Just past the halfway point of the college football season, the Texas Longhorns host the Georgia Bulldogs. It’s a warning sign for one of the two teams.
Georgia enters the year 42-2 since the start of the 2021 season. Both losses were to the Alabama Crimson Tide in SEC championship games.
Texas looks to hand Georgia its first regular season loss since the Florida Gators defeated the Bulldogs on Nov. 7, 2020. Since the start of the season, Georgia is 31-2 in SEC regular season play. Still, the Longhorns are increasingly accustomed to doing what hasn’t been done in a while.
Before Texas’ double-digit win over Alabama, no team had beaten coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide by 10 points in Tuscaloosa. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian shared after the win that the Tide was 52-1 in their last 53 home games before losing to the Longhorns.
Despite Texas’ confidence in overcoming adversity, it will have to overcome another obstacle. The Longhorns face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry a week before the game. Ideally for this matchup, the Sooners would be the focus of preparation in the two weeks leading up to the game.
Aside from the timing of the game, Georgia appears to be a more formidable opponent than it has been in recent seasons in terms of experience. About two-thirds of the Bulldogs’ starters return for the 2024 season, which hasn’t always been the norm in recent years.
Starting quarterback Carson Beck, offensive lineman Mykel Williams, safety Malaki Starks, guard Tate Rutledge, wide receiver Rara Thomas and running back Trever Etienne lead the Bulldogs into the season with high NFL Draft aspirations next April. Georgia is a complete football team and is talented on both sides of the football.
The big game experience is still there for the Longhorns. Many of the team’s starters played in the College Football Playoff last season. That number includes Alabama transfer wide receiver Isaiah Bond, who caught four passes for 47 yards against Michigan in last year’s Rose Bowl.
When it comes to big regular-season games, Texas hasn’t hosted a team this good in a mid-season conference matchup in a long time, if ever. Texas’ 2022 matchup with Alabama took place in Week 2. Last year in Week 8, Texas faced new Big 12 member Houston.
The aforementioned Isaiah Bond could be crucial in the game, not only because of the experience of playing against Georgia, but by showing up consistently despite the rigors of an SEC schedule. Presumably, Bond will face business as usual this year.
It is not certain that both teams will enter the game unscathed. Texas faces Michigan and Oklahoma away from Austin before the matchup. Georgia travels to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama. However, if both teams enter the game undefeated, this game should be a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country.
The game is not mandatory for either team, barring an unexpected defeat. Both teams face a schedule tough enough to lose two games and make it into a 12-team playoff. The matchup still presents a fun preview of what could be a postseason showdown in the SEC title or College Football Playoff later in the season.
Texas and Georgia will play in Austin on October 19th.
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