History beckons as Texas faces Georgia again. Relive their thrilling past clashes, from stunning comebacks to strategic battles, as the Longhorns seek redemption.
The No. 11 Texas Longhorns (7-2) and No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (7-2) are set to suit up for a massive matchup on Saturday night. The game takes the primetime slot over the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide's matchup against the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners in Tuscaloosa.
The Sooners and Crimson Tide have an equally important matchup in the College Football Playoff race, but the Longhorns and Bulldogs have more prestigious history since Texas and Oklahoma's inaugural season in the SEC.
Texas and Georgia are the biggest matchup in the conference since the Longhorns joined the league. Saturday will be the third time in just over a calendar year that the two teams have played, with both of last season's games being Top 5 matchups. Despite Texas' No. 11 ranking in the playoff poll, it will be a third AP Top 10 matchup between the teams in the last two seasons.
Georgia stunned Texas in the first matchup. While the Longhorns defense held up their end of the bargain forcing three interceptions of Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, the offense failed to generate offense.
Texas' inept showing forced head coach Steve Sarkisian to bench starting quarterback Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning in the first half. Manning did marginally better, but not enough to make a difference before going back to Ewers.
During the shocking first half of play, ESPN cut to the Texas bench and caught a memorable shot of Ewers and Manning staring into space. The image made waves on social media.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers would right the ship in the second half leading Texas from 23-0 down to an eight-point game late in the second half. Ultimately, the Longhorns simply dug to big a hole to come back.
The 2024 matchup was instructive in a handful of ways, but one thing it illustrated is that Georgia's speed is capable of neutralizing the Texas screen game. The Bulldogs snuffed out most if not all of Texas' screen attempts, pursuing with intention and open field tackling with ease.
Georgia opened up its blitz playbook in the first game against Texas, too. It made an elite pass blocking offensive line look lost in the early going before settling into the game.
Texas' biggest disappointment came in the run game where the Georgia defense stifled all efforts on the ground. The Longhorns rushed for 29 yards on 23 carries.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and company have every reason to be confident out of the bye week. The Longhorns are on a four-game winning streak with two Top 10 wins in that span. Still last season's matchups indicate it will be an uphill climb defeating Georgia on Saturday. Texas can win, but it will take its A-game to leave Athens victorious.