No. 2 Georgia (8-0, 5-0) proved it can do just fine without receptions leader Brock Bowers, blowing the doors off Florida last week, 43-20.
Carson Beck threw for over 300 yards along with plentiful aid provided by the backfield.
The Bulldogs will keep on without Bowers in the battle atop the SEC East against No. 12 Missouri (7-1, 3-1) on Saturday.
The Tigers’ bye week has given Eli Drinkwitz time to adjust his plans after breezing by South Carolina, 34-12.
That marked Brady Cook’s second straight game with under 200 passing yards.
He has compensated with his legs, carrying the ball for an average of 52 rushing yards.
Cook has been discerning with the football when it comes to throwing; he owns a 69.7 percent completion rate and has been intercepted only three times.
Georgia averages a substandard 2.1 sacks per game.
This should give Cook room to make plays downfield as the Tigers offensive line limits opposing pass rushes to 1.6 sacks.
But it’s Missouri’s run game that has carried the weight the last couple of games.
Cody Schrader and his 100.9 yards per game will try puncturing Georgia’s top-10 run defense.
Betting on College Football?
Schrader has collected over 100 yards in three of the last four games and leads the Tigers with nine touchdowns.
The spread has been inflated on Georgia all season: It has covered only twice despite being undefeated.
I expect the Tigers to churn enough production with their balanced attack to make this a better game than what the market reflects.
The play: Missouri +15.5.
This story originally appeared on NYPost