The Georgia Bulldogs open their SEC schedule Saturday against the Missouri Tigers, Georgia's newly minted SEC Eastern Division foe. It's the first-ever SEC game for the Tigers, and as such, Faurot Field is expected to be rocking off its foundation Saturday.
But Macon Telegraph sports columnist Daniel Shirley doesn't think it will bother the Bulldogs.
Through the years, Mark Richt's program has played road games against LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, etc. Those teams' stadiums are large and loud and can be pretty intimidating for road teams, especially at night. Missouri's stadium Saturday will have the added energy of the Tigers' first SEC game, but Georgia will be able to fall back on past road conference games to handle anything it encounters in this game.
Shirley also points to Georgia's experience at quarterback with junior Aaron Murray, which seems like a point more valid than general team experience. As a sophomore starter last season Murray was 4-0 in true road games, but the four games were against Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.
When Murray started as a freshman in 2010, the Bulldogs were 1-4 in true road games. They beat Kentucky but lost to South Carolina, Mississippi State, Colorado and Auburn.
Overall, Georgia is 8-6 in true road games over the last three seasons. None of those appearances happened at either Alabama or LSU; so if Shirley's assertion that the program is experienced in those environments were to be accurate, it would apply to coaching staff only.
The Bulldogs kick off against Missouri at 7:45 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN2.
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