No. 1 Georgia sat atop the College Football Playoff Rankings on Tuesday when the initial top 25 was announced, and the Bulldogs will look to stay on track for the playoff as they play host to Missouri on Saturday afternoon in an SEC East clash. Georgia is fresh off embarrassing rival Florida 34-7 last week in Jacksonville, Florida, where quarterback Stetson Bennett IV had his worst game with a pair of picks but Zamir White rushed for 105 yards. Florida had just 124 yards at the half when it went down 24-0. 

Missouri, meanwhile, needed a late 73-yard run by running back Tyler Badie to seal a 37-28 win over Vanderbilt and eke back to .500. However, Mizzou’s defense ranks among the worst in the country. The Tigers allow more than 40 points per game against Power Five opponents. 

Georgia has won seven straight matchups against the Tigers dating back 2014. Mizzou’s only win over UGA came in 2013, when the Tigers earned a trip to the SEC Championship Game. The Bulldogs decimated Missouri 49-14 in 2020 behind 299 yards and 3 touchdowns from quarterback JT Daniels. 

Historic defense: There’s no fact or number that can properly contextualize how good the Georgia defense has been as the Bulldogs lead the nation with 3.76 yards per play allowed. Their total defense ranks just behind Wisconsin despite defending nearly 100 more plays in the same number of games. Georgia has allowed just five touchdowns, while the next best team has allowed 11. UGA’s defense allows 6.6 points per game compared to 14.3 for the next-best team. Six of eight opponents have been held to 10 points or fewer. Simply put, this is an all-time great unit. Enjoy every second of it. 

Bad(ie) man: In a season that has largely been off the rails, Missouri running back Tyler Badie deserves praise. Badie ranks No. 4 nationally with 989 rushing yards after exploding for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win over Vanderbilt. The game was Badie’s third with more than 200 yards — all wins. In fact, Badie averages 186.8 yards per game and 9.1 yards per carry in victories. Those numbers drop to 3.2 yards per carry and 60.5 yards per game in losses. Mizzou’s offense is totally dependent on Badie’s individual brilliance, but unfortunately, that probably doesn’t bode well against the greatest defense of our time, which allows 2.5 yards per carry and 75.6 yards rushing per game. 

Quarterback questions: Georgia’s opening-day starter JT Daniels has not played in more than a month, but backup Stetson Bennett IV has done his part. Bennett is completing 66.3% of his passes for 1,157 yards, 12 touchdowns and 11.5 yards per attempt. Daniels gives the Bulldogs a dimension in the passing game that Bennett can’t match, but UGA coach Kirby Smart has been coy about giving any indication of whether Daniels will play. Missouri, similarly, could be without starting quarterback Connor Bazelak due to injury, opening the door for either Tyler Macon or Brady Cook to start. 

How to watch Georgia vs. Missouri live

Date: Saturday, Nov. 6 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Sanford Stadium — Athens, Georgia
TV: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)

Georgia vs. Missouri prediction, picks

Spoiler alert: Georgia is going to win the football game. The only question is whether the Bulldogs can cover such a massive line, especially without assurances that Daniels will be the starting quarterback. Still, Georgia has beaten much, much, much better opponents by similar scores — and Mizzou has the twin issues of being terrible on defense and perhaps being without its starting quarterback. Give me the Dawgs. Prediction: Georgia (-38)

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