For the first time ever, the No. 10 Texas Longhorns are in Athens to face the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs between the hedges at Sanford Stadium on Saturday.
It’s the third matchup between Texas head coach Steve
Sarkisian and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart in the last year, pitting the offensive mastermind against the defensive genius. Smart has gotten the better of Sarkisian in both of the previous games, including a 30-15 demolition in Austin. With the Bulldogs also edging past the Longhorns in overtime in the SEC Championship game last year, the implications for Saturday’s game are significant, both in the conference race, the battle to make the College Football Playoff, and the emerging narrative surrounding Texas and Georgia in an emerging rivalry.
Can the Horns still make the playoff with a loss? Sarkisian hopes he doesn’t have to worry about that, but ESPN has the probability at 27 percent with a loss compared to 76 percent with a win.
Coming out of the season’s second bye week, the Horns are healthy and as well prepared for the Dawgs as possible — there aren’t any injury excuses for Texas, which has gained momentum since the bad road loss to Florida.
But beating Georgia at home is extremely difficult. Since 2019, the only team to do it was Alabama earlier this year, although that also suggests that these Bulldogs are vulnerable.
