Georgia Three Keys: Missouri

Three-keys-Georgia

The Bulldogs have started the 2018 season in dominating fashion. They have scored more than 40 points in each of their first three games and have allowed a total of 24 points to their three opponents. Missouri has the power to score on Georgia, but can the Tigers stop the suddenly explosive Bulldogs offense?

By Steve Wright

Here are the three keys:

Keep Jake Fromm rolling

The passing game has been the unsung start of Georgia’s insane start to the 2018 yes. The defense is – of course – playing at an otherworldly level, but the passing game has complimented this perfectly by connecting at an 81-percent rate. Fromm has somehow been even better than this average of the team’s signal callers, passing for and 83-percent completion percentage and not even looking like this whole college football thing is as difficult as it is supposed to be.

Mizzou will be a step up from the two minnows that Georgia has faced over the first two weeks, but they are not as good as the South Carolina squad that the Bulldogs demolished on the road. Fromm should have enough time in the pocked to pick apart a secondary that looked good in a 2-0 start, before getting lit up for 572 yards and three touchdowns by David Blough and Purdue last time out.

Generate a pass rush

Giving Missouri quarterback Drew Lock time to sit in the pocket and work is a very bad idea. Lock is a future NFL passer, and in his last two games against Georgia he has thrown for a combined seven touchdowns. Those passing displays came in the face of a Georgia pass rush that was getting to the quarterback with regularity, something that the 2018 Bulldogs team has yet to show the ability to do.

All three passing games Georgia has faced in 2018 have completed over 60-percent of their passes. It is also worth noting that the Dawgs have managed just one sack through three games, a number equal to the amount of times that Lock has been sacked behind a veteran and rugged Mizzou offensive line.

If Georgia doesn’t get to Lock, then there is no reason to think that the Missouri quarterback won’t keep the Tigers in the game.

Watch for Missouri to get creative on D

The Tigers have not exactly been sack artists themselves in 2018. Missouri has six sacks through three games, but they will be sure to target whoever lines up at left tackle for the Bulldogs.

Andrew Thomas is one of the best at his position in the country, but he is returning from an ankle injury and his status for the game is still unknown. Even if he does play it is hard to imagine he will be at his most mobile on the hurt wheel. If Cade Mays plays, then he is a true freshman who will be taking on SEC quality linemen for the first time.

Expect to see Mizzou overloading and bringing heat from that side of the defensive formation. Blitz schemes will be run early and often to test Thomas’ ankle or Mays’ knowledge of the game. Keeping the heat off of Fromm will be important.

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