AUSTIN, Texas — Georgia’s defense hadn’t been performing to its usual, elite standard this season. The Bulldogs were so dominant Saturday night they made Texas’ high-powered offense look feeble. Not even a rare reversal of a pass interference call could stop them from throttling Texas, 30-15 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
It was a vintage performance by Georgia’s defenders. The group had been good this season. They are accustomed to being great. They finally played up to their potential, just in time to send top-ranked Texas to their first loss.
“You don’t have the No. 1, No. 2 recruiting class for six straight years without having a good defense,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.
In their first six games the Longhorns averaged 43.2 points and 495.7 yards. Texas ran up big point totals against SEC foes Mississippi State (35) and Oklahoma (34). The fun times ended for the Longhorns when the Bulldogs came to town.
The Bulldogs held them to 259 yards (3.4 per play), forced four turnovers and allowed only three conversions on third and fourth downs. The Longhorns didn’t score on their first eight possessions as their offense made it past midfield just once. They were down 23-0 by the time they finally scored.
Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker wreaked havoc at the line of scrimmage while tallying eight tackles and three sacks. Cornerback Daylen Everette forced a fumble for a turnover and had an interception. A couple of quarterbacks have gotten the best of the Bulldogs this season, including Mississippi State’s Michael Van Buren a week ago, but Texas QB Quinn Ewers never looked comfortable against them.
The Bulldogs tallied seven sacks. Tight pass coverage made Ewers hold the ball often. The pressure on Ewers increased with Texas running backs gaining only 64 yards on 17 attempts.
“Quarterback (was) holding the ball, not knowing what (coverage) were in every play and affecting the timing of the routes,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. “The bigger factor of the game was their inability to run the game. We felt like if they could run the ball, they’d be tough. They never really established the run. If you can’t do that, it makes you one-dimensional.”
Texas scored its second touchdown on a 9-yard drive late in the third quarter. The short field was the result of game officials overturning a pass-interference call. That came after a five-minute delay caused by fans throwing garbage on the field in protest.
The Longhorns had three more possessions after that bizarre sequence. They made it past midfield on the first two drives before turning the ball over on downs. Texas started the next drive at Georgia’s 40 after the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs. That drive ended with another turnover on downs.
The strong defensive performance allowed Georgia to overcome lackluster offense. The Bulldogs had two giveaways in the first quarter. One turnover was on their side of the field. The other happened 18 yards from the home team’s end zone. Georgia had two dropped passes during that time, too. And yet the game stayed scoreless because Georgia’s defense kept getting the ball back.
The biggest play was cornerback Everette’s strip sack. Ewers didn’t see Everette coming off the edge. Everette’s big hit jarred the ball loose and, after a scramble, he recovered it at the Texas 13-yard line. Trever Etienne ran for a score four plays later. The Bulldogs led by a touchdown after a quarter despite their offensive struggles.
The defense set up another easy scoring chance after that. The Longhorns started at their 8-yard line after a penalty on the kickoff return. They gained 3 yards before Anthony Evans II returned a poor punt 19 yards to their 28. The Bulldogs turned that great field position into a field goal. Now they were up two scores while getting not much from their offense.
Everette gave Carson Beck and Co. yet another gift a few minutes later. He baited Ewers into throwing at Matthew Golden at the first-down marker. Everette came off his man and stepped in front of the pass for his second takeaway. Etienne followed with another touchdown, this time from 15 yards out.
The Bulldogs led 17-0. They’d gained only 132 yards on 27 plays with two turnovers. It didn’t matter because Georgia’s defense had Texas going backward. The Longhorns gained 14 total yards on their first four possessions with one drive of 1 yard and another for minus-7. After Etienne’s second TD, Texas lost 4 yards before punting again.
That prompted Sarkisian to bench Ewers for the most famous backup in college football, Arch Manning. Peyton and Eli’s nephew played well as an injury replacement for Ewers against Mississippi State. It appeared for a moment that Manning would rally the Longhorns against Georgia with his running ability.
The spark was short-lived. Ewers was back under center after Manning played two series. Ewers was sharper in the second half, but Georgia’s defense was just too good.
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