No. 5 Georgia’s strong first half leads Bulldogs to 30-15 win over No. 1 Texas

Everyone in the SEC has a loss.

No. 1 Texas, the last unbeaten team in the conference, was overwhelmed by No. 5 Georgia in the first half of the Bulldogs’ 30-15 win on Saturday night. Georgia jumped out to a 23-0 lead at halftime as Texas turned the ball over three times and used two different quarterbacks.

“I’m so proud of these guys, because nobody believed, nobody gave us a chance,” Smart said in his postgame interview on ABC/ESPN. “Your whole network doubted us. Nobody believed us. And then they tried to rob us with calls in this place and these guys are so resilient.”

We’ll get to what Smart is referencing about being “robbed” in just a second. Georgia officially closed as a 3.5-point underdog on the road, hardly a spread that made no one think the Bulldogs had a chance.

After Texas gained just 15 yards and Quinn Ewers fumbled and threw an interception over the Longhorns’ first five possessions, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian made a QB change. He brought in Arch Manning to replace Ewers in the hope of boosting Texas’ offense.

It didn’t matter. Texas punted on Manning’s first drive of the game and then the redshirt freshman fumbled on his second drive. That fumble with 25 seconds to go in the second quarter set up a Georgia field goal to extend the lead to 23 points.

Ewers got his job back at the start of the second half and immediately led a scoring drive. Texas cut Georgia’s lead to 15 points and looked to be right back in the thick of things after one of the most bizarre sequences you’ll see all season.

Defensive back Jahdae Barron intercepted Georgia QB Carson Beck and returned the ball inside the Georgia 10 yard-line with 2:48 to go in the third quarter. However, Barron got flagged for pass interference on the play and the interception was wiped out.

The call was iffy at best, and Texas fans let the officials know by raining objects onto the field. Over the course of the multi-minute delay to clean the field up, officials kept conferring about the call even though the ball was spotted and ready for play for the Bulldogs.

Before play resumed, officials announced that pass interference didn’t actually happen and Texas would have the ball. Two plays later, the lead was cut to 23-15.

Was this Texas’ chance to come back and take the lead much like Georgia did against Alabama earlier in the season?

No, it was not. The Bulldogs responded with a 21-yard pass to Arian Smith on third down and then a 43-yard pass to Oscar Delp a play later. RB Trevor Etienne’s third rushing TD of the night capped the drive and ultimately put the game out of reach for the Longhorns.

Georgia’s defensive front dominates

Texas was overwhelmed by Georgia’s talent up front, especially in the first half. Jalon Walker had three of Georgia’s five first-half sacks and recovered Manning’s fumble that led to the field goal.

The Bulldogs scored four times in the second quarter as Texas’ defense did a phenomenal job of forcing field goals despite Georgia’s short fields. Georgia kicked three field goals in the quarter and its longest drive of the period was 34 yards. The Bulldogs’ three field goals came on drives that totaled a combined 42 yards.

As Georgia’s defensive talent shined, any thought that either Beck or Ewers could win the Heisman with a strong performance was extinguished. Neither quarterback had a great game, and it’s very implausible that either QB will be in New York at the end of the season.

Each QB turned the ball over three times. Beck threw three interceptions, while Ewers had a pick and two fumbles. Georgia hasn’t been shy about Beck letting it fly this year, and he hasn’t taken a step forward. Beck has already surpassed his interception total (six) from a season ago and six of his eight interceptions this season have come against Alabama and Texas.

Given that Georgia won the game handily despite playing far from flawless football, it’ll be fascinating to see where the Bulldogs are ranked in the AP Top 25 on Sunday. Oregon looks likely to move from No. 2 to No. 1 after its 35-0 win over Purdue on Friday. Both No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State were off on Saturday. Will they move up to No. 2 and No. 3 or will the Bulldogs leapfrog one or both of them despite having a loss?