Five key takeaways from the Texas Longhorns’ brutal loss to Georgia

It was a long day for Quinn Ewers and the No. 1 Texas Longhorns trailing the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs by a final score of 30-15.

There is a lot to explore in this game and it will be difficult to summarize it in five steps. But there are some glaring problems that Texas will need to address in the coming weeks.

This was a big thorn in the side of Texas. The Longhorns just didn’t seem to get going in the first half. They struggled in the first half against Mississippi State, and Texas couldn’t get a first down against Oklahoma until late in the first quarter. Luckily, both teams had terrible offense.

And while Georgia has had some issues on offense this year, they were easily the best Texas has faced this season and much better than Oklahoma and Mississippi State. They took advantage of the slow start while Texas couldn’t do the same.

It’s hard to explain why Texas struggled so much in the first quarter of games, but part of it is due to QB play and part of it is due to play calling. The defense did its part, the offense just couldn’t convert. It is unfortunate to get two interceptions in the first game, one of which was on the Georgian side, without converting a single point.

I wondered where Texas would be if running back Tre Wisner could keep the ball on the flea flicker in the first quarter. But if we delve into the game’s what-ifs, we could spend all day here.

Seven sacks and ten tackles for loss ultimately led to a lot of offensive tackles and a big goose egg in the scoring category for Texas.

Not to mention, Texas called several false start penalties, including one in the fourth quarter and one in the fourth quarter when Texas trailed by 15 points.

Yes, Ewers looked bad, but the constant pressure was getting to him. The offense just couldn’t get it together when it looked like the offense had finally found its footing.

It’s surprising that an offensive line is struggling so much when an offensive lineman has won SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week in three of the six weeks Texas has played. Georgia’s defensive line simply had their way with the offensive line.

Quinn Ewers finished 25 for 43 for 211 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. But to be honest, Ewers easily could have thrown five interceptions in this game. His performance even led to a quick appearance from Arch Manning in the second quarter before Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian turned back to Ewers early in the second half.

Both Ewers and Sarkisian were outplayed at their respective positions. It seemed like Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was making Sarkisian run in circles with the way he read every script and took on the Texas offense.

Both had a very humbling performance in their turn. And fortunately for both of them, they still have plenty of time to regain that credibility this season.

Texas was 2-for-14 on third-down conversions, while Georgia was 6-for-17. Before the game, Texas was 12th in the FBS rankings for third-down conversions at 49.32%. Texas couldn’t even reach half of its average in recent games. If they had been able to, this game probably would have been a lot closer.

Texas punter Ian Ratliff had five punts for an average length of 43.8 yards, while Georgia punter Brett Thorson had four punts for an average length of 54 yards.

The punt difference was big and helped Georgia start with better field position, but punt returner Silas Bolden just couldn’t get a spark going with the returns. Matthew Golden’s kick return at the end of the first could have provided a spark, but offensive holding brought it back to the Texas eight-yard line as Golden returned it to the 49-yard line.

It just wasn’t a good special teams performance, many times it could have changed the momentum, but Texas just couldn’t get it done.

If the Longhorns want to bounce back, their next chance will be next Saturday against Vanderbilt.

The game will be played at Vanderbilt’s home stadium and the kickoff time has yet to be determined.