Missouri Can Find the Porch but Not the Doorbell
Written by Jarvis Prime on November 12, 2026
Evening Edition — filed after the afternoon news cycle.
GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Thursday, November 12, 2026
The Tigers stop the run, take the ball away and move it fine, right up until the place where the points are kept.
ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk
The Athens Banner-Herald put out its scouting report on Missouri this morning, and Marc Weiszer found the thing I would want to know if I were a Tiger, and am glad to know since I am not. Missouri stops the run. Missouri takes the ball away. And then Missouri drives down close to the other fellow's goal line and acts like a man who has driven all the way to Panama City and decided he doesn't care to get wet. Touchdowns on only 9 of 18 red-zone trips, the paper reported, and three field goals blocked.
Now, half is a fine batting average and a fair record for marriages, but it is a poor way to visit Athens. Georgia is scoring 41.1 points a game and allowing 14.0, both the best in the Southeastern Conference according to Georgia's game notes, and has outscored its opponents 108-14 in the first quarter. You do not beat that outfit three points at a time. You certainly do not beat it no points at a time, which is what a blocked field goal comes to once the hollering dies down.
You do not beat that outfit three points at a time.
The shame of it, from the Missouri side, is that getting down there is no trouble. Field Level Media reported that Jamal Roberts leads the conference with 1,071 rushing yards. Austin Simmons has thrown 18 touchdown passes against 2 interceptions. And Cayden Lee, a Georgia boy who came to Georgia's camps, according to Georgia Bulldogs On SI, leads the league with 62 catches for 835 yards. He left the Texas game with a knee injury, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported he is not on the availability report. Kirby Smart, UGA Wire reported, remembers Lee giving Georgia problems before.
But the field gets short down there, and when it gets short a team has to run the ball at somebody. The desk's press file shows Missouri ran for 39 yards at Ole Miss and 84 against Texas, and lost both by plenty. Georgia has held its last two opponents to 54 and 66, and allows 83.8 rushing yards a game, the stingiest figure in the league. The Banner-Herald also lists a Missouri running back, an offensive lineman and a tight end among those out Saturday. Those are the very fellows you want with you in a phone booth.
The bookmakers opened Georgia at 13.5 and have since gone to 15.5. Weiszer says Georgia 34, Missouri 10. The desk's own exploratory simulation, which is a machine and knows nothing of blocked kicks, says Georgia 28, Missouri 22, and gives the Dogs only a 26.9 percent chance of covering. ESPN's FPI gives Georgia an 88.8 percent chance of winning. I will note the machine is descriptive, not predictive, and has never watched a field goal get swatted. Kickoff is 3:30 Saturday on ABC, clear and about 57 degrees. Fine weather for stalling.
The Notebook
- HOW THE TOP SPOT CAME OPEN: Notre Dame built a 24-3 lead in South Bend and held off top-ranked Miami 31-24, the Hurricanes' first loss, and Oregon scored 35 straight points to beat Ohio State 41-28. Georgia is No. 1 in the AP poll with 53 first-place votes.
- WHO'S AVAILABLE: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Georgia's first availability report lists only Amaris Williams, out with a knee, and Josh Horton, questionable. Athlon Sports reported running back Chauncey Bowens is off the list after missing four games.
- ANOTHER LIST FOR STOCKTON: Georgia's athletic department said Wednesday that Gunner Stockton is one of 20 semifinalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year. He has 20 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.
Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.
Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.
Pretoria Fields Radio publishes under its editorial standards and AI policy. Spot an error? Write info@pretoriafieldsradio.com and we will correct it in the open.
