Nazir Stackhouse laughed that he’s going to enjoy last night’s interception against Missouri’s Brady Cook for a while.

Who can blame him?

Defensive linemen don’t receive many opportunities for picks. So when Stackhouse found the ball in his arms and nothing but green grass in front, his eyes lit up as big as saucers.

“It’s unreal. I was just making sure he didn’t pump-fake me, but he threw it right in my hands,” said Stackhouse, who said the pick was the first he’s ever had. “It’s a dream come true for a defensive lineman.”

Stackhouse returned the ball 44 yards before he was dragged down at the 5-yard line.

A chop block on the play by Smael Mondon pushed the Bulldogs back to the 30, eventually leading to a 48-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring.

“My legs got really heavy,” he said. “It’s exciting for the first couple of seconds, but when you’re on that stride, your body says I don’t think you’re going to get it, you might as well just tuck the ball.”

Stackhouse told reporters he hit 18 mph on the GPSA.

Head coach Kirby Smart said otherwise.

“He had a piano on his back," Smart said. "He couldn’t hit 18 mph if he was on a bike or a car."

Although the penalty would have negated a touchdown, Stackhouse said he did all he could to get the ball in.

“There was no one in front of me,” he said. “Even if there was, I was going to give him a little shimmy, and they’d a have been saying this guy has a little finesse on him. So much grass…”

Linebacker Juman Dumas-Johnson may be lost for a bit of time after breaking a bone in his arm in the second half.

“It’s a fracture or something in his forearm,” Smart said of Dumas-Johnson, who headed for the locker room immediately after the injury occurred.

With Dumas-Johnson out, freshman C.J. Allen, Smael Mondon, and Jalon Walker handled most of the reps the rest of the game.

…Kamari Lassiter left the game late in the fourth with back spasms, before walking off the field under his own power, urging the crowd to make more noise.

“I think he just wanted to get up and celebrate so everybody would cheer him,” Smart said.

...Wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint left with an injury, but it did not seem serious. Smart was unsure in his post-game press conference exactly what it was but expects the receiver will be fine.

…Linebacker Xavier Sorey was not at Saturday’s game due to personal reasons.

…Safety Dan Jackson dressed out after missing the past two games with a bursa sac.

…As expected, tight end Brock Bowers did not dress out, but he was not wearing a boot.

…Juniors Carson Beck, Ladd McConkey, and Smael Mondon, plus senior Nazir Stackhouse served as the game captains. Missouri won the toss and elected to defer the ball until the second half. Sedrick Van Pran made his team-leading 39th career start, while McConkey made his first start this year and 21st of his career.

Freshman Peyton Woodring has made some big kicks. None more important, however, than his career-high 48-yard field goal with 3:57 left to help Georgia secure Saturday’s win.

The kick came after converting field goals of 33 and 30 yards earlier in the game.

“I was happy that another Louisiana guy got an opportunity,” said New Orleans native Sedrick Van Pran. “I told him I was proud of him. Ultimately, we want to be able to capitalize with touchdowns in the red zone, but at the end of the day, we were happy that Peyton kind of put that one away for us.”

Woodring is now 17 of 20 on the season and leads the team with 94 points.

With Ole Miss’ win over Texas A&M, next week’s game between the Bulldogs (9-0) and Rebels (8-1) shapes up to be a top-10 matchup between Smart and old friend Lane Kiffin.

“They’re a great team. We’ll go to work on them tomorrow. I’ve got a lot of respect for what Lane has done,” Smart said. “He’s a tremendous offensive mind. They’ve gone out and they’re playing good defense now, too. It will be a hell of a matchup.”

ESPN’s College GameDay announced Saturday night it will be broadcasting from Athens.

There were tons of hugs on the field after the game between Bulldog wide receiver Dominic Lovett and his former teammates at Missouri after the game.

“It meant a lot to him. There were a ton of players hugging him after afterward,” Smart said. “He was a great teammate and competitor. It meant a lot to him, but it meant a lot to them, too. That can be emotional. We talked about two things that cause you to lose, discipline and loss of emotion. There’s also fatigue. You don’t let that set in, because you’ll lose discipline. He didn’t do that today, and I was really proud of him.”

Lovett made his presence known, catching four passes for 33 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown.

Smart offered no apologies for not going for more points with the ball at the 30 and 2:10 left in the first half.

“Absolutely not. We didn’t let them take advantage of it, either. If we had hurried up and punted to them, they would have had more time,” Smart said. “The goal is to get a first down and score. If you don’t do that, then the goal is don’t give them the ball.”

