This weekend, we see one of college football’s most anticipated matchups of the season: Georgia travels to Austin to face the number one-ranked Texas Longhorns. Both teams enter this game with experience and talent at quarterback, with potential future first-round picks Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers leading their offense. With the college game coming to Austin, the anticipation for this big matchup is building as we slowly approach game day. Let’s look at these two teams and what they’ve done so far this evening leading up to Saturday.
Texas is coming off a 34-3 win over Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown, which saw the Longhorns improve to 6-0 on the season and avenge their loss from last year. Quarterback Quinn Ewers was back under center against the Sooners after missing the previous two games due to injury. Ewers got off to a slow start, with the Longhorn's first drive ending with an interception. As the game progressed, Ewers started to settle in and finished with 199 yards passing, going 20/29 on his passing attempts.
Texas' most vital unit up to this point this season has been its defense, highlighted by sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill, who Coach Sarkisian truly believes in. The second-year player has the helmet communication for the Longhorn defense. Hill is in more of an expanded role this season, as last year, he was mainly used to rush the passer. Now one of the leaders of the defense, Hill is quickly becoming one of the best linebackers in football in only his second year.
The Texas defense allows a little over 6 points a game, enough to see them ranked as the number one defense in points allowed. The unit has been completely transformed since Sark first arrived on campus. With a blend of young but experienced secondary players and the elite front seven-play, this Texas defense is on pace to be one of the best this program has seen in its storied history.
Georgia was seen as the next SEC dynasty coming into this season after Nick Saben's sudden retirement, but the Bulldogs have not looked like the same dominant team we’ve seen for the past three seasons. Georgia was a hot topic of discussion in the offseason due to the number of off-the-field issues involving team members, leading to questions about how much control Smart has over the program.
Carson Beck is now in year two as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. Entering the season, Beck was seen as a serious contender for the Heisman Trophy alongside Ewers. Although Beck is not playing terribly, many feel that the Georgia quarterback is not playing at the level that saw him placed amongst the favorites for Hiesmain. Beck has thrown five interceptions in six games this season, compared to only six interceptions all last season.
Outside of the Bulldogs' dominant opening-day win over Clemson, Georgia has been inconsistent on both sides of the ball, with narrow wins over Kentucky and Mississippi State. Georgia's lone loss this season was to Alabama, which ended Georgia’s 29-game winning streak in the SEC championship last season. Georgia was down big early but saw its comeback efforts fall short, losing 41-34. For Georgia, a second loss to another SEC Championship contender at this point of the season could put their college football playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.
Georgia and Texas will clash on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. under the bright lights of Darrel K. Royal Stadium. The Texas Longhorns will enter the game as the number-one team in the AP polls, while Georgia is ranked fifth. This primetime match-up has all the makings of being one of the games of the season when it's all said and done.
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