well. So I’m a believer in what they’ve got going up there at least for this year.”
A large reason for McElroy’s belief in Missouri comes from quarterback Drew Lock’s potential. Lock, a senior, has 8,695 yards passing with 71 touchdowns and 31 interceptions for his career. He posted a career-high 3,964 yards with 44 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last year.
Missouri’s play late last year built optimism for the Tigers’ future under coach Barry Odom, who is entering his third season in Columbia with an 11-14 record. Certainly, beating Georgia in a year when many expect the Bulldogs to return to the SEC Championship Game would be a notable achievement as Odom tries to make Missouri an SEC East contender.
