On Saturday, the 5-0 Missouri Tigers headed down to Athens, Georgia to face the #7 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Luckily for Mizzou, Georgia was beat up going into the game with lots of starters injured.

The Tigers took advantage of the injured Bulldogs by taking over the game in the first half. At half Mizzou had a commanding lead of 28-10. The Tigers controlled the game and had everything going their way that is until the Tiger captain went down.

In the third quarter senior quarterback, and team captain, James Franklin was hit hard in the backfield. He left the game with a shoulder injury that would later be said to be a separated shoulder.

Back up, red shirt freshman quarterback, Maty Mauk played the rest of the game. The Tigers would end up with the win, surviving a fourth quarter surge by Georgia, but this win was not without sacrifice.

Looking forward to the future, Mizzou plays the #22 ranked Florida Gators, the #11 South Carolina Gamecocks, and the 3-3 Tennessee Volunteers, all at home. According to rankings, Mizzou should win two of the three upcoming games, but there’s more to the story than just that. With James Franklin out 3-5 weeks with a separated shoulder, Maty Mauk will have to step up and lead this talented Tigers team.

The Tigers won a huge game away at Georgia, which was the first road win against a top ten team for the Tigers in 32 years, however, sadly it might be worth nothing if Maty Mauk can’t lead this team and keep the number in the win column going up.