COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 25 Mizzou Football (5-4, 5-4 SEC) lost to ninth-ranked Georgia (7-2, 7-2 SEC), 49-14 Saturday afternoon (Dec. 12) 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. The game marked just Mizzou’s second loss in the last seven games.
Senior RB Larry Rountree III scored his 38th career rushing TD, good for third-most in school history, in the loss. He has seven scores over his last three games. Mizzou struggled to get on track against a stout Bulldog defense that limited the Tigers to 200 total yards Saturday.
Mizzou will be back in action to close the regular season next Saturday at Mississippi State for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
A QUICK RECAP
Georgia got on the board early thanks to a rare interception for the Missouri offense. The Dawgs ran it six times and covered 23 yards to take a 7-0 lead with 11:56 remaining in the first quarter. Mizzou then had a promising drive stall out near midfield and Georgia then converted a third-and-eight into a 37-yard touchdown to take a 14-0 lead with 2:40 remaining in the quarter.
Mizzou then got back in the game, using a trick play that looked familiar to plenty of Mizzou fans when playing Georgia. Mizzou ran a double pass as WR Keke Chism found TE Messiah Swinson for a gain of 29 yards down to the UGA two-yard line. Mizzou fans can remember in the 2013 win at Georgia, Mizzou ran a similar play from Bud Sasser to L’Damian Washington for a score. QB Connor Bazelak then walked in for a score to cut the lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter.
Thanks to a Mason Pack blocked punt which was recovered by freshman LB Will Norris, Mizzou tied the game at 14-14 on Larry Rountree’s 12th rushing TD of the season to tie the game at 14-14 with 1:20 remaining in the half. Georgia answered by going 75 yards in six plays for a score to take a 21-14 lead into the intermission.
Georgia scored on its opening possession of the second half on a third-down pass from JT Daniel to George Pickens from 31 yards out. The Bulldogs tacked on another third-down TD, third time on a third-and-two, as Zamir Rice punched it in from 43 yards out to extend the lead to 35-14 to put the game away. That was part of five straight TD drives for UGA.
Top TIGERS
- Mizzou senior RB Larry Rountree III scored his 12th touchdown of the season, a new single-season career-high. It was his sixth straight game with a rushing TD and seventh in the last three games. He moved into a tied for third all-time on Mizzou’s all-time career rushing TD list with 38 in his career.
- Sophomore S Martez Manuel was disruptive all day with seven tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and a 1.0 sack.
- Junior LB Nick Bolton finished with eight tackles.
- Sophomore LB Devin Nicholson posted eight tackles.
- Sophomore DE Trajan Jeffcoat tallied his sixth sack of the season, the most for a Mizzou DE since Charles Harris had 9.0 in 2016.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will play its regular season finale at Mississippi State next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (CT).
For all the latest on Mizzou Football, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouFootball) and like the team on Facebook and Instagram.