A pair of run plays netted just six yards, and after a third-down incompletion, Georgia punted the ball back to Missouri with 45 seconds left.

But like Georgia, the Tigers were in no mood to go for more points, either, ultimately punting the ball back to Georgia with seven seconds left.

“Was I disappointed we didn't convert? Yeah. But he (Eli Drinkwitz) didn’t call time out either, because he’s sitting there thinking if I call a timeout, I’m going to help them,” Smart said. “We kicked the ball to them, but they didn’t take advantage of it either.”

…Former Bulldog and current Jacksonville Jaguars star Travon Walker called out the Bulldogs.

…Tate Ratledge was wearing No. 77.

…Brock Vandagriff received an early rep when he briefly took over for Beck on a first-and-goal from the 7. The play was a run, with Vandagriff picking up a yard before Beck returned, throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Lovett two plays later for a 10-7 lead.

…With its 30-21 win, Georgia (9-0, 6-0 SEC) has extended its school record for consecutive victories to 26. The streak began during the 2021 season (Dec. 31) when the Bulldogs beat No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in a CFP semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. This streak ranks tied for the third longest in SEC history (Alabama won 26 in a row from 2015-16).

…Georgia extended its school record with its 25th consecutive regular season SEC victory dating to a 31-24 win over Miss. State on Nov. 21, 2020. This streak ranks second in SEC history. …The Bulldogs extended their school record for consecutive regular season wins to 36, which leads all of FBS. This streak began during the 2020 season with a 31-24 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 21.

…The Bulldogs are now 42-1 in their last 43 games.

…Georgia is now 43-4 at home in the Smart era, including 12-1 against ranked opponents.

…Georgia improved to 9-0 for the fourth time in the Kirby Smart era (now 90-15 overall), joining the 2017, 2021, and 2022 clubs. With the latest victory over UM, Georgia now holds a 12-1 edge in the series history.

…The Bulldogs finished with 385 yards of total offense on 65 plays in a 30-21 win over No. 12 Mizzou.

…Junior quarterback Carson Beck went 21-for-32 for 254 yards and two touchdowns. In the first half, Beck was 10-for-17 for 115 yards and one touchdown. Down 7-3, Beck directed a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in a season-long 7:07 to put the Bulldogs in front 10-7 with 13:38 left in the first half.

…Trailing 13-10 in the 3rd, Georgia went 65 yards on six plays in 3:26, capped by a 15-yard run by Kendall Milton, for a 17-13 edge. On their next possession, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 24-13, going 67 yards on 10 plays in 5:23. It was capped by a 5-yard pass from Beck to sophomore Oscar Delp, his third touchdown of the year.

…The Bulldogs finished 5-for-5 in the red zone with three touchdowns and two field goals.

…Junior wide receiver Ladd McConkey had a team-high 95 yards on seven catches.

…The Bulldogs had 131 rushing yards on 33 attempts for a 4.0 average. Senior Kendall Milton had 44 yards on nine carries and one touchdown, his fifth score of the year, while senior Daijun Edwards had a team-high 77 yards on 16 attempts.

…On the opening possession of the game, Georgia converted a fourth-and-5 from the Mizzou 49 as Beck hit RaRa Thomas for a 26-yard gain. Mizzou was flagged for offsides on the play, and that penalty was declined The drive ended with a 33-yard field goal and a 3-0 edge. The Bulldogs came in ranked fourth nationally in fourth down conversions (83 percent) and now are 6-for-7 (86 percent).

…Missouri posted 363 yards of total offense on 64 plays. The Tigers finished 5-for-13 on 3rd down and 1-for-1 on 4th down. …The Tigers scored a touchdown on its first drive, going 75 yards on nine plays in 4:32 to take a 7-3 lead, going 2-for-2 on 3rd down conversions. After that, the Tigers were forced to punt on their 2nd possession, and then tied the game with a field goal on their third possession (10-all with 4:14 left).

…Missouri became the third straight team to score a touchdown on its opening drive versus Georgia as Vanderbilt and Florida did it recently. USC also found the endzone on its opening drive earlier this season.

…Junior Javon Bullard got his first interception of the year to seal the win, the 11th by the team this year. Georgia is now plus-3 in turnover margin this year. Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook had thrown just three interceptions in 242 attempts this season until today.

Junior Smael Mondon, senior Tykee Smith, and Dumas-Johnson tied for the team-high tackles with seven stops each. The Bulldogs had three sacks, 1.5 by sophomore Jalon Walker, one by Smith, and 0.5 by senior Zion Logue.

…Sophomore punter Brett Thorson had three punts for a 43.3 average. Sophomore Jared Zirkel handled all the kickoffs.