On a weekend where both Oklahoma and Texas A&M picked up big moment wins, Texas couldn’t keep its season alive as it fell victim to Sanford Stadium’s home crowd.
The Longhorns came into tonight’s game against Georgia after losing both meetings last year in ugly showings, the first being in Austin with the Horns falling 30-15, and then losing in overtime in the SEC Championship game 22-19.
The preseason No. 1 team was looking to keep its playoff hopes alive with a win over the 8-1 Bulldogs.
While the Longhorn offense was rolling in their first drive, a false start and a Ryan Wingo drop forced Texas to kick a field goal, a look into some themes for this Top-10 matchup.
Georgia went on to score a pair of touchdowns on its next two drives, putting the Horns into a deficit that they would never recover from.
Texas looked overall awful in the first half with four drops, zero third down conversions, an interception and seven penalties. Not to mention a 14-3 deficit to make up against Kirby Smart, who now has 62 straight wins when leading by double digits at half.
However, Arch Manning, the preseason Heisman favorite finally started to show signs of not only confidence but competence as well. He started the game off 7/11 with four drops, and he had an interception on a play where a pass interference could have been called.
Manning who had been disappointing for most of the season has begun to grow as a player this year with 925 yards, 7 touchdowns and two interceptions over his last three games, as well as a completion percentage of 66%. The second half was a little bit different, but after Georgia’s surprise on-side kick the game changed.
It was the ugliest way Texas could’ve ended its improbable run to the playoffs, especially when it lost one of the most under-looked portions of the game – special teams.
Texas came into the game with one of the best punt return attacks in the FBS, but Georgia chose to intentionally punt short to neutralize that threat. Then, with a pair of penalties when LINING UP to punt the football, Texas’ special teams couldn’t keep up.
Texas ends its season with a pair of home games against rivals Arkansas and No. 3 Texas A&M. The playoffs are out of the picture for this season, but there are some possibilities for the boys in burnt orange to get some momentum going into next year.
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