ATHENS, Ga. _ It was like the parting of the Red Sea for Georgia on Saturday. With Alabama and Penn State both going down ahead of them by kickoff time against Missouri, all the Bulldogs needed was to take care of business against the Tigers.
They did, quite easily actually. But it might've been costly as Georgia lost four key offensive players _ including star receiver Lawrence Cager _ in the 27-0 win.
Now, with the toughest strip of real estate still between them and an SEC Championship game berth, the Bulldogs may be shorthanded as they head to No. 11 Auburn and Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS).
Auburn, which was idle Saturday, is expected to be the third top-10 opponent the Bulldogs have faced by the time they arrive on The Plains.
Of course, Georgia is expected to move up as well and could be ranked high as No. 4. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 2 the last time they went to Jordan-Hare, losing 40-17 in 2017.
But Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC) wasn't thinking about any of that as it had a pretty good battle on its hands for a while against Missouri (5-4, 2-3). It mightn't have been as much of a struggle if the Bulldogs hadn't kept losing offensive players to injuries.
Cager went out with a shoulder injury after a 32-yard catch with 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Center Trey Hill (ankle) went out in the first, and his replacement Cade Mays went out early in the fourth quarter. Right tackle Isaiah Wilson was sidelined a short time later. Their statuses for next week aren't known.
The way Georgia's defense was playing, it didn't really need everybody on offense. With a goal-line stand late in the game, the Bulldogs were able to keep intact their incredible streak of not allowing opponents a rushing touchdown. That was particularly impressive after the Tigers had second-and-goal at the 2. But a tackle for loss by Monty Rice was followed by two incomplete passes, and the shutout was preserved.
It was the third shutout of the season for Georgia, and the defense has now posted 24 scoreless quarters and still hasn't allowed a rushing touchdown this season.
It was a good thing as Georgia wasn't moving the ball with the ease it did against Florida the previous Saturday. Jake Fromm was 13-of-29 passing for 173 yards with two touchdowns to freshman George Pickens, who finished with 67 yards on five catches and had a 68-yarder called back because of an illegal-shift penalty.
D'Andre Swift led the ground game with 83 yards on 12 carries. The Bulldogs' 339 yards of offense tied for the second-lowest output of the season.
Georgia took a 16-0 lead into halftime, needed to thank kicker Rodrigo Blankenship and safety Richard LeCounte for that. Blankenship made three field goals _ including 48- and 47-yarders _ and LeCounte set up one of them with a long interception return. But the way the Bulldogs' defense was playing, the reality was they didn't need much from the offense on this night.
Missouri had to play without star quarterback Kelly Bryant, who was a game-time scratch because of a hamstring injury. That meant the Tigers had to go with sophomore quarterback Taylor Powell, who the Bulldogs were able to pressure without nearly as much concern.
After LeCounte's 71-yard interception return got them to the Missouri 18, the Bulldogs lost 13 yards on three plays before Blankenship bailed him out with a 48-yard field goal. That gave UGA a 13-0 lead at the 6:06 mark of the second quarter.
Hurting Georgia's offensive cause was losing Hill to a left-ankle injury at the 4:43 mark of the first quarter. Mays replaced him, but he delivered a high snap on the Bulldogs' fifth offensive possession. Fromm fell on the ball and actually took a shove to the face mask from Missouri defensive end Tre Williams, who strangely was not flagged on the play. Georgia was assessed a delay-of-game penalty as Kirby Smart and other coaches protested, but nothing otherwise resulted.
In the second half, Blankenship proved he's human by missing a 43-yard try left. That was a yard longer than the one he missed in overtime in Georgia's loss to South Carolina, which was also left of the upright in the east end zone.
