‘They tried to rob us’: Georgia stuns No. 1 Texas in first trip to Austin since 1958 | College football

Trevor Etienne scored three touchdowns, the first two set up by cornerback Daylen Everette, and fifth-ranked Georgia beat Quinn Ewers and No. 1 Texas 30-15 on Saturday night.

Etienne’s final score was a one-yard plunge on fourth down with 12:04 left. That came right after an ugly scene when Texas fans littered the field with water bottles and other trash after referees called a pass interference penalty that first negated an interception and a long return before raising the flag and scoring a touchdown the Longhorns were prepared.

“These players bring out the best in me,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “They tried to rob us here with calls. And these guys are so resilient.”

Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference), which began the season as a No. 1 seed, has won three times since a 41-34 loss to then-No. 4 Alabama when the Bulldogs overcame a 28-0 deficit won in a row and took the lead late in an exchange of blows with long touchdown passes.

The Bulldogs never trailed in their first trip to Austin since 1958 to face the SEC newcomer, who had made it through the first half of their schedule virtually unscathed.

“Nobody gave us a chance. Everybody doubted us,” Smart said, then referenced ESPN’s “College GameDay” pregame show that aired from the Austin campus earlier in the day. “Did you see the show this morning?” I didn’t do it because I attended meetings, but I got 8,000 text messages about it.”

Texas (6-1, 2-1) won at defending national champion Michigan in Week 2 and trailed by less than four minutes all season before facing the back-to-back national champions in front of the Wolverines.

The 15-point loss was the most lopsided for a No. 1 team at home since Notre Dame’s 31-16 win at Pittsburgh in 1982, when Dan Marino was the Panthers’ quarterback, according to Sportradar.

“Unfortunately we didn’t play our best football tonight, but we were still competitive. Hopefully we get another shot at beating them,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “They’ve been the standard in college football for about five, six, seven years and we played really well against them in the second half.”

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck improved to 19-2 as a starter, including a 7-2 mark against ranked teams. He was 23 of 41 for 175 yards and finished the game with three interceptions, although Texas missed the two he threw in the first quarter. The Longhorns had just 38 total yards as they trailed 23-0 at halftime.

Jahdae Barron’s pick and 36-yard return to the Georgia 9 late in the third quarter came after contact with Arian Smith, which resulted in a pass interference penalty. Sarkisian got angry at the officials and then went to the back corner of the field where students were sitting and motioned for them to stop throwing things.

While the debris was collected, officials discussed the game and picked up the flag. Two plays later, Ewers threw a 17-yard touchdown to Jaydon Blue to put the Longhorns up 23-15.

Ewers completed 25 of 43 passes for 211 yards.

Everette’s blindside sack late in the first quarter caused the ball to bounce off Ewers, and the defender recovered at the Texas 13 after several of his teammates attempted to recover the fumble. That led to Etienne’s 2-yard TD for a 7-0 lead.

A late 15-yard TD run into the end zone by Etienne made it 17-0 after Everette stepped in front of a receiver at the Texas 34 to make an interception.

“We all always say takeout comes in quantities,” Everette said. “We practice taking small details seriously.”

Peyton Woodring kicked three field goals for Georgia before halftime, the last a 44-yarder as time expired after freshman Arch Manning, starting for a second series, made an error on the sack.