Just after the midway point of the college football season, the Texas Longhorns host the Georgia Bulldogs. It portends to be a wake up call for one of the two teams.
Georgia enters the year having won 42 games and lost two since the start of the 2021 season. Both losses were to the Alabama Crimson Tide in SEC championship games.
Texas is looking to hand Georgia its first regular season loss since the Florida Gators defeated the Bulldogs on November 7, 2020. Since the start of that season, Georgia is 31-2 in SEC regular season play. Even so, the Longhorns are becoming more used to doing what hasn’t been done in awhile of late.
Prior to Texas’ double-digit victory over Alabama, no team had defeated head coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide by 10 points in Tuscaloosa. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian famously shared after the victory that the Tide had been 52-1 in their last 53 home games prior to losing to the Longhorns.
Despite Texas’ confidence in beating the odds, it will have to overcome another hurdle. The Longhorns face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry the week before the game. Ideally for that matchup, the Sooners would be the focus of preparation the two weeks prior to that game.
Aside from the timing of the game, Georgia figures to be a more formidable foe than it has been in recent seasons in returning experience. Around 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, defensive 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 for next April. Georgia is a complete and talented football team on both sides of the football.
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 wide receiver transfer 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 midseason conference matchup in a long while if ever. Texas’ 2022 matchup with Alabama occurred in Week 2. Last year in Week 8, Texas was playing new Big 12 member Houston.
The aforementioned Isaiah Bond could be crucial in the game, not only because of experience playing against Georgia but in consistently showing up despite the rigors of an SEC schedule. Presumably, Bond faces business as usual this year.
It’s not a given that both teams will enter the game unscathed. Texas faces Michigan and Oklahoma away from Austin prior to the matchup. Georgia travels to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama. Nevertheless, should 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 isn’t a must-win for either team barring an upset loss early. Both teams face a tough enough schedule to lose two games and make a 12-team playoff. The matchup still presents a fun preview of what could be a postseason clash in the SEC title or College Football Playoff later in the season.
Texas and Georgia will play in Austin on Oct. 19.
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