Georgia went to Austin and sent a statement to the SEC. The Dawgs are far from done.
The fifth-ranked Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) went on the road and knocked off the top-ranked Texas Longhorns, 30-15. The Horns dropped to 2-1 in SEC play, throwing another wrench into the SEC title race. But, more than anything, Georgia reminded the league and the rest of the country that this team, when it can play with a chip on its shoulder, is a championship contender.
Here are 3 takeaways from the game.
Georgia responds to one of the strangest sequences ever
DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium came unglued late in the third quarter when officials wiped away a Jahdae Barron interception. With Texas trailing 23-8 deep into the third and Barron returning a pick inside the Georgia 10, the game looked like it was about to flip in a massive way. Instead, a pass interference penalty against Barron negated the play and gave the ball back to Georgia.
But before the Bulldogs could snap the ball, the game went into a delay to deal with trash being dumped onto the field in the far endzone. During the stoppage, the officiating crew reversed course on the PI call, waved off the flag, and gave the ball to Texas at the UGA 9.
(An aside: Officials in this game set an awful precedent going forward. Officials mess up pass interference penalties in every conference every week. Officials miss calls all over the place. Now, fans can just hurl trash onto the field to delay the game and hope that reason prevails. They got the call right, but the cost to do so was probably too great. Now, back to Georgia.)
The Longhorns scored 2 plays after the debacle to claw within 8 points. Texas flew down the field on the ensuing kickoff to hammer Anthony Evans III and drop him at the UGA 11. The home fans were raucous. The Dawgs were pinned deep. The momentum was firmly on the side of the top-ranked Longhorns.
Then Georgia drove 89 yards in 11 plays, bled 5:03 off the clock, and punched in a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from less than a yard out.
What a response. What a drive. You could make the case Georgia’s season was in the balance on Saturday night. A loss already on the record with games still to go against Ole Miss and Tennessee, Georgia could not afford to lose in Austin. And it certainly could not afford to blow a 23-point lead in Austin. Things would get uncomfortable in Athens. But with Texas threatening to break the game open, Georgia iced the home crowd and put its foot right back on the throat.
Prior to that possession, Georgia had run 11 drives. Five of those drives resulted in points. All 5 began at or beyond the Georgia 45-yard-line. The possessions that began more than 55 yards away from paydirt produced 3 interceptions, a pair of 3-and-outs, and 91 total yards. Georgia wasn’t moving the football unless it had help.
Carson Beck deserves a ton of credit. On third-and-10 from his 11, Beck fired to Arian Smith for 21 yards. Beck hit Oscar Delp for 43 yards on the next play. After getting stood up on second- and third-down runs from the 1, Trevor Etienne finished things off with points on fourth-and-goal.
And that was that.
Hello, Jalon
One of the reasons Georgia had struggled to separate from teams in recent weeks? An uncharacteristic pass defense. A talent drain in the secondary had led to a more vulnerable back end than what Georgia has had in recent years. But an inability of the defensive front to generate pressure was a problem, too.
Georgia missed Mykel Williams, who hadn’t been healthy. The front produced only 11 sacks in the first 6 games.
Against what was widely regarded as the best offensive line in the country, Georgia dominated. Georgia looked like, well, Georgia! The Dawgs got pressure with base looks. Four men rushed and a Bulldog would get home.
Jalon Walker was a monster.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Reid, Walker became the first player in the last 20 years to produce 3 sacks and 7 tackles in a single game against an AP No. 1. And he did it in the first half.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian briefly benched starting quarterback Quinn Ewers in the second quarter for second-year man Arch Manning. But that didn’t change the calculus and Texas went back to Ewers to start the third quarter.
When the second half began, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said it wasn’t about the quarterback play in the first half as much as it was about the offensive line.
“This is about an offensive line that is getting whipped by Georgia’s defensive front,” Herbstreit said.
And he was right.
Georgia finished with 7 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. The Dawgs forced 3 fumbles and 4 turnovers on downs in just the second half. It was a vintage performance.
Carson Beck still looks off
Georgia won. And it was a largely positive result. But the manner in which the Dawgs won didn’t exactly rebuild the faith in Beck. Georgia’s quarterback tossed 3 picks. He went 23-for-41 — the third time in 4 games he has thrown more than 40 pass attempts.
Beck didn’t have a single game last season with 40 passes or more.
In those 3 games this season, he has 8 interceptions. He threw 3 picks against Alabama. He threw 2 picks last week against Mississippi State. And he threw 3 more on Saturday against Texas. When Georgia has asked him to drop back at a high rate, Beck has shown a penchant for turning the football over.
Beck’s decision-making this season has been questionable at times. He doesn’t look like the same player he was last season. With a cleaner outing from the quarterback position, Georgia arguably could have beaten the Longhorns by more.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
