The Georgia Bulldogs take on the Missouri Tigers. Check out our college football odds series for our Georgia Missouri prediction and pick.

The Georgia Bulldogs delivered a very uncharacteristic performance one week ago. In their 2021 national championship run and in the first three weeks of the 2022 season, the Dawgs didn't allow many points. More than that, however, they didn't give up lots of touchdowns in garbage time, either. Backups would proudly defend their half of the field. Georgia was stingy for 60 whole minutes in terms of giving up touchdowns, big plays, anything which made an opponent feel a little better at the end of a decisive loss to Kirby Smart's team. This is part of the championship culture Georgia has cultivated under Smart. This is the winning attitude which has flowed into the program and become a way of life for every Georgia player. This is why Saturday's game against Kent State was so unusual. Georgia allowed 22 points to a Mid-American Conference team. This is the same Georgia defense which did not allow a touchdown to Oregon, shut out Samford, and allowed a very late touchdown to South Carolina when leading by more than 40 points. Where did this lackluster defensive performance come from? Georgia won, 39-22, and the Dawgs were never in acute danger of losing, but given the standards this program has set over the past 13 months, the game almost felt like a loss. Kirby Smart definitely doesn't view that kind of performance as acceptable. It will be fascinating to see how Georgia performs one week after that drifting, sleepy showing against Kent State.

Missouri football has suffered some brutal and improbable losses over the years. You might remember the Fifth Down game against Colorado in 1990, a game which enabled Colorado to share the national championship with Georgia Tech that season. You might also remember the Flea Kicker, Matt Davison's unfathomable catch to help Nebraska keep its 1997 national title hopes alive with a win over the shellshocked Tigers in Columbia. In many ways, Missouri's history of gut-punch losses might have added the worst loss of them all a week ago. Missouri's game against Auburn wasn't as nationally significant as the 1990 Colorado game or the 1997 Nebraska game, but strictly in terms of finding an improbable way to lose a game, this might have topped all other painful Mizzou defeats.

The reasoning is simple: Missouri booted this game away not once, but three times.

First, Missouri missed a chip-shot 25-yard field goal at the end of regulation. That was bad enough. Then, a Missouri penalty wiped away an interception of Auburn in overtime. Auburn scored a field goal instead of going scoreless, which would have dramatically incrased Mizzou's odds of winning. Third, Missouri was still about to score a touchdown, but the Tiger ball-carrier reached the ball toward the goal line for no good reason (it was not third or fourth down) and had the ball stripped at the 1-yard line. Auburn recovered in the end zone for a game-ending touchback. Three king-size mistakes snatched defeat from victory. The Mizzou football experience doesn't get any worse than that.

Here are the Georgia-Missouri NCAA Football Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: Georgia-Missouri Odds

Georgia Bulldogs: -28.5 (-112)

Missouri Tigers: +28.5 (-108)

Over: 54.5 (-106)

Under: 54.5 (-114)

Why Georgia Could Cover the Spread

The Dawgs are really mad after their bad game against Kent State. Expect this team to roar out of the gates and unleash unholy fury on a bad Mizzou team.

Why Missouri Could Cover the Spread

If Georgia can give up 22 to Kent State, it can give up 17 to Missouri and fail to cover the spread. Mizzou will treat this game as its Super Bowl and will play better than its results have indicated.

Final Georgia-Missouri Prediction & Pick

Georgia will not view the Kent State game as acceptable. Missouri is terrible. Throw those two ingredients together, and Georgia is primed to win by 40 or more. This is one of the better plays you can make in college football Week 5.

Final Georgia-Missouri Prediction & Pick: Georgia -28.5