ATHENS - Georgia football coach Kirby Smart will be facing a familiar foe this weekend when the Missouri Tigers come to town.

The Tigers are led by head coach Eli Drinkwitz who has been leading the Missouri program since 2020. Smart has known Drinkwitz for a long time now and considered the Tiger's head coach a friend during his weekly press conference on Monday.

"I have a lot of respect for Eli [Drinkwitz]," Smart told reporters. "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."

Drinkwitz has Missouri at 6-3 and ranked No. 22 in the latest CFP rankings after coming off a tough home loss to the texas Longhorns. The Tigers also lost earlier this season to Mississippi State and Ole Miss. They have wins over Florida, Texas A&M and Arkansas.

"I think this is one of his better teams," Smart added. "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."

As for Drinkwitz, he praised Smart and the Bulldog program over and over again during his press conference this week.

"When we talk about Georgia there's zero doubt that they're the benchmark for the league right now," Drinkwitz said. "The way that Coach Smart runs his program, the philosophical identity that he has in offense, defense, and special teams, the way his team plays consistently down in and down out, it's what everybody in our conference is chasing, and he does it the right way, and always has done it the right way. He's done a great job and his program is the benchmark for the SEC. Tough, physical identity in all three phases."

Drinkwitz also spoke highly of Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton who is coming off a five-touchdown performance against Ole Miss over the weekend.

"I think their quarterback is playing at an outstanding level and not nearly enough talk about him being a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. When you look at how they've won championships in the past, it all starts at that position. He is consistent as a thrower. He is sharp as a playmaker. Utilizes his legs as an extra offensive weapon. He does not make mistakes in the pass game. Gets them right in the run game checks. I think he is a really, really good player."

The last time these two played was during the 2023 season where the Bulldogs won 30-21 in Sanford Stadium. Georgia leads the all-time series 12-1.