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3 Texas takeaways from the Longhorns getting punched in the mouth by Georgia
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Well, welcome to life in the SEC.
No. 1 Texas found that out the hard way on Saturday night against a No. 5 Georgia team that played its most complete game of the season en route to a 30-15 victory.
Texas had a much better response after that deflating start, wherein Georgia sprinted out to a 23-0 halftime lead. But a second-half comeback fell short against a Georgia team who had 50 consecutive wins against non-Alabama teams.
Here were 3 takeaways from Texas’ loss:
1. Arch Manning entered for a healthy (but not well) Quinn Ewers in the first half
How lost was the Texas quarterback? Well, he was so lost that Steve Sarkisian opted for Manning in the middle of the second quarter. Ewers’ 6-for-12 start for 17 yards was uninspiring. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, Manning didn’t exactly come in and set the world on fire against that elite Georgia pass rush.
Manning was limited for 3-for-6 for 19 yards, and he added a 21-yard rush with his legs. But ultimately, he couldn’t muster a scoring drive against Jalon Walker and the UGA defense. There might not have been a Texas QB past or present who could’ve successfully strung together scoring drives against Georgia on Saturday night, especially in a first half in which Texas was limited to 38 yards of offense.
A QB controversy? Not so much. Ewers looked better, though not brilliant in the second half. At the very least, though, this was the first time that Sarkisian provided any life to the theory that Ewers could be replaced in a non-injury setting. File that one away for later.
2. The Texas defense finally ran into an elite offense, but it wasn’t as bad as that final number might’ve indicated
Entering this game, 2 things were true. One is that Texas had yet to face a top-70 scoring offense and it was fortunate enough to avoid veteran quarterbacks. The other was that the Longhorns earned the No. 1 scoring defense and No. 1 yards/play defense not by fluke, but by discipline. Shoot, they only trailed for 3 minutes and 50 seconds in the first 6 games.
The good news for Texas was that it made life extremely difficult for Carson Beck. The preseason All-American had 3 interceptions, 1 of which was a wildly controversial overturned play in which Jahdae Barron was initially ruled for defensive holding. That call went Texas’ way, but the offensive miscues put the Longhorns defense in tough spots.
Trevor Etienne racked up 3 touchdowns against the Texas defense, but he didn’t have a run of 20 yards. UGA was held to 3.8 sack-adjusted rushing yards per carry. But it seemed like with the exception of that 4th quarter stop by Anthony Hill Jr. late in a 30-15 game, UGA got the key running lanes it needed to overcome Beck’s shaky day against the nation’s top passing defense.
3. And now up next … Vandy
Don’t look now but a trip to Vandy awaits. Go ask Alabama about that. It’s not fun to chase around Diego Pavia for an entire afternoon. Pavia is easily the No. 2 quarterback that Texas has faced this season.
What remains to be seen is how this Texas team will get off the mat. It still has an inside track to an SEC Championship berth, especially with the A&M showdown awaiting late in the season.
For now, though, Saturday night’s letdown will sting after a blistering 2024 start for the Longhorns.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
