Thanks to a strong effort from Jacob Eason, the Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Missouri Tigers 28-27 on Saturday night.
That’s not to say that the Dawg defense doesn’t deserve a few helmet stickers for this victory. Sure, it gave up 471 yards, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. The UGA D completely stuffed the run, limiting Missouri to 95 yards on 37 carries – almost half of what it averaged coming into the game. More importantly, the Dawg defense did an excellent job of forcing turnovers, intercepting three passes and recovering two fumbles – including a crucial one on the final drive to seal the victory.
Although Georgia’s defense came up with some big plays, the victory wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for Eason. The Bulldog ground game struggled all night long, rushing for just 101 yards and averaging a paltry 2.7 yards per carry. Missouri made it a point to take away the running game, and dared the UGA passing attack to beat them.
And, thanks to Jacob Eason, it did. Eason completed 29 of 55 passes for a career-high 308 yards and three touchdowns. He compiled these numbers in the face of a fierce Missouri pass rush that sacked him three times and pressured him on a number of other throws.
While his numbers speak for themselves, what really stands out about Eason’s performance was how he played with the game on the line. In case you missed the 1,000 or so times that Brent and Jesse mentioned it during the SEC Network’s broadcast, Eason is a true freshman. Due to the lack of experience in pressure situations early in the year, it’s tough for a first year starter – especially a true freshman – to deliver a game-winning drive in the closing minutes of a road game.
However, Eason played with the poise of a four-year starter. After completing two passes to get the drive started, he went 0-for-5 and faced with a fourth-and-10 from the Missouri 20 with just 1:36 to play. Rather than getting rattled by the incompletions like most quarterbacks would do, Eason delivered, throwing a perfect pass just over the hands of a Tiger defender and into the sure hands of Isaiah McKenzie for the game-winning touchdown.
This type of courage under fire is exactly the type of thing that the Dawgs will need in order to win SEC East this fall. While you always hesitate to make any conclusions this early in the year, it’s safe to say that Eason is a special player and that he has what it takes to lead the Bulldogs to the division championship.
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