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Georgia Football vs. Texas: Scouting Report, Prediction

Georgia Football vs. Texas: Scouting Report, Prediction

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When Kirby Smart left Alabama to take over as Georgia football coach in 2016, Steve Sarkisian joined Nick Saban’s staff in an off-field role after two years leading the Atlanta Falcons’ offense as offensive coordinator.

Now he has built his own powerhouse program in Texas, just like Smart did in Georgia.

A year after leading Texas to the College Football Playoff, Sarkisian’s fourth Longhorns team is 6-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.

No. 4 Georgia, in Smart’s ninth season, represents Texas’ biggest test yet against one of the programs Sarkisian considered as he tried to build a championship-caliber program of his own.

“Our job is to hopefully play one of our best games,” said Smart, whose team is 5-1 but didn’t appear to be anywhere near its best in wins against Auburn and Mississippi State over the last two weeks. “That’s what we want to do, continue to get better, put things together and play a more complete game.”

Texas is the only undefeated SEC team and has looked as good as any this season with big wins at Michigan and last week against Oklahoma. It has outscored its opponents 259-38.

Smart and Sarkisian are friends who spent time together on Nike-sponsored trips during the offseason. When asked what they had in common, Sarkisian said, “We’re both average golfers.”

Why Georgia will beat Texas

Carson Beck threw for 439 yards against Alabama and 459 yards against Mississippi State, but Georgia has a better chance of winning if Beck doesn’t have to throw 50 and 48 passes like he did in those games. The big numbers came with 5 interceptions and 6 touchdown passes.

According to cfbstats.com, Georgia passed for 605 total yards last week and ranks third in the nation with 17 pass plays of 30 or more yards.

“It’s pretty hard to confuse guys when they’ve played so much football,” Sarkisian said of Beck, the fifth-grader in his second season as a starter. “That will be our challenge. How do we bother him in the pocket? From a reporting perspective, how can we create a little hesitation in him? We’ll be able to play really well in tight coverage.”

Georgia’s defense had a tough day against Mississippi State, giving up 306 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in a 41-31 win.

Texas scored 31 points in each game, but quarterback Quinn Ewers showed some rust against Oklahoma after missing two games with an oblique injury.

Ewers doesn’t bring the running threat that can cause problems for Georgia’s defense, but he has no shortage of weapons, including Alabama transfer wideout Isiah Bond (5 catches for 49 yards against Georgia last year) and tight end Gunner Helm (21 catches for 311 yards). , 2 TDs) and freshman Ryan Wingo (22.8 average, 2 TDs).

“They have a very explosive offense,” Georgia safety Dan Jackson said. “Great talented players, great quarterback, great running back, but luckily we do that too. We say that every week in practice.”

Why Texas will beat Georgia

Smart had a telling answer this week when asked what he thought of Georgia’s running game, which ranks 92nd nationally with 135 yards per game.

“Who do I play?” He said: “I think you take out the opponent and say: We set the standard.” We should succeed in that, but I also think it’s unrealistic to find many teams in this league that are in the Just dominate the running game. If so, they’re probably doing it with a quarterback run.”

In run defense, Texas ranks 22nd in the nation with 103.7 yards per game and 11th with 2.99 yards per carry.

Linebacker David Gbenda had 32 tackles and 4 ½ tackles for loss,

Texas ranks third in the SEC with 19 sacks, led by linebacker Anthony Hill with 4.5 and freshman Collin Simmons with 4. They have combined for 16 TFL.

If Georgia can’t slow down Texas’ running game, it will be difficult to win. Despite injuries at running back in the preseason, the Longhorns are still averaging 5.1 yards per carry with 16 rushing touchdowns behind Quintrevion Wisner, Jaydon Blue and Jerrick Gibson and an offensive line that features projected NFL first-round draft pick Kelvin Banks as a left tackle.

“It’s rare to see a combination of offensive and defensive lines with this depth and size,” Smart said. “In our conference, it starts at the front and they have the ability to protect the quarterback, run the ball, stop the run and rush the passer.”

forecast

Georgia 27, Texas 26

Texas is off to its first 6-0 start since 2009, but has yet to play a team currently ranked in the top 20 of the ESPN SP+ rankings. The Bulldogs are the more desperate team after stumbling at Alabama, but that could work either way. Choosing Texas is probably the smart move, but that choice is made largely in the belief that Georgia will be at its best when some of its best playmakers step up. Smart has squeezed that out of his team too many times in the past.