Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian did not think Texas played its best game against the Georgia Bulldogs, but Sarkisian gives a lot of credit to UGA.
“Unfortunately we didn’t play our best football tonight,” said Sarkisian. “But we were still competitive. Hopefully we get another crack at (Georgia).”
Georgia and Texas could meet in the SEC championship game. Georgia holds a tiebreaker edge over Texas and is higher in the SEC standings than the Longhorns, but both teams only have one SEC loss.
“That’s a good football team. Credit to Kirby and their staff and their players being ready to go in the first half. And like I said, they’ve been the standard in college football now for about five, six, seven years,” Sarkisian said.
Georgia has won two national championships over the last three seasons, but the Bulldogs played with a sense of desperation and desire that Texas could not match on Saturday.
“I thought we played them really well in the second half. But we just, when you get behind the eight ball with the way we played the first half, it’s a lot to overcome,” added Sarkisian.
Georgia outscored Texas 23-0 in the first half. Texas made the game interesting in the second half, but never threatened to take a lead. The Longhorns lost 30-15.
“I was literally just asking the official what he saw to warrant DPI (defensive pass interference). And then at that moment, the trash came on the field,” said Sarkisian on the conversation the officials during the controversial penalty reversal.
“All of us, Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better than that. The fact that we’re able to get that stopped and get that taken care of and then regroup, then they overturn that call, give us an opportunity to get a short field and punch one in and close it to a one-score game,” continued Sarkisian.
Texas’ touchdown following the interception cut Georgia’s lead to eight points. However, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and the Bulldogs marched down the field to retake a 15-point lead on the next drive.
Georgia’s offense was not the problem for the Longhorns. The Bulldogs relied on their defense, which forced four Texas turnovers to set up the Georgia offense.
Linebackers Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams headline Georgia’s ferocious pass rush, which totaled seven sacks and prevented Texas from finding any offensive rhythm.
“I think No. 13 (Williams) being healthy helped them. He hadn’t played there for a while. I think he played nine snaps last week and then came back tonight ready to go, and he’s a problem,” said Sarkisian.
“No. 11 (Walker) is a physical player off the edge as well at linebacker,” added Sarkisian. Walker finished the first half with three sacks and seven tackles.
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“You don’t have the top one or two recruiting classes in the country for six straight years and not have good defensive personnel,” said Sarkisian. “They’ve got good players, and like I said, they’ve got a good scheme.”