Georgia looks every bit like a College Football Playoff lock as the season heads into its final stretch.
The Bulldogs bullied No. 10 Texas in Athens, rolling to a resounding 35-10 win. Not a bad way to close out your conference slate — especially with Charlotte and Georgia Tech left — as Georgia will finish the regular season at 7–1 in SEC play.
Kirby Smart’s team pushed Texas around from the start, scoring touchdowns on its first two drives. The Longhorns adjusted and briefly made things interesting — Georgia led 14-10 entering the fourth quarter — but that’s when the Bulldogs’ experience, physicality, discipline and coaching took over. Long, methodical drives buried Texas, which countered with sloppy, undisciplined play, committing nine penalties for 58 yards and piling self-inflicted mistakes on top of each other.
Georgia has now beaten Texas three times since October 2024 and is 9-0 at home against top-10 opponents under Smart.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Simply put: Georgia was the better team
Georgia played its best game of the season on Saturday night and beat Texas convincingly. The Bulldogs scored on their first two possessions and, even after Texas’ defense tightened up in the second and third quarters, Smart’s team proved why they’re the better team.
Late in the third, Georgia converted a fourth-and-1 to keep a crucial drive alive. Moments later, on fourth-and-5, Texas linebacker Colin Simmons jumped offside, handing the Bulldogs another first down as the quarter expired. Texas trailed just 14-10 entering the fourth, and the broadcast showed Arch Manning trying to spark his teammates — but it didn’t matter. On the second play of the quarter, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton hit wide receiver London Humphreys for a touchdown to push the lead to 21-10.
To make things worse for Texas, Smart made the unexpected yet brilliant decision to go for an onside kick, which his team easily recovered. Georgia went on to score another touchdown to take a 28-10 lead and make a Texas comeback impossible.
2. Penalties and dropped passes doomed Texas
Coming off the bye week, you would have thought the Longhorns would be rested and focused for a massive road test like this one. Instead, Texas committed nine penalties, seven of which came in the first half. Steve Sarkisian’s team is one of the most penalized teams in the country – it’s been a theme this season – and are the worst in the SEC. They entered this matchup committing 8.1 penalties per game for an average of 66.1 yards. Georgia, meanwhile, only had one penalty.
When Texas wasn’t committing penalties, it was hurting itself with dropped passes. There was one series in the second quarter when the Longhorns had a legitimate chance to drive down the field, and would have, if not for numerous drops.
First, Manning completed a 40-yard bomb to wideout Emmett Mosley to get Texas out from inside their own 10-yard line. While that pass and catch should have given the offense momentum, instead it stalled when Manning’s next three passes fell incomplete and the Longhorns were forced to punt.
Texas couldn’t run the ball either, mustering a total of 23 rushing yards, and finishing 2-of-12 on third down.
It’s always going to be tough to win on the road in a rowdy environment when you can’t get out of your own way. And that’s what happened to Texas in Athens.
Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns looks on during warmups before the game against the Georgia Bulldogs. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
3. Georgia’s SEC title game hopes are still alive
This was Georgia’s last conference game of the regular season, as it will finish the final two weeks with games against non-conference opponents.
Despite losing to Alabama in late September, the Bulldogs still have a shot to play for a conference title. After beating Texas, and with Oklahoma beating Alabama earlier on Saturday, there’s a path for the Bulldogs to make it to Atlanta. It would need a few things to happen, likely including Alabama losing to Auburn or Texas A&M losing to Texas. But things will become clearer in two weeks.
Gunner Stockton #14 of the Georgia Bulldogs celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Texas Longhorns. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
4. Texas still has a path to the CFP
Despite the loss to Georgia, the Longhorns could still make the CFP if they beat Arkansas and Texas A&M. They’d finish 9-3 and could potentially find themselves in the 12-team field as an at-large selection – but a lot of things have to fall their way.
4 ½: What’s Next?
While Georgia wrapped up SEC play with a 7–1 conference record, Texas still has work to do. How the CFP committee views this loss for Sarkisian’s team will be interesting, especially considering the Longhorns own a pair of top-10 wins over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
The question now is how far the No. 10 Longhorns will fall when the third set of CFP rankings is revealed Tuesday night.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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