Georgia vs. Missouri score, takeaways: Concerns arise as No. 1 Dawgs escape upset bid with late touchdowns

No. 1 Georgia received an unexpected scare Saturday before grinding its way back for a 26-22 win at Missouri. The Bulldogs entered as four-touchdown favorites but trailed 13-0 in the second quarter after a sluggish offensive start marked by two fumbles. The Dawgs didn’t find the end zone until there was 9:39 left and only assumed the lead with 4:03 remaining.

Nevertheless, Georgia improved to 5-0 behind the resiliency of quarterback Stetson Bennett IV and accuracy of kicker Jack Podlesny.

The SEC East showdown devolved into a field goal kicking contest during the second and third quarters as both defenses repeatedly stiffened in the red zone. Podlesny and Missouri’s Harrison Mevis each went 4 for 4 on field goal tries in the game.

With pressure from the Dawgs mounting late in the game, the Tigers finally broke in the fourth quarter as Georgia capped 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 started 10 of 25 through the air but hit 14 of his next 19 passes. He finished with 312 yards as running backs Kenny McIntosh, Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards did a lot of the heavy lifting helping move the Dawgs on the ground.

Georgia outgained Mizzou 299-100 in the second half with a 23-6 scoring run to end the game starting with the final play of the first half.

Missouri fell to 0-17 all-time against No. 1-ranked opponents. This was only the third such game that the Tigers lost by single digits. Georgia improved to 15-1 all-time as a No. 1-ranked team against an unranked opponent.

CBS Sports will update this story with takeaways and analysis from Georgia at Missouri.