Georgia Bulldogs at Missouri Tigers Betting Preview
Believe it or not, the #1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs looked human last week, beating Kent State ‘just’ 39-22 at home but as -44.5 favorites. The Golden Flashes had more points in the first half (13) than UGA’s first three opponents combined (10) and forced Georgia’s first three turnovers of the season.
It’s been a much different week for Missouri than it could have been. First Tigers kicker Harrison Mevis missed a 26-yarder at the end of regulation that would have beat Auburn, and then RB Nathaniel Peat fumbled the ball at the one-yard line in OT that also would have been the game winner as Auburn escaped with a 17-14 home win. UGA is a -28.5 favorite for Saturday’s meeting.
Georgia Ready to Go On a Run
The Bulldogs looked a little off in their final non-conference tune-up, leading Kent State just 19-13 late in the second quarter and then only up 10 in the fourth before a late TD gave Georgia the 39-22 lead. That’s not the dominating performance we’ve been used to seeing, as UGA had 49-3 (Oregon), 33-0 (Samford), and 48-7 (South Carolina) wins to start the season.
The good news for Georgia is that they’ve been able to have their way with Missouri over the years, winning eight straight in the series. UGA has won the last two meetings by a combined 72 points and is 5-0 in Columbia.
The Missouri defense did a solid job of holding the Auburn offense to 17 points last week, but they were also playing without starting QB T.J. Finley and started a freshman. Georgia QB Stetson Bennett IV comes into Saturday’s game completing 74.2% of his passes, although he did throw his first interception of the season last week against Kent State.
Missouri Crushed After Last Week
The first thing you want to do after losing a heartbreaker like Missouri did last week is get back on the field, but #1 Georgia isn’t the best team to get right against. The Tigers couldn’t get a whole lot going last year in Athens, losing 43-6 as Bennett was 12/19 for 255 yards and 2 TDs.
Missouri QB Brady Cook gets another shot at the Georgia defense after going 14/19 for just 78 yards in last year’s meeting. Cook hit 14 of 24 passes last week against Auburn, but he has just four TDs to four INTs on the season as Missouri has the #96 pass offense in the country.
Bulldogs at Tigers Pick and Prediction
Georgia has won eight straight in the series and have dominated by a 36-point average margin of victory in the last two meetings. The Bulldogs looked gettable last week against Kent State, and it seems like Missouri has the defense to keep this one relatively low scoring by Georgia’s standards anyways.
The problem for the Tigers is that their offense is very mediocre, while the Georgia defense is dominant. We’re looking at a 31-6 type game, so the +28.5 points is just a bit too high.
Pick: Missouri +28.5
