No. 1 Georgia is back home and back in control of the SEC race, with another chance to keep its grip on the league when No. 22 Missouri visits Athens, Ga., on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs have already stacked up enough wins to sit atop the conference standings, and the path ahead now runs through a Missouri team that hasn’t beaten Georgia since 2013 and is trying to stop a 10-game skid in the series. It’s also the first time these former SEC East rivals have met in two years.
Georgia is coming off a stretch that has put it right back in the mix for a sixth straight trip to the SEC championship game. After the Oct. 17 upset loss at Auburn, the Bulldogs answered with a 27-8 win over then-No.
17 Florida and then blew past then-No. 10 Ole Miss 42-7 last Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
That leaves Georgia at 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the SEC.
Kirby Smart knows exactly what the conference title game has meant, even as its future changes. After official word came that the game will be played for the last time in December before the College Football Playoff expands to 24 teams in 2027, Smart called it “a great, historic game,” and added, “It’s great for the players, the programs, and the fans.
The location has been awesome for us. The venue is incredible.
All of those things are awesome, but times are changing. As they change, you have to adapt to it.”
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz took an even firmer stance on what comes next.
“My question is why are we associated with conferences anymore if we’re not playing for a conference championship?” Drinkwitz said.
For now, the Tigers are focused on the road in front of them, and it’s a brutal one. Missouri is 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the SEC, and Saturday will mark its fifth game against a ranked opponent in seven outings.
No. 11 Kentucky is still on deck next week.
Drinkwitz didn’t mince words about the challenge Georgia presents.
“I will say just when we talk about Georgia, there’s zero doubt that they’re the benchmark for the league right now,” Drinkwitz said. “The way that Coach Smart runs his program, the philosophical identity that he has in offense, defense and special teams, the way his team plays consistently down in and down out, it’s what everybody in our conference is chasing. He does it the right way and always has done it the right way.”
Smart returned the compliment, calling Drinkwitz “a tremendous job as a coach” and saying, “I think this is one of his better teams. He has an elite quarterback and he’s got talent surrounding him. He’s playing in a tough, brutal league just like we all are, and he has been in some really tight ballgames. ...
“It will be a great challenge for us. I hope that our fans will turn out and create the same environments we’ve been seeing on the road. We need that same environment when people come to play here.”
Georgia’s offense has been led by Gunner Stockton, who tops the SEC with 20 passing touchdowns. Against Ole Miss, the senior completed only nine passes, but four of them went for scores.
Missouri has its own firepower. Austin Simmons has thrown for 2,204 yards and 18 touchdowns with just two interceptions, while Jamal Roberts leads the SEC in rushing with 1,071 yards and Cayden Lee leads the league in receiving with 835.
Lee left last week’s 34-20 loss to then-No. 7 Texas with an injury, but Drinkwitz offered an encouraging update on Monday.
“Cayden Lee has no structural damage to the knee,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ll monitor that situation as it goes.
He was out at practice (on Monday), and he is as tough a competitor as I’ve been around. So nothing would shock me more than if he wasn’t playing.”
In Other News...
Mizzou Gets One Huge Georgia Question And One Brutal Injury Blow
Missouri got one encouraging update and one painful setback coming out of the Texas game, with receiver Cayden Lee cleared to keep going after a knee injury and edge rusher Langden Kitchen ruled out for the rest of the season. Eli Drinkwitz said Lees knee has no structural damage, which at least keeps one piece of the offense intact as the Tigers move deeper into the stretch run.
Kitchens loss lands harder because he was part of the starting edge group and now leaves Missouri to reshuffle a defense that already has to manage the week-to-week grind of the SEC. On the other side of this matchup, Georgia is carrying its own injury uncertainty with two players on the report, including one questionable and another already done for the year, so both teams are walking into this one with more health questions than they would like. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Faces A Brutal Test At No. 1 Georgia
Missouri is walking into one of the toughest spots on its schedule with a trip to face No. 1 Georgia, a team that has looked every bit the part of a national contender on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs have paired a productive offense with one of the stingiest defenses in college football, and they also bring a long history of success in this series into Saturdays matchup.
Georgias edge has shown up in the details, from its turnover margin to the way it has limited opponents defensively, even while working through some injuries. Gunner Stockton has helped steady the offense, and linebacker Chris Cole gives the Bulldogs another impact presence on defense, leaving Missouri with a major challenge and plenty to solve if it wants to keep this one competitive. [Read more 🡒]
Missouris Unbeaten Start Faces Its First Real Home Test
Missouris women have opened the regular season 3-0, and the early returns have given Kellie Harper plenty to like. The Tigers are averaging 90.0 points while allowing 65.7, and Harper has pointed to cleaner offensive execution and better ball movement since the close game against Howard as signs the group is settling in.
Now comes the first real chance to see how that start holds up at home. UT Martin and Lindenwood are next on the schedule, and both bring enough recent form and stylistic quirks to make these games more than routine tuneups, especially for a Missouri team trying to keep building rhythm while protecting its unbeaten record. [Read more 🡒]