Georgia 41, Missouri 20: The Dawgs Cement Their Place as SEC East Favorites

Even if you bought into the talk that Georgia's schedule gave it an edge over its most likely competitors in the SEC East -- all of whom have to face either Alabama or LSU -- the one game that had a chance to instantly equalize that was the Bulldogs' trip to Missouri. The Tigers were certain to be fired up for their SEC debut, Georgia would be in a new environment, and what was that about starters being suspended?

All of that looked true enough for the first half or so of Saturday's game. In fact, with 2:39 left in the third quarter, Missouri took a 20-17 lead and looked like it might just pull off the win. But Georgia just hit the gas after that, starting with a 72-yard touchdown drive and continuing when the Dawgs converted a short drive into a FG and then scored off of two turnovers to turn the game into a rout.

That doesn't mean that Georgia can just coast from here to the SEC East title. Even if the opponent was East Carolina, South Carolina looked much better on offense today than it did against Vanderbilt. And a much improved Tennessee is still looming out there, with its SEC opener against Florida set for next week.

But there was a chance tonight for Georgia to lose and allow the SEC East to become a wide-open race. They didn't. In fact, on Saturday, the Dawgs looked the part of the division frontrunner that they are.