No. 1 Georgia Defends Its SEC Lead Against Missouri and the League's Leading Rusher on Saturday in Athens

Georgia climbed back to the top of the College Football Playoff rankings this week. On Saturday afternoon in Athens, the Bulldogs find out whether they can stay there against a Missouri team that runs the ball as well as anyone in the Southeastern Conference and has little left to lose.

No. 1 Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) hosts No. 22 Missouri (6-3, 3-3 SEC) at 3:30 p.m. Eastern at Sanford Stadium, with the game on ABC ^[1][3]. Georgia leads the SEC standings and can take another step toward a sixth straight trip to the conference championship game ^[1][2]. Missouri, unranked in the two major polls but 22nd in the committee's rankings, is trying to keep its season from slipping away ^[1][4].

How Georgia Got Back to No. 1

The selection committee moved Georgia up from No. 2 to No. 1 on Tuesday night, while Miami fell from first to seventh ^[4]. NCAA.com pointed to the Bulldogs' dominant win over Ole Miss and the strength of their schedule as reasons they took the top spot ^[4].

Georgia won 20-17 at Alabama, now ranked third, and last Saturday went to Oxford and beat Ole Miss 42-7 ^[1][2][4]. Its only loss came on Oct. 17, a 27-24 defeat to unranked Auburn in which the Bulldogs turned the ball over four times ^[1].

Quarterback Gunner Stockton leads the SEC with 20 touchdown passes ^[2]. Against Ole Miss he completed 9 of 15 passes for 186 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score, his most efficient passing day in an SEC start, according to the Athens Banner-Herald ^[1]. Nate Frazier ran for 107 yards on a season-high 16 carries as Georgia piled up 295 rushing yards ^[1].

Missouri's Formula: Run It and Rush the Passer

Jamal Roberts leads the SEC with 1,071 rushing yards ^[2] and is tied for the national lead with 23.2 carries per game ^[1]. He has been slowed lately, though: Ole Miss held him to 39 yards three weeks ago, and Texas held him to 66 last week ^[1]. That 34-20 loss to Texas was tied until 5:03 remained ^[1][2].

Quarterback Austin Simmons has thrown for 2,204 yards with 18 touchdowns and only two interceptions ^[2]. Receiver Cayden Lee, the league's leading receiver with 835 yards, left the Texas game with a knee injury, but Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said there was no structural damage and he expects Lee to play ^[2].

The Tigers' defensive front is the kind that worries a coach. Daeden Hopkins has seven sacks and Donta Simpson has six, both among the SEC's top five, and Missouri ranks 13th in the country against the run at 95.8 yards allowed per game ^[1]. Missouri is also plus-9 in turnover margin, eighth in the nation, but it has struggled to finish drives, scoring touchdowns on just 9 of 18 trips inside the 20 ^[1].

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Georgia's defense ranks sixth nationally against the run and held Florida to eight points and Ole Miss to seven ^[1].

On the injury report, Georgia lists outside linebacker Amaris Williams out with a knee injury and defensive tackle Josh Horton questionable, while Missouri will be without defensive end Langden Kitchen, running back Malae Fonoti, offensive lineman Josh Atkins and tight end Gavin Hoffman ^[1]. Kirby Smart said running back Chauncey Bowens is not at full strength and described his receivers as banged up across the board ^[3].

Friends on the Sidelines, and a Streak on the Line

Smart called Drinkwitz a close friend at his Monday news conference and said Missouri's coach "is one of the best coaches in the country" ^[3].

Drinkwitz returned the compliment. "There's zero doubt that they're the benchmark for the league right now," he said of Georgia ^[2].

History is not on Missouri's side. The Tigers have not beaten Georgia since 2013, have lost 10 straight in the series, and the teams have not met in two years ^[2].

The stakes reach well past Saturday. Missouri plays No. 11 Kentucky next, after facing a ranked opponent five times in seven games ^[2]. NCAA.com noted that no three-loss team has earned an at-large playoff bid in the 12-team era, which puts the 6-3 Tigers in must-win territory ^[4]. For Georgia, the top four teams in the final rankings earn first-round byes ^[4], and a win keeps the Bulldogs on course for Atlanta. The radio station 107.5 The Game reported that this December's SEC title game is set to be the last before the playoff expands to 24 teams in 2027, a change Drinkwitz has questioned; Smart called the title game a great, historic event ^[2].

Wade's Take

This is the kind of November afternoon that separates good teams from champions. Georgia learned in October against Auburn that one sloppy day can cost a season its margin for error. Missouri brings the formula that gives favorites fits: a back who carries it more than 20 times a game, a pass rush that can wreck a drive, and a quarterback who rarely gives the ball away.

If Missouri keeps Stockton from finding a rhythm and wins the turnover battle, this could be close late. If Georgia contains Roberts the way Ole Miss and Texas did, the Bulldogs keep marching toward Atlanta. Either way, two coaches who respect each other meet with everything on the line, and that is college football at its best.