COLUMBIA, Mo. — Georgia won its second SEC East road game of the season Saturday, 43-29 at Missouri, but coach Kirby Smart wasn’t compelled to savor the Bulldogs’ inside position in the quest for another division title.
Smart critiqued Georgia’s “discipline and composure” in several moments, including a drop of the football near the goal line by receiver Jeremiah Holloman as he completed a 66-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Jake Fromm in the third quarter — the second such drop in the past three games for Georgia.
Replay officials ruled that there was not enough evidence to overturn Holloman’s touchdown.
“That could have been catastrophic,” Smart said. “It could have been a 14-point swing there.”
The second-ranked Bulldogs (4-0) went up 33-14 on the Holloman score. Two weeks ago in a 41-17 win at South Carolina, defensive back Deandre Baker did, in fact, fumble at the 1-yard line as he returned an interception. In that instance, linebacker Juwan Taylor recovered the ball and scored.
Such mistakes can’t happen, Smart said.
He was equally upset with Missouri’s success in running the football; the Tigers gained 172 yards on 37 carries, the highest total by a Georgia foe in four games this year.
“That’s not who we are,” Smart said. “We had everybody in the box that we could have in the box. We just didn’t play physical enough. They outmanned us.”
Georgia also allowed Missouri to block a field goal and committed seven penalties for 66 yards. Included was a roughing-the-passer penalty on Tyler Clark against quarterback Drew Lock that extended a possession in the red zone and led to a third-quarter touchdown for the Tigers.
“We didn’t play with the discipline we need to play with,” Smart said, “and I’m responsible for that. We’ll get it fixed.”
The coach said he was pleased with Georgia’s resiliency after Mizzou twice closed to within 11 points in the second half.
Georgia dealt with several injuries Saturday, playing without receiver Tyler Simmons and backups Monty Rice at linebacker and Andrew Thomas at offensive tackle. Defensive back Tyson Campbell, who scored on a 64-yard fumble recovery in the first quarter, later required an IV because of dehydration issues.
And starting right guard Ben Cleveland left in the second half with a leg injury. Smart had no update on the severity of Cleveland’s injury after the game.