2026 Missouri Football Opponent DEEP DIVE: Georgia Bulldogs
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Welcome back to Rock M Nation’s annual opponent preview series of the upcoming season. Each week we will break down one opponent from the schedule in chronological order. Given that rosters are ever fluid – and this is done by a hobbyist rather than a pro – there could be some errors in history and current roster makeup. All mistakes are done on purpose and with ill intent because Nate Edwards doesn’t like you or your team.
Catch up on previous 2026 opponent previews!
You all know Georgia. The team that Mark Richt had as perennial title contenders but never got over the hump, replaced by Kirby Smart who finally got them over the hump twice. Yawn. Boring.
What I do find interesting, however, is their general attitude to the modern era of college football, specifically the added features of the transfer portal, NIL, and the Playoff.
See, back in the day, teams like Georgia and Alabama could throw a ton of money at recruits under the table, sign every 4 and 5-star in a class, and then those players were stuck at those schools for their entire career (unless they went down to JUCO for a year). That means Smart and Saban and whoever was the Ohio State coach at the time could hoard all the great players and simply move the next mega talented guy in to replace whatever dude didn’t pan out or left early for the NFL.
They were battleship-class rosters with zero flaws and head and shoulders above most of the teams they played. And, to win a national title, you just had to be one of the two highest ranked teams (BCS era) or one of the four best teams (early Playoff era). And it was boring.
But now? Well, everyone is playing players, even stingy Big Ten schools who love “books” and “sportsmanship”! And if you recruit a guy on campus with lies then, well, he’ll be gone the next year. And now you only have to be one of the top 11* teams in the country to get an invite to the Playoff.
*technically 12 but if Notre Dame is ranked in the Top 12 they automatically get added to the Playoff. LAME.
Essentially, we’re closer to more teams playing by the same rules, players have more power, and little tyrant king coach can’t just keep all the talent in the world to make repeat runs at a natty.
It’s harder now.
And what do those little tyrant king coaches say? Well, Nick Saban retired because of the changes and now goes crying on camera on Capitol Hill and ESPN’s Gameday every Saturday. And while Kirby Smart is still working, he has shown no favor to how the sport has changed, and the Georgia fanbase is one of the most vocal about the Playoff killing the sport and how things were better when it was easier for them.
Be wary of someone who misses the time when everything was easier for them. That’s a good rule life in general, in addition to Playoff discussions.
Anyway. Enough of that. Here’s what Georgia did last year:
Georgia is still one of the best teams in the country but, as you can see in my SP+ line graphs, the level of elite has been lowered while the level of great and mid-tier has risen, so the talent gap has shrunk. You can see it on Saturday’s in the fall as well: more teams have better players and the classic blue blood programs are getting challenged at a higher degree than we’ve seen previously. Last year, Georgia was very lucky to beat Tennessee and Georgia Tech, very unlucky to lose to Alabama, and then played like total crap yet lost lose to Ole Miss in the Playoff.
Over five years, from 2020-2024, Georgia played in 12 games decided by 8 points or less and went 10-2 in those matchups (with four of those games happening in the ’24 season); last year, Georgia played in 6 games decided by 8 points or less and went 4-2 in those matchups.
One season. Half the one-score games of the past five years. Two losses in said games.
Georgia’s advantage is shrinking and they’re very mad about it.
Coaching Staff
Kirby Smart – 11th Year – 117-21 (69-12)
For whatever reason I find it difficult to write about teams that are consistently elite. Probably because I find that boring. That goes double for most of the coaches who helm those consistently elite teams.
Kirby Smart doesn’t seem to be enjoying the PPN era (portal, Playoff, NIL) as I outlined above, but, dammit, he’s still winning a bunch of games. And he’s finally opening embraced the transfer portal majesty after taking 2.5 years to even start considering its effectiveness. He’s slow to adapt to modernity – much like his former boss Nick Saban – but is still coaching during this era and hasn’t decided to surprise retire and become a talking head that constantly complains about the sport. So he’s got that going for him.
Assistant Staff
Georgia experienced multiple coaching losses on the defensive side of the ball but only brought in one new guy – Larry Knight – as a replacement. Everyone else has been in their current role for at least a year, and most of these guys have more years than that in experience with Kirby Smart. Continuity is important!
Roster Movement
Georgia, surprisingly, didn’t lose much in this portal cycle. Their 15 losses are one of the reasons why their returning production is so high and, therefore, their chances to nab another national title are high as well.
Even more shocking than the low 15-number portal loss count is the NINE guys Georgia portalled in. Nine! In 2026!
Georgia Tech receiver Isiah Canion is the big steal on offense, as is edge rusher Amaris Williams on defense. Former Oklahoma corner Gentry Williams will also be an interesting piece to insert into the Kirby Smart/Glenn Schumann defensive back machine.
Yeah, that’s a 31-man recruiting class, all of whom will be college freshman. And only seven aren’t a blue chip prospect! Tight end Kaiden Prothro and receiver Craig Dandridge have a potential path to early playing time, as well as athlete Tyriq Green. Kirby Smart rarely plays freshmen on defense but based on spring observations and a few notes from Smart himself, it sounds like Green might be the exception to that rule.
Offense
Kirby Smart has a ton in common with Nick Saban, for obvious reasons. Both coached for blue bloods in the SEC. Both have won multiple conference and national titles. They were both defensive backs in their playing days and defensive coordinators by trade. They are both dogged recruiters, considered to be among the very best in the profession. And, for awhile, they both shared an equal disdain for offense, viewing as something that must be deployed on the field because the rules dictate as such.
However, while Smart has rarely shown a proclivity to let offensive football exist in any form of positive fashion, Saban reluctantly embraced the offensive revolution in football, hiring Lane Kiffin and overhauling his defense to pair with a points-positive form of offensive football.
