Sports

Georgia vs. Missouri Football Preview: Dawgs Enter Unfamiliar Territory

Here's what they're saying about the Bulldogs and Tigers in Missouri's SEC debut.

Note: The Georgia-Missouri game will be on ESPN2 at 7:45 p.m.

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How do we know Georgia Bulldogs football is special? Because Delta Airlines is changing its flight schedule just to make sure UGA fans get to Columbia, Missouri, in time for the Tigers' inaugural SEC game.

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It will be a learning process. Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph reports the two teams are virtual strangers. Neither squad even has a scholarship player from the other's state. Georgia head coach Mark Richt did interview for the Missouri job more than a decade ago, but the teams' only previous matchup was in 1960.

At least one Missouri player isn't that impressed with what he's seen of Georgia so far. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson told a reporter he watched some of the Georgia-Buffalo game last week, then turned it off. "It's like watching Big Ten football," he's quoted as saying. "It's old-man football."

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Whatever it is, it's not likely to be easy. Morris News Serivce's Marc Weiszer notes that Georgia's had a rough haul in recent years when it travels to meet teams it doesn't know well. He points to away-from-home losses to Oklahoma State in 2009, Colorado and Central Florida in 2010, and Boise State in 2011.

"Georgia is 6-9 in games away from Athens the past two seasons and 10-12 the past three seasons," Weiszer writes, "but is embracing its first foray to Columbia, Mo."

To fend off Missouri, Georgia's defense is going to have to step it up, Seth Emerson writes.

Offensively, lips are flapping about freshman tailback Todd Gurley, whose three touchdowns against Buffalo last week prompted speculation that he could start in Columbia. But Gurley told the Associated Press this week that his main goal is staying on the right path amid the hype.

“You just want to stay on top of things and try not to make the wrong decisions,” he's quoted saying. “It’s so easy to get in trouble and so hard to get out of trouble.”

What's your prediction for the Georgia-Missouri game? Tell us in the comments.


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