What we learned from beating Mizzou

I wanted to wait a few days before I wrote what in fact we learned from the Missouri game, if anything. It is too easy to get caught up in the emotion directly after a win or loss and sometimes hyperbole seems about right when you are basking in the glory or muttering in the darkness. 

What did Georgia learn from going to Missouri and picking up a big SEC East win in just the second week of the season? The answer is, sadly, not much.

Georgia knew it had a solid defense anchored by Jarvis Jones. Was it fun for the Bulldog Nation to watch Jones take over a game and shut down Missouri’s attack almost all by himself? Sure. But didn’t we know that he was incredibly talented already? He was a finalist for the Butkus Award in 2011 and he won the CFPA Elite Linebacker Trophy. He was a first team All-American by several publications, and he led the SEC in sacks last year. He is really good. We knew that.

Georgia has a plethora of receivers that can make plays, but we knew that after last season. Tavarres King, Michael Bennett, Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten have all made plays this year and Brown really seemed to come to play against the Tigers. 

Georgia’s rushing attack will have ups and downs, but we knew that already as well, considering Todd Gurley is a true freshman and one of this top backups, Keith Marshall, is also a true freshman. They will have some great moments (the Buffalo game for Gurley), but they will have some rough ones too (the first play for Gurley when he fumbled). 

As fun as it was for Bulldog Nation to pound its chest and say “Old Man Football,” Missouri was an unranked foe playing its first SEC game. Their nerves showed on the first drive, and once the Georgia avalanche started in the fourth quarter, the Tigers didn’t know what to do.

Georgia still has plenty of work and it starts with getting John Theus healthy. He will likely go on to be a stud for Georgia as he started the Missouri game, and, despite giving up two sacks and being called for three penalties, the coaches stuck with him out there. That either says the coaches are really high on him or there is zero depth/trust behind him. For a true freshman to get as many reps with an apparent injury like that says the coaches really believe he is the guy. 

If we learned anything from the Missouri game, it is that Theus is a warrior for not asking out and continuing to play. The coaches should love a tackle  that stands 6-foot-6, 309 pounds. Take that away from a game that really didn’t offer much of a chance to teach Georgia anything. Missouri was an opponent that shouldn’t have scared Georgia, and the Bulldogs rightfully returned home with a victory.