ATHENS — Georgia has been the No. 1 ranked team in every Coaches Poll so far this season.
That is still true as we enter Week 11. The Bulldogs held on to the top spot after beating Missouri 30-21. The Tigers are the best team Georgia has played this season and it showed on Saturday.
The game was not in hand until Nazir Stackhouse intercepted a Brady Cook pass in the fourth quarter. Peyton Woodring then knocked home a 48-yard field goal to give Georgia a two-score lead and thus the final margin of victory.
“Tight games are what you do in the SEC,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “The margin of victory, it’s hard to win. Kearis (Jackson) and Broderick (Jones) just came up to me and said, ‘Coach, it’s hard to win. Make sure these guys enjoy it,’ because they realize how hard it is across the NFL. It’s hard. You’re going to get every team’s best shot. I thought our guys played a really good football team tonight, and we practiced and prepared for it. I was proud of the way they played. The locker room is great. They’ve been in these kind of battles.”
The top five of the poll remained unchanged, as No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Florida State and No. 5 Washington all won on Saturday.
Georgia will have another tough game this coming Saturday when it welcomes No. 10 Ole Miss to Sanford Stadium. The Rebels are 8-1 on the season and coming off a 38-35 win over Texas A&M.
Ole Miss is very much in contention to win the SEC West. Smart knows his team will get Lane Kiffin’s best shot on Saturday.
“Got a great team. I’ll get to work on them tomorrow,” Smart said. “Lot of respect for what Lane’s done and built there. He’s a tremendous offensive mind. He’s gone out and they’re playing good defense now too. It’ll be a hell of a matchup because they’ve got a really good football team.”
College GameDay will be on hand to preview the game. Georgia can clinch the SEC East next Saturday with a win or a Tennessee loss. The Bulldogs have now won 26 consecutive games dating back to 2021 and have not lost a home game since 2019.
Georgia is ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings, which will next be released on Tuesday night.
