Late in the third quarter, Texas football quarterback Arch Manning pulled the Longhorns within four points of Georgia with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo.
But Georgia showed the mettle that has made them SEC champions in two of the past three years by scoring 21 unanswered points while pulling away for a 35-10 win. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian called the fourth quarter “a disaster” for the Longhorns. That disaster ended the Longhorns’ hopes of reaching a second consecutive SEC title game, and it delivers a big blow to their chances of getting to a third consecutive College Football Playoff.
Here’s how the Longhorns graded out in the 35-10 loss at Georgia.
Considering that Manning has no support from a running game, he played well against a stout Georgia defense. He did toss just his second interception in the past five games but ended the contest with 251 yards on 27-of-43 passing that included four official drops by pass catchers.
Despite a healthy Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter, this room continues to disappoint. They combined for 33 yards on seven carries on the Longhorns’ first drive but ended the game with 40 yards on 10 carries. At this point, it looks like head coach and play-caller Steve Sarkisian doesn’t trust his backs for any kind of production.
Wingo had a costly third-down drop in the red zone on the Longhorns’ first drive and could have hauled in a deep pass later in the half, but he still had 62 yards and a touchdown on a career-high nine catches. Emmett Mosley V and DeAndre Moore Jr. combined to average 17.2 yards a catch on eight receptions, but a Moore drop also hurt.
The line offered solid protection for Manning even if Georgia recorded an official three sacks, and Trevor Goosby continues to confirm his status as one of the nation’s elite pass blockers. But Georgia’s defensive front won the battle in the trenches, especially when the Longhorns tried to run the ball.
Texas entered the game ranked second in the nation with 78.2 yards allowed rushing a game primarily because of a deep and physical defensive front, but the Bulldogs bullied them around for 128 yards on the ground. They also didn’t affect Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton much even though Colin Simmons recorded his ninth sack.
Anthony Hill Jr. had a big second-half interception that helped Texas pull within 14-10 late in the third quarter, and Ty’Anthony Smith played one of his best games in two seasons as a Longhorn with a team-high nine tackles and two tackles for a loss.
Starting safeties Michael Taaffe and Jelani McDonald both returned to the field after missing action with injuries, but a few communication breakdowns remain befuddling for a veteran unit. Stockton threw for a career-high four touchdowns as well as 229 yards on 24-of-29 passing, and his receivers often took advantage of busted coverage. Three straight games, three straight disappointing efforts for the secondary.
First, the good news. Mason Shipley hit a 33-yard field goal. Now, let’s get to the miscues: A holding call on Warren Roberson negated a 59-yard kick return by Ryan Niblett, an illegal shift call wiped out a punt by Jack Boumeester that pinned Georgia at its own 5-yard line, and a successful surprise onside kick in the fourth quarter keyed the Bulldogs’ 21-0 run in the fourth quarter.
The numbers don’t lie. Sarkisian is 0-3 against Georgia’s Kirby Smart over the past two years, and he’s now 1-for-7 against teams ranked in the top five, according to ABC’s Saturday broadcast. Smart, a defensive maestro, has Sarkisian’s offense figured out considering Texas only has 44 points in those three games against Georgia.