The No. 14 Missouri Tigers will play the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (Photo courtesy: AP)

Mizzou Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 9 – #14 Missouri (7-1, 3-1) at #1 Georgia (8-0, 5-0)
Date/Time – November 4, 2023 – 2:30 pm
Location – Sanford Stadium — Athens, GA
Broadcast – CBS Network
Live Stats – UGA Sidearm Stats

Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

ATHENS, GA — Following his team’s win over South Carolina on October 21, the main thing University of Missouri football head coach Eli Drinkwitz wanted to talk about was his team having a bye week.

At that point, the Missouri players and coaches had been going non-stop for 12 weeks — that includes training camp, practices, and games. Drinkwitz and his players were very excited to have a week off.

“We’ve been going since July 30, and this is eight straight weeks (of games) plus those four weeks (of preseason camp),” Drinkwitz said. “We needed this bye week and I was worried about getting to this finish line.”

That was almost two weeks ago. The bye week is over and now the Tigers are getting ready for what might be their biggest game of the season.

No. 14 Mizzou is headed down south to play between the hedges against No. 1-ranked and two-time defending national champion, Georgia. The might be Mizzou’s biggest game since it played Alabama in 2014 SEC Championship Game.

Some are saying Saturday’s matchup is essentially this year’s SEC East championship game, with the winner likely representing the East in the league title game in December. CBS seems to agree, which is why it selected the Mizzou-UGA game to be the first half of its Game of the Week doubleheader broadcast, along with the likely SEC West title game between LSU and Alabama, which will kick off a 6 p.m.

“I think the key is to not make any one game bigger than the next,” Drinkwitz said during the weekly SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday. “This game is important to us, but it’s not any more important than the Vanderbilt game was, or the Kentucky game was, or homecoming versus South Carolina was. They all have a level of significance to them, and so we’re just trying to approach it with that mindset and worry about being 1-0 this week.”

Players to Watch: Mizzou’s offensive stars are the same as they’ve been all season. QB Brady Cook is third in the SEC in passing yards (2,259), touchdown passes (15), and QBR rating (166.22).

RB Cody Schrader is second in the league in rushing (807 yards) and tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns (nine). And WRs Luther Burden (61 catches for 905 yards, six TDs) and Theo Wease (36 catches for 440 yards, five TDs) make up one of the best receiver duos in the conference.

Defensively, the Tigers are led by DL Darius Robinson (28 tackles, five QB sacks), LB Ty’Ron Hopper (43 tackles, 29 solo), and DB Kris Abrams-Draine (SEC second-best four interceptions).

No. 1 Georgia is led by QB Carson Beck, who has 2,462 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. RB Daijun Edwards has 556 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. And TE Brock Bowers, who has 41 catches for 567 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bulldogs also feature St. Louis-area high school star and former Tiger Dominic Lovett at WR. This season, Lovett has 35 catches for 365 yards and one TD.

Up Next: Mizzou will be back home next Saturday. The Tigers will host current No. 19 Tennessee at Faurot Field.

Game time and broadcast location will be determined following this Saturday’s games. If Mizzou wins this week, it will likely play at 2:30 on CBS again. Should they lose, they’ll probably play at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

When Missouri Has the Ball

When Georgia Has the Ball

2023 Missouri Tigers Football Remaining Schedule

Date	Time	At	Opponent	Location	TV
November 4, 2023 (Saturday)	2:30 PM	Away	#1 Georgia	Athens, Ga.
November 11, 2023 (Saturday)	TBA	Home	#21 Tennessee	Faurot Field
November 18, 2023 (Saturday)	TBA	Home	Florida	Faurot Field
November 24, 2023 (Friday)	3:00 PM	Away	Arkansas	Fayetteville, Ark.