ATHENS, Ga. - The game was anything but attractive, but the Georgia Bulldogs are alive and well in the race for the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title.
Marshall Morgan's 34-yard field goal with 1:44 remaining Saturday night propelled Georgia to a 9-6 victory over Missouri before a bundled-up, sellout crowd at Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs earned their first win without scoring a touchdown since a 12-3 decision over Kentucky in 1995.
Morgan missed a 26-yard field-goal try wide left with 5:40 remaining.
"I was standing there frozen on the sideline," Morgan said. "Once I saw that our defense kept stopping them, I was like, 'I'm going to get another shot.'"
Georgia improved to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, getting within a game of Florida, which endured its first league loss Saturday night at LSU. The Bulldogs can regain control of their division destiny with a Tennessee loss at Alabama this Saturday.
The Bulldogs are off this week before facing the Gators in Jacksonville on Oct. 31, a game that will be televised by CBS.
"Am I allowed to be happy tonight?" Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "I'm ecstatic, quite frankly, at the victory. It was a gut check all the way through for both teams, who played so well defensively. Both offenses were just trying like heck to get something going, and in the end we got it done."
Georgia suffocated Missouri's offense throughout the night, limiting the Tigers to 164 yards on 48 plays. The Bulldogs managed 298 yards on 77 plays, getting 87 yards on 26 carries from new starting tailback Sony Michel and a combined 127 yards on 13 catches from receivers Malcolm Mitchell and Terry Godwin.
Godwin also had 49 yards on punt returns, including an 18-yarder to midfield that helped ignite the winning drive. When Missouri got the ball back facing a deficit for the first time, the Tigers ran four plays for minus-7 yards.
"I'm just proud of everybody," Richt said. "Our fan base provided a great atmosphere and a lot of noise, especially on their last drive."
The Bulldogs had a disastrous start, as Greyson Lambert was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage by Ian Simon, who had a 39-yard return to Georgia's 1-yard line. Georgia's defense stiffened, though, forcing the Tigers to settle for Andrew Baggett's 19-yard field goal.
Mitchell made the touchdown-saving tackle on Missouri's early interception and later caused a fumble on a punt.
"Malcolm has really grown up a lot," Richt said. "He works extremely hard. There have been a few times when he might have lost his cool in practice, but effort has never been a problem."
Baggett missed a 38-yard attempt late in the first quarter, keeping it a 3-0 game.
Georgia took over at its 20-yard line following Baggett's miss and drove 68 yards on 16 plays before getting a 29-yard field goal by Morgan that made it 3-3 at the 8:53 mark of the second quarter. The Tigers had a lengthy drive of their own after an exchange of punts, marching 84 yards on 12 plays and regaining the lead at 6-3 on Baggett's 24-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the half.
Missouri had the halftime lead despite owning 1 rushing yard on 11 first-half carries. The Tigers also trailed the Bulldogs in plays (38 to 25) and yards (177 to 127).
Scoring remained scarce in the third quarter, when one of the most notable plays was a targeting penalty on Georgia sophomore safety Dominick Sanders, who must sit out the first half of the Florida game.
"After seeing on the replay, it was helmet-to-helmet," Richt said. "I think they got it right."
Georgia did tie the game at 6 in the final minute of the third quarter on a 24-yard Morgan field goal. The score came after an Anthony Sherrills interception of Lambert at the 2-yard line was overturned when replays showed Sherrill trapped the ball.
Odds and ends
Morgan's three field goals gave him 371 career points, moving him into a tie for fourth on the SEC's all-time list with former Tennessee kicker Jeff Hall (1995-98). Senior split end Kenneth Towns, freshman defensive tackle DaQuan Hawkins and junior outside linebacker Chuks Amaechi each started for the first time. Former Bulldogs tailback Todd Gurley, now a rookie with the St. Louis Rams, attended Saturday's game. Georgia has just two home games remaining - against Kentucky on Nov. 7 and Georgia Southern on Nov. 21.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.