It wasn’t a vintage Kirby Smart performance, but it was enough.

Georgia held off a pesky Mizzou team with a 30-21 victory to improve to 9-0, and all but lock up the SEC East. No, that’s not etched in stone just yet because the Dawgs still have matchups against Ole Miss and Tennessee to close SEC play, but either 1 more Georgia win or 1 more Tennessee loss will do it.

Here are 3 takeaways from Saturday’s showdown in Athens:

1. Georgia wasn’t seeking style points on Saturday

Smart admitted that this team just isn’t as dominant as the previous 2 who won national titles. We got a reminder of that when Mizzou drove down the field and took a second-half lead (more on that rarity in a second).

But UGA again did the little things. Oscar Delp ran a beautiful route in the end zone to make it a 2-score game. Naz Stackhouse drifted into coverage to haul in an all-important interception late. Even Peyton Woodring’s 49-yard field goal that made it a 9-point game in the 4th quarter was incredibly important.

Saturday wasn’t about margin of victory. It was about taking care of a team that showed up ready to roll.

Speaking of Mizzou …

2. Mizzou is no fraud

If your takeaway from Saturday was that the Tigers were fraudulent, well, I’ll just say that’s a lazy take. Georgia hasn’t lost at home in the 2020s, and Mizzou just played a 60-minute game against the 2-time defending champs for the second consecutive year.

The Tigers ran the ball effectively with Cody Schrader, they held Carson Beck in check and they did something that we’ve only seen 3 other times in SEC play since UGA began its run in 2021. That is, get a second-half lead on the Dawgs.

No, it wasn’t a day in which Luther Burden III went off for 150 yards in a road upset, though he did haul in the game’s first score on a deep ball by Brady Cook. But it was still a day in which Mizzou should that it’s every bit as good as that No. 12 ranking.

The Tigers still have New Year’s 6 Bowl potential in 2023.

3. Georgia now gets another monumental showdown against Ole Miss

The Dawgs aren’t out of the woods, by any stretch. Lane Kiffin will come to town next weekend with an Ole Miss team that still has SEC West and College Football Playoff hopes alive. Shutting down Quinshon Judkins will be no walk in the park, especially if Jumon Dumas-Johnson, who left Saturday’s game in a sling, is still out.

But at 9-0, Georgia is now halfway through this daunting 4-game stretch. Picking up a win against No. 12 Mizzou will certainly help that Playoff résumé.

Beating consecutive top-15 teams would take it to another level.