Steve Sarkisian complained this week about Texas’ SEC schedule compared with his peers, and the funny part is, his gripe wasn’t with who they’ve played, but when. Once the 10th-ranked Longhorns clear out of Athens this weekend, the fifth-ranked Bulldogs will be done with their league schedule, while Texas still has rivalry games with Arkansas and Texas A&M.
On one hand, finishing up with Charlotte and Georgia Tech certainly seems more fun going into the postseason, even if the Jackets and Haynes King are no party.
On the other, if Texas’ SEC schedule had been similarly front-loaded, its season might have died weeks ago.
Even if there’s something to be said for still hanging around in November, the Longhorns’ playoff hopes will be on the line Saturday between the hedges. As Alabama will tell you, the committee takes a dim view of three losses.
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Besides, four SEC reps – Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss – sit comfortably in front of the Longhorns in the College Football Playoff rankings. All have fewer losses. No matter what you may think of the committee’s perceived biases, there’s no way it takes five SEC teams. Might have a hard time shoe-horning four.
Consider the Longhorns’ uphill battle compared with their SEC peers: Of their three remaining games, two are against top-five teams. Meanwhile, the Aggies close with South Carolina, Samford and at Austin; Alabama finishes with 11th-ranked Oklahoma, Eastern Illinois and at Auburn; and Ole Miss has only Florida and at Starkville.
While acknowledging the Longhorns are the new kids on the block, and schedules are made out years in advance, Sark told reporters on the SEC conference call Thursday he wasn’t “comfortable” with the current arrangement.
“I just think there’s some distinct advantages that some people have or they spread out their non-conference games throughout the season,” he said, “and they play non-conference games the second-to-last game of the season, and we’re playing all of ours in the front end. They’re playing conference games earlier in the year when their team’s 100% healthy.
“You play the hand you’re dealt, but I just don’t think there’s a lot of parity from a scheduling standpoint … because of the impact that it has down the road when you start talking about the playoffs.”
No doubt these are points Sark will make with his boss, Chris Del Conte, at some point soon, if he hasn’t already. But, Saturday, suffice to say, would be a good time for Texas to snap its losing streak against Georgia.
The Longhorns lost twice to the Bulldogs last year – the first, a 30-15 humiliation in Austin; the second, a 22-19 squeaker in OT in the SEC title game. In both games, Georgia won because of its defense and the ability to find a running game it couldn’t quite keep track of the rest of the season.
Going into Saturday, the Bulldogs’ running game has been a constant, whereas the only thing Texas has been good at week in and week out is stopping the run. Seems like a key factor in how the game turns out.
A second key, of course, will be the play of the quarterbacks. Gunner Stockton has made a nice resume for himself since Texas knocked Carson Beck out of the SEC title game and all the way to Miami. He’s a little more refined than he was against Texas, when, even while throwing the ball to the wrong jerseys, he still pulled out the win.
Stockton certainly has had a better season than Arch Manning, though the latter has picked up his game lately. A reshuffling of the Longhorns’ offensive line has helped. They still don’t have much of a running game, but then it depends on how you define it.
Much of the reason for Manning’s success in wins over Oklahoma, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt is rooted in the fact that Sark finally dialed it back a little. The priority now is to get the ball out of Manning’s hand quickly with short throws on the edges. Now, everyone likes those throws these days. They’re safe, and they usually end up with three or four yards, same as a run.
Except against Vandy, 11 of those quick flips accounted for 172 yards. Helps if you’re throwing to Ryan Wingo. Texas has finally found a dynamic element that doesn’t require a punt return from Ryan Niblett.
The third key to this game is that Georgia has won 51 of its last 53 games at home. Let that roll around on your palate. The Bulldogs enjoy their home-field advantage. Texas’ two losses, as you may recall, were in Columbus and at the Swamp.
Of course, this seems to be a different Texas team from the one that kept Billy Napier employed a couple more weeks. Whether Sark likes to admit it or not, the way his schedule set up gave Manning time to grow into the job. If you thought he looked a little rough around the edges against Ohio State, think if he’d had to follow up shortly afterward with a trip to Athens.
Beat Georgia now, and all the consternation about the misplaced hype goes away. Lose, and Sark will get that soft season’s end he desired. Once the Aggies get through with them, that is.
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