If you’re gonna come at the king, you better not miss. Texas has been the darling and toast of the SEC since they joined the conference in July. Texas is the new, shiny object in the SEC this year. They went to Ann Arbor in Week 2 and knocked off the defending national champions. They dismantled Oklahoma for the second time in three years last week at Red River. Saturday night, all eyes were on Austin as the #1 ranked Longhorns welcomed in #5 Georgia. The Longhorns came into the game favored. Everyone on GameDay picked them to defeat the Bulldogs. I guess Kirby Smart and Georgia didn’t get the memo. Instead, Georgia flashed a big Horns Down on the scoreboard and with their play on the field. The Bulldogs ruined Texas’ SEC Party with a 30-15 win.
It wasn’t always pretty. It wasn’t always clean. However, for Georgia, it was the most complete game by the Bulldogs all season. Sure, Carson Beck had three interceptions (not so good), but Trevor Etienne did have three rushing touchdowns (better). The win not only adjusted the pecking order in the SEC but also helped Georgia make the statement that they are still a force to be reckoned with in 2024.
Horns Down: Georgia Ruins Texas’ SEC Party
First Half Difference: Points of Turnovers
Turnovers drive coaches and fans crazy. Carson Beck’s turnovers in Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago put Georgia in catch-up mode for most of the game in losing to the Tide. Beck had two early turnovers in the game on Saturday night. The first was a Longhorn interception that resulted in a Texas possession in plus territory. The second was a red zone interception with Georgia driving for the game’s first score. Neither turnover proved fatal for the Dawgs. The Georgia defense forced a punt after the first interception. Their response on the second turnover enabled Georgia to seize momentum in the second half.
WHAT A HIT ON QUINN EWERS BY DAYLEN EVERETTE 😳
GEORGIA FORCES THE FUMBLE AND WOULD GO ON TO SCORE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ff7tUPzc6Q
— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2024
Four plays after the Longhorns intercepted Beck, Daylen Evertte sacked and forced a fumble on Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers. That set the Dawgs off and running. Georiga would score four plays later as Etienne scored from two yards out. Everette and the Georgia defense weren’t done yet, though. Everette intercepted Ewers two drives later and set Georgia up for another scoring drive. It took the Dawgs three plays to go 34 yards, and another Etienne run capped it off. Everette had a nice little first half for Georgia. The defensive back had an interception, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Still, Georgia wasn’t done.
Arch Manning was brought in as a change of pace for the Longhorns. He has a great arm like Ewers, but his athleticism gave him a little something more to spark the Texas offense. New quarterback, but same problems. Damon Wilson II sacked Manning late in the second half to set Georgia up just outside the red zone with 25 seconds left. Peyton Woodring would add his second field goal to give Georgia a 23-0 first-half lead.
GEORGIA FORCES THE FUMBLE ON ARCH MANNING 😳
THE BULLDOGS CONTINUE TO ROLL IN AUSTIN 👀 pic.twitter.com/c05YfLJnrR
— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2024
The difference in the first half was capitalizing on turnovers. Georgia scored 17 points off the three Longhorn turnovers. Texas failed to do anything with its two-caused turnovers.
3rd Quarter Momentum Meter
Georgia had all of the momentum coming out of the first half. Another Texas mishap and the route could be on. As our good friend Lee Corso says, “Not so fast, my friend.” Texas started the half with the ball and with excellent field position. After a Georgia squib (poorly executed onside kick?). The Longhorns would drive 55 yards in eight plays and finally get on the board. Sarkisian returned to Ewers and mixed in a heavy dose of the run and motion to give his QB1 some nice throws and help get the Horns back in the game. Then things got a little (read: a whole lot) wild.
Georgia got Texas to turn the ball over on downs on their next possession, and then the game got weird. On Georgia’s next possession, Beck was picked off for the third time in the game, and the Longhorns returned it inside Georgia’s ten-yard line. A flag was thrown on the play, and Texas was called for defensive pass interference. Crisis avoided, right? Nope. The skeptical, at best, flag sent the Longhorn nation into a frenzy, and they started throwing their beer cans and whatever else on the field. After a five or so-minute break, the head official came out and said, “Whoopsie, we made a boo boo,” and reversed the pass interference. Whether that was legal or the right thing to do can be saved for another time.
The reversal changed the momentum meter to Burnt Orange and gave us a brand-new game. Two plays later, Texas scored their second touchdown and closed the game to 23-15. Georgia was shaken but did not waver, putting together an impressive drive to end the quarter. The highlight was some Mike Bobo Flea-Flicker trickeration to get the Dawgs off and running. Oscar Delp caught the pass and went 43 yards to set Georgia up for another score early in the fourth quarter. Georgia went 79 yards on the drive and capped it off on a 4th-and-1 plunge from Etienne for his third touchdown.
Horns Down: Georgia Defense Williams on Target
“Our intent was to eat.” Those were the words Smart had about the play of his team after the game. The defense shined brightest on Saturday night. The Georgia defense played arguably their best game of the season. The defensive line was relentless Saturday night. The defensive line spent most of the evening in the Longhorn’s backfield. The stats for the night was a true chef’s kiss. The Longhorns had four turnovers on the night and were just two of fifteen on third down all night. In addition to Evertte’s big plays in the first half, Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams put together their most complete performance of the year. Walker finished the game with eight tackles and Williams had three. The two brought an edge to the defense that was sorely missing.
Georgia had two players in the second half flagged for targeting. Dan Jackson and Joenel Aguero were flagged and disqualified from the game. They will both have to sit out the first half of the game in two weeks in Jacksonville. Georgia has a bye next week before it goes through its closing stretch. The Dawgs will face the Gators in Jacksonville for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
Finally, Smart talked about how “nobody believed in us” after the game. Before you laugh or roll your eyes, Smart isn’t wrong. In fact, this writer was one of them. I was waiting for Georgia to step up and play like this all season. Now, they have to go and earn it all over again in two weeks.
