AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 2 Texas Longhorns haven’t seen back-to-back seasons of success like this since the Mack Brown era. In 2008-09, the Longhorns went a combined 25-2 while picking up some notable hardware, but failed to win a national championship.
Now, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian can finish what he started last year – but first comes a rematch of his team’s only loss this season.
Second quarter | Texas: 6, Georgia: 3
- Georgia’s best drive of the game so far ends in a 44-yard field goal. Texas possessed the ball for nearly twice as long as Georgia and has outgained the Bulldogs 193 to 53 in total yards.
- We have an Arch Manning sighting, but it’s only as a decoy on 4th & 1. Sark appears to call a quarterback sneak, but the play was a direct snap to running back Jaydon Blue, who picks up the first down. However, a 3rd & 26 ends with a 42-yard field goal from Bert Auburn.
First quarter | Texas: 3, Georgia: 0
Texas finished the first quarter dominating time of possession but only came away with three points. Matthew Golden notched four catches for 107 yards in the quarter alone.
Notable plays:
- A big drive for the Longhorns led to the game’s first points. Auburn made a 41-yard field goal to cap off a nine-play, 64-yard drive with 5 minutes left in the first.
- Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was intercepted by Daylen Everette on a crucial third down to start the game. However, Georgia would fail to capitalize and would be forced to punt.
Injury report
Trevor Etienne is available for Georgia after rushing for three touchdowns in the first meeting against Texas. Georgia has also been without defensive lineman Christen Miller, who is dealing with a shoulder injury, but was spotted warming up to start the game.
Texas is missing Outland Trophy finalist Kelvin Banks Jr., who went down last week with a leg injury after just seven plays. Freshman Trevor Goosby got the start in his place.
Not much home cooking
While Mercedes-Benz Stadium is about a 75-mile drive from the Georgia campus, making this a de facto home game for the Bulldogs, that hasn’t proven to be a big advantage when playing for the SEC title.
The Bulldogs are only 2-4 in conference championship games played at the stadium, including an overtime loss to Alabama in the national title game at the end of the 2017 season.
Going back to when the Georgia Dome hosted the SEC championship, the Bulldogs are just 4-7 in Atlanta with the league championship on the line.