Mizzou Travels to No. 1 Georgia

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou football (4-4, 1-3 SEC) visits No. 1 Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC) on Saturday, Nov. 6, for an 11 a.m. CT kick at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. The game will air on ESPN with Joe Tessitore and Greg McElroy on the call.

Mike Kelly, Howard Richards and Chris Gervino will have the call on the Tiger Radio Network.

SERIES vs. GEORGIA

Georgia leads the series with Missouri, 9-1. The Tigers’ only win, 41-26, came in Athens during the 2013 season. The first meeting between the two teams was the 1960 Orange Bowl. Last time in Athens (2019), the Bulldogs blanked the Tigers, 27-0.

2020: GEORGIA AT MIZZOU

No. 25 Mizzou lost to ninth-ranked Georgia, 49-14, on Dec. 12, 2020 at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers tied the game, 14-14, late in the second quarter, but Georgia scored on its next five drives to halt Mizzou’s three-game winning streak. Senior RB Larry Rountree III scored his 38th career rushing TD, good for third-most in school history, in the loss. Mizzou struggled to get on track against a stout Bulldog defense that limited the Tigers to 200 total yards.

LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU

Tyler Badie rushed 31 times for a career-high 254 yards and two touchdowns, Harrison Mevis booted three field goals to run his string of consecutive makes to 19, and Keke Chism caught a 45-yard “Hail Mary” touchdown pass from Connor Bazelak on the last play of the first half to lead Mizzou to a 37-28 victory over Vanderbilt. Badie ran his career rushing total to 2,125 yards, becoming the 18th Tiger to run for more than 2,000 yards. He also caught eight passes for 40 yards. His 254 yards were the fifth most in a single game in Missouri history.

After Vanderbilt closed to within 30-28 with 3:11 to play, and with Bazelak on the sideline with an injury, Badie broke the Commodores’ collective backs when he broke down the left sideline for a 73-yard gain to the Vandy two, where Bazelak’s replacement, freshman Tyler Macon, scampered in for a two-yard touchdown, his first as a Tiger. It was the longest run of Badie’s career. Mizzou put the victory away with 1:31 to play when Martez Manuel picked off a deep pass by Mike Wright and the Tigers ran out the clock.

LAST TIME OUT: GEORGIA

Fueled by a 21-point burst before halftime, the University of Georgia remained unbeaten with a decisive 34-7 victory over Florida. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett finished 10-for-19 for 161 yards and one touchdown, while tailback Zamir White tallied a season-high 105 yards on 14 carries and wideout Kearis Jackson led in receiving with three catches for 59 yards. Overall, Georgia finished with 354 yards, with Florida outgaining the Bulldogs by one yard. Linebacker Quay Walker led the Georgia defense with a career-high 13 tackles with safety Lewis Cine pitching in with eight.

GIVE BADIE HIS DUE

• It’s time we call Tyler Badie exactly what he is: One of the nation’s premier running backs. The senior ranks fourth nationally in rushing yards (989), yards per game (123.6) and total points (90). He is third in total touchdowns (15), third in scoring (11.2 ppg) and 11th in rushing touchdowns. All six of those marks lead the SEC.

• Badie has rushed for over 200 yards on three different occasions this season (254 vs. Vanderbilt, 209 vs. North Texas, 203 vs. CMU). He is the only player in the country with three, 200-yard games this season and one of just five SEC players to complete the feat since 2000 (Leonard Fournette, Derrick Henry, Lynn Bowden Jr. and Trayveon Williams).

• His 254-yard rushing performance at Vanderbilt marked the most by a Mizzou back in the SEC era (2012-pres.) and the fifth most in program history. He is the first Tiger to rush for 200 yards three times in one season and one of just two Mizzou players to post three, 200-yard games in his career, joining Brad Smith.

• With his 17-yard reception against Tennessee, Badie became the first Mizzou Tiger in program history to reach 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in his career. He became the first SEC player to reach the mark since Kentucky wide receiver Lynn Bowden, Jr., did so in 2019.

• Another first, Badie is the lone Tiger to score a combination of 15 rushing scores and 10 receiving TDs.

• The senior is averaging 162.4 all-purpose yards this season, good for third nationally and first in the SEC.

• Badie leads the SEC with 11 rushing touchdowns on the season. He has a touchdown in all eight of Mizzou’s games this season. He is the first Tiger since Jeremy Maclin in 2007 to record four rushing and receiving touchdowns in a season.

• His 203-yard performance in the season opener was the first by a Tiger since Larry Rountree went for 204 in Dec. 2018 against Oklahoma State. The 203 rushing yards were the 15th most in Mizzou history.

• At Kentucky, Badie hauled in a career-best 10 receptions for 88 yards. He became the first Tiger to catch 10 passes in a game since Emanuel Hall did so against Wyoming in 2018.

MEVIS MAGIC

• Sophomore kicker Harrison Mevis – the SEC Special teams Player of the Week for Oct. 30 – has made 19 consecutive field goals, an active streak that leads the nation.

• The “Thiccer Kicker” is 11-for-11 this season including 3-for-3 from beyond 50 yards and 6-for-6 from 40-49.

• Mevis started his season with a bang, drilling a 53-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the first half to give Mizzou a lead over Central Michigan. The kick was a then-career-long from Mevis and had plenty of leg to spare.

• He was equally impressive at Boston College, hitting a career-long 56-yard boot to send the game to overtime.

• Mevis is now 7-for-8 in his career from beyond 50 yards. His 56-yarder is tied for the longest in the country this season.

• He is one of just two Tigers in program history to make five or more kicks of 50+ yards, joining Tom Whelihan (6, 1984-87).

HAIL KEKE

• Senior wideout Keke Chism turned the momentum when he hauled in a first-half ending Hail Mary to give Mizzou a 17-14 lead at Vanderbilt.

• The 45-yard snag among seven Commodore defenders in the endzone was Chism’s second TD of the year and second-longest catch of the season.

• Both of Chism’s TD grabs have come late in the first half, with the other coming with four seconds left on the clock at Kentucky.

BENSON BLOCKS IT

• Walk-on Stephen Benson produced Mizzou’s first blocked punt of the season at Vanderbilt.

• The blocked punt was Mizzou’s first since the 2020 game against Georgia.

• Benson transferred in to Mizzou from NAIA Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo.