The Georgia Bulldogs are preparing to host the Missouri Tigers as Georgia looks to start a new home winning streak after losing their last home game to the Auburn Tigers. Georgia is favored by over two touchdowns against Missouri and is looking to get one step closer to advancing to the final SEC championship game.

"We are moving to Missouri," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at his weekly press conference. "I have a lot of respect for Eli (Drinkwitz). He is one of my close friends. I think he is one of the best coaches in the country. He is very charismatic. He cares about the game. He cares about the SEC. He cares about these players. He wants the game to be better, and he has been very vocal on a lot of SEC and national issues that I've been involved in with him. He does a lot for the game. He does a tremendous job as a coach.

"I think this is one of his better teams. He has got an elite quarterback, and he's got good talent surrounding him. He is playing in a tough, brutal league just like we all are, and he has been in some really tight ball games. He has had some close calls, and they've got a tremendous team. They're playing really well on defense and offense. It will be a great challenge for us. I'm glad we get to come home."

Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) enters the Missouri game as one of the hottest teams in the country. The Bulldogs earned a 27-8 win over Florida and a 42-7 win over Ole Miss in the two games after Georgia's bye week. Missouri (6-3, 3-3 SEC) is coming off a tough home loss to the Texas Longhorns and still has an outside shot to make the College Football Playoff, but the Tigers would have to win out.

On Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons

"His accuracy, his arm strength, and his anticipation of throws," Smart said. "I am a big baseball fan, and he is an elite baseball player and pitcher. His throws are different. They get there really fast. He can whip it out. He can throw it anywhere.

"I think we all saw the throw he made a couple of weeks ago over the middle. His touch, his timing. He can do it all. He is a really good athlete, so he is in a good system with a tremendous arm with really good wideouts around him. They have done a great job in the run game. They have always done a great job in the run game. I have a lot of respect for him. He came in against us (in 2024) and played with a lot of confidence there at Ole Miss."

On Missouri's rushing attack

"They've got a unique run game," Smart said. "They've got some run game that other teams in the conference don't utilize and don't use as much. They've always done that. Drink (Eli Drinkwitz) has always done that. Whoever his offensive coordinator has been, he's been very involved in that part of the offense.

"They have a commitment to the run, which is why they run the ball well... He's committed to being stubborn with it. It doesn't allow you to rush the passer first. It helps your passing game which they have a really good passing game. Their commitment to the run game and downhill runs helps them be who they are. They've done a tremendous job of it. They've got really good backs. They've got a great system."

Missouri running back Jamal Roberts has 209 carries, which is the most in the country (tied). The Tigers are committed to establishing the run and have All-SEC star Ahmad Hardy back.

On Missouri's run-stopping ability

"Physical on the front," Smart said. "They have one of the most disruptive fronts in the league. They've got interior D-linemen with six and seven sacks. They've got edge guys with six and seven sacks. They've got speed, size.

"They play really hard. They know who they are. They have an identity. Just a lot of respect for how they play, and that's how you stop a run because you have a mindset. They've got one. They do a really good job."

On star Missouri receiver Cayden Lee

"I love Cayden Lee," Smart said. "He's a kid that I feel like I've seen for so long. He trained with (former Georgia receiver Terrence Edwards) and getting to see him kind of grow through those years with him. The guy loves football, and he played so well even the last couple years while at Ole Miss.

"He gave us problems, and then he's had an outstanding year this year. Just incredible. The catches he's made, the tough catches, the meaningful catches, the third down catches. They utilize him really well. They have a really good system to utilize his skill set. Just so impressed with a kid that I watched grow up coming to our camps, and he's just done a tremendous job. I have so much respect for his competitive character and his family. I spoke to him after the Ole Miss game last year. To see what he's done this year, he's been really incredible."

On Missouri's front-seven creating turnovers

"They've been really elite," Smart said. "They do a great job. They're one of the few teams in the league ahead of us at taking the ball away, and they've also been really good at protecting the ball, as well. They have been elite at that.

"To say it's just the front-four, I wouldn't say that. It's everybody involved. The front-four is where you get your sack fumbles, but those backhand guys are primarily the tacklers and the second-level guys and the punch-out guys."