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Social media reacts to up and down first half for Georgia football against Missouri

JT Daniels threw two touchdowns in the first half.
L.G. Patterson AP Photos
Connor Riley
Connor Riley

No. 9 Georgia could not have had a more ideal start on Saturday against the No. 25 Missouri Tigers. Then Missouri tied the game after some poor play from Georgia’s special teams.

But as soon as that happened, JT Daniels helped bail out the Bulldogs with a big touchdown drive in the final minute of the half to give Georgia a 21-14 lead at halftime.

Eric Stokes intercepted a Connor Bazelek pass on the opening drive of the game. That gave Georgia a short field, where the Bulldogs had to go only 23 yards for a touchdown. Kenny McIntosh capped off the drive with his first career touchdown in an SEC game.

Related: Georgia-Missouri live blog and updates

Another stop led the Bulldogs to a longer touchdown drive, this time topped off by a 37-yard touchdown pass from JT Daniels to James Cook. Daniels completed 10 of his 17 pass attempts for 167 yards in the first half.

But after that start, Missouri found a way to claw back into the game. The Tigers hit on a couple of big plays to set up a short Bazelek touchdown run. Perhaps more concerning, though, was what happened with the offense.

After moving the ball at will on the ground on the opening two drives, Missouri found a way to take that away. Those next two drives led to Georgia punts. Missouri has also made it a point to hit Daniels on any and every opportunity it has.

It should be noted that the Bulldogs are playing with Warren Ericson at center, as he replaces an injured Trey Hill. Missouri has been able to get pressure on Daniels, sacking him once and forcing an errant pass on another third down.

Late in the half, the special teams struggled. Kearis Jackson muffed a punt that the Bulldogs were fortunate to recover. Then Jake Camarda had a punt blocked which Missouri recovered at the 1-yard line. It led to a touchdown run by Larry Roundtree to tie the game at 14.

The Bulldogs did respond to the score from Missouri as Daniels drove Georgia 75 yards for a touchdown, thanks to a great throw and catch from Daniels to Pickens. Pickens has three catches for 72 yards in the first half.

Georgia outgained Missouri 238-121 in the first half, but the Tigers have managed to make a game of it. Georgia does get the ball to start the second half, so a score on that drive could be big to give the Bulldogs some extra cushion.

Georgia football-Missouri first-half box score

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