On second and goal from the Missouri one-yard line, already up 9-3, No. 1 Georgia trotted Jordan Davis onto the field.

Davis, a defensive tackle built like King K. Rool from Mario Super Sluggers, lined up at tight end. After the ball was snapped, Davis fired out of his stance and cleared a hole for running back Zamir White so big it could’ve fit Davis himself. Maybe even two or three of him.

That was Missouri’s Saturday afternoon in Athens, Ga. The Tigers don’t have talent near to the level of Davis or any of Georgia’s 22 starters on offense or defense. Even kicker Harrison Mevis showed rare mortality. Predictably, Missouri fell to the Bulldogs, 43-6.

“They had a critical fourth down there in the first quarter that they were able to convert on, and then we had a critical fourth down in the second quarter that we weren’t able to convert on,” Drinkwitz said. “In a game like this, when you’re playing the No. 1 team in the country, you gotta make those plays. We didn’t make them today.”

The Tigers started stronger than many anticipated, forcing a punt and converting a Mevis field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. Missouri defensive coordinator Steve Wilks consistently loaded the box with one, sometimes even two safeties alongside the usual crew of linebackers and defensive linemen.

Missouri’s goal was to stop the run at all costs, while daring Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett to beat them. Stunningly, the run defense — the same unit that allowed seven yards per carry to Vanderbilt — was up to the task, only giving up 2.7 combined yards per carry to running backs White, James Cook and Kenny McIntosh. 

“I honestly feel we held our own out there,” safety Jaylon Carlies said. “We did a great job stopping the run, just gotta do a better job pass game-wise.”

Unfortunately for Missouri, Bennett was able to exploit the Tigers’ game plan. On an early third down, with Missouri up 3-0, Bennett decided against a semi-open target over the middle and ran for a short game instead. The crowd grew restless, with some already calling for his benching, but he responded right away.

On the next play, a fourth and six at the Tigers’ 35, Bennett lofted a beautiful ball to receiver Arian Smith, who caught it against one-on-one coverage in the back corner of the end zone for the first and only lead change of the game.

“Our plan was to come in and stop the run,” linebacker Chad Bailey said. “So once we did that, they had to figure something else out to do, and that’s what they did, throw the ball.”

Later in the half, Bennett executed an impressive two-minute drill that resulted in a short touchdown run from Cook, which gave Georgia a 26-3 lead. That lead was insurmountable, especially with the way Georgia’s defense shut down the Tigers’ attack.

With Connor Bazelak out, true freshman Tyler Macon and redshirt freshman Brady Cook shared signal-calling duties; Macon got the start. Neither played particularly poorly, but no one making their first career start was going to make a dent in Georgia’s defense, which entered the game No. 1 in scoring defense. 

No. 2 — Cincinnati — is closer to No. 41 than No. 1.

“I thought both of them had good and bad, some learning experiences for both of them,” Drinkwitz said. “We weren’t really able to consistently throw the ball with them, and that’s something we’re gonna have to work on.”

Davis, Jalen Carter, Travon Walker and Nolan Smith showed why they lead the most fearsome defensive front in college football, holding Missouri to 3.5 yards per carry (though Macon broke free for one big run early in the game) and harassing whoever was under center all game. Open receivers downfield were almost nonexistent against the Bulldogs’ elite secondary.

“[The offensive line] created some opportunities for us in the run game,” Drinkwitz said, “I thought our quarterbacks were able to run for a few yards. The game plan going in was to try to stay as close as we could through the first half, and then see if we could create some momentum in the second half, and I felt like we tried that.”

The most glaring display of the gap between Missouri and Georgia as football programs, however, might have been the Athens crowd. Sanford Stadium seats nearly 20,000 more people than Faurot Field does, but while Tigers games feature empty sections at kickoff, the Bulldogs might not have had an empty seat in the upper bowl. Certainly not the lower bowl.

SEC Network broadcasters said that Missouri’s home loss to Tennessee might’ve been the quietest SEC game they’d been to. That wasn’t an issue in Athens, especially on third downs.

However, one Georgia fan described a game day atmosphere that would’ve blown anything in Columbia away as “sleepy” by Athens standards.

Missouri is back home next week against South Carolina, at 3:00 p.m. Central.