Smart hasn’t really done that. The closest he got was allowing Todd Monken to get weird for a few years and, of course, those were the year that the Bulldogs won national championships.
Truly, Smart’s ideal offense is one that runs the ball, connects on a few plays, and doesn’t put his precious defense in a bind. And, buddy, if there is an offensive coordinator who shares that mentality it’s Georgia’s longtime OC, Mike Bobo.
Bobo sucks at his job but is constantly surrounded by the most talented players in the country so he looks somewhat decent. But Bobo is good at simultaneously running the ball too much AND not enough. His offenses consistently lack any explosive component and the pass game is structure to mimic the run game: quick, easy, short gains. Repeat ad nauseum.
Such was the case in 2025. Georgia’s overall offense ranked a healthy 14th thanks to the 25th-ranked success rate, 8th best scoring offense per opportunity, and solid 3rd-down execution.
But the ground game was surprisingly lax (40th) and the Dawgs ranked 124th out of 138 teams in explosiveness, including 113th on the ground and 127th through the air.
They were good if they were on schedule. If you knocked them off, though, they were cooked.
Interesting, then, that most of the pieces from last year’s group come back and are joined by only a few transfers. It’ll be interesting to see if another year allows the downfield playbook to open up or if Bobo will continue to be underwhelming with a talent advantage.
Quarterback
Kirby Smart has been Georgia’s head coach since 2016. Do you know how many quarterbacks that’s he’s coached have been drafted into the NFL?
The answer: two.
Do you know how many were drafted in the 1st round?
The answer: zero.
Do you know how many were drafted in the first three rounds?
The answer: zero.
Smart isn’t much for developing NFL-caliber quarterbacks, is the point, and he’s been recruiting and coaching these guys for over a decade.
I’m not sure if Gunner Stockton is going to break that streak, for what it’s worth.
Stockton’s completion rate was near 70%, which is tremendous, but his ANY/A of 7.6 belies the issue: he throws short passes and the receiver don’t go very far after the catch. His 10.8 yards per completion was one of the lowest in the country as was his 6.7 yards per drop back. If opponent got pressure on him it was pretty likely to end up a sack, and the threat of him running was noticeable but not substantially.
Again, who knows what happens with another year but even though Stockton was a clear improvement over Carson Beck, I’m not sure if his raw talent will be enough to elevate the quarterback play beyond “fine”.
Running Backs
Nate Frazier is tremendous. He ran for nearly 1,000 yards last year with 5.5 yards per attempt, a 50% success rate, and averaging nearly 4-yards per carry after contact.
The guys behind him though? Ehhhh.
It’s worth noting that ok-running-quarterback Gunner Stockton had more carries than any Georgia running back not named Nate Frazier. Brining in Dante Dowdell from Kentucky is a good call but, given the way Georgia recruits – especially at running back and o-line – the Dawgs should never be struggling with the 40th-best ground game in the country. That’s a bad look.
Receivers
If I had my way Isiah Canion would have to spend a year in jail for transferring to his previous school’s rival but I don’t make the rules so the former Georgia Tech receiver will be lacing it up with Georgia this year, free from consequence. London Humphreys and Lawson Luckie return for another go, which is good since the top four targets from last year are gone. Humphreys and Luckie were good security blankets but not much more; Canion will be looked to elevate the lagging passing game that struggled mightily in the explosive department.
Offensive Line
Former Alabama A&M tackle TyQuez Richardson was an outright stud last year and should be equally so this year. But, just in case he isn’t, Dontrell Glover is back as well, and has proven to be one of the more consistent and talented blockers in the league. Despite his dad being bad at his job. young Drew Bobo is a solid center, boasting one of the lowest blown-block rates in the country. And, of course, a smattering of the most talented high school offensive linemen litter the Georgia two-deep.
Defense
Look, I’m not trying to be overdramatic here, but Kirby Smart and Glenn Schumann’s Georgia defenses have slipped a little bit.
I said a little, not a lot.
Like “1st or 2nd in the country” to “9th in 2024 and 8th in 2025”.
Like I said, a little bit. But that still counts!
They are still excellent, they just have more holes than you’d expect. 23rd against the run is great, but they used to be Top 10. 55th against the pass is a noticeable slip, but the most damning measure is ranking 73rd in points allowed per scoring opportunity. Kirby Smart of 6 years ago would never allow that sort of thing to happen? But now opponents hit the 40-yard line and reliably walk away with more than 4 points on average. That’s a very un-Georgia thing to be occuring.
They still recruit extremely well on this side of the ball, and the impact addition of Ja’Marley Riddle and Khalil Barnes were excellent signings. But Smart grew up in Tuscaloosa and Athens with a roster of the 10 best defensive linemen to ever walk the earth routinely littering his two-deep, and now that number is at half, and WOULDN’T YOU KNOW IT Georgia is now leakier than it used to be. I’m not crying tears for Georgia’s defense but, like I said, it’s noticeable.
So what does it all mean?
Georgia will be favored to win the SEC, much like Texas and A&M as well. Their path features Oklahoma at home, Alabama on the road, plus a Florida under (perceived) competent management and Ole Miss on the road as well. All SEC schedules are tough but this one isn’t terrible, especially considering how well Georgia tends to be.
Missouri will be squaring off with their SEC bully in Athens this year in the middle of November. Georgia will most likely still have plenty to play for and, despite Athens being the one time Mizzou beat Georgia 13 years ago, it’s not an easy play to play and win since Smart showed up (56-5 at home. Yeesh!).
Anything can happen in college football, especially in our modern era, but Georgia remains a hegemon of the SEC, even if they’ve fallen off their perch slightly.
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