Georgia, the No. 1, got an unexpected scare on Saturday before working her way back for a 26-22 win in Missouri. The Bulldogs came out as favorites with four touchdowns but were 13-0 down in the second quarter after a slow offensive start marred by two fumbles. The Dawgs didn’t find the end zone until 9:39 remained and only took the lead with 4:03 to go.
Still, Georgia improved to 5-0 behind quarterback Stetson Bennett IV’s resilience and kicker Jack Podlesny’s accuracy.
The SEC East showdown turned into a field-goal-kicking contest in the second and third quarters as both red-zone defenses repeatedly stiffened. Podlesny and Missouri’s Harrison Mevis each went 4-4 on field goal tries in the game.
With the pressure mounting from the Dawgs late in the game, the Tigers finally broke in the fourth quarter when Georgia topped two long-scoring drives with 1-yard touchdown runs. It was UGA’s first comeback from a double-digit halftime deficit since the 2018 Rose Bowl, which ended in double overtime.
Bennett launched 10 of 25 through the air but hit 14 of his next 19 passes. He finished the race with 312 yards as running backs Kenny McIntosh, Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards did lots of heavy lifting and helped get the Dawgs on the ground.
Georgia beat Mizzou 299-100 in the second half with a 23-6 goal run to end the game, starting with the last game of the first half.
Missouri fell to 0-17 all-time against No. 1 opponents. This was only the third game of its kind the Tigers lost in single digits. Georgia improved to an all-time 15-1 as the No. 1 team against an unranked opponent.
CBS Sports will update this story with insight and analysis from Georgia, Missouri.