AUSTIN, Texas – The opossum woke up.
Georgia didn’t perish in the first half of the season. It only play-acted being roadkill.
When the Bulldogs‘ defense comes to life, like it did Saturday night, its claws cut like razors, and its fangs sink deep.
No. 4 Georgia remains fierce enough to vie for the national championship. It proved that much in a 30-15 mangling of No. 1 Texas.
“Our intent was to come eat and be hungry,” Kirby Smart said on ESPN afterward.
The Bulldogs (6-1) feasted and showed they’re still a menace – when they want to be. It’s still hard to know which version of Smart‘s team will show up. In this two-face Georgia season, consider Saturday the work of Mr. Hyde, because Georgia inflicted torture and wickedness on Texas (6-1).
Darryl K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium turned into a crypt by the second quarter, while the Bulldogs pulled away from an opponent that spent its first six games overpowering inferior foes.
When a cannon’s fire finally pierced the silence at halftime, the Bulldogs led 23-0, the Longhorns had just 38 yards, and the SEC’s pecking order had been rearranged.
Kaboom, there goes Texas’ No. 1 ranking, and hold off on coronating the Longhorns as the SEC’s new king.
Don’t bury the Longhorns, either. These teams could meet again in the SEC championship game – if Texas rebounds and plays the way it did after halftime, when it turned a lopsided affair into a one-score game by the fourth quarter.
Texas quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning wore shellshocked expressions on their faces in the closing seconds before halftime.
The Longhorns tried each quarterback, but the Bulldogs tortured them both.
Daylen Everette strip-sacked Ewers and later intercepted him.
In Ewers’ first six drives, the Longhorns mustered 15 yards.
So, coach Steve Sarkisian turned to Arch Manning in the second quarter, and the sold-out crowd awakened with a roar of delight. Then, it fell silent again after Damon Wilson II strip-sacked Manning.
“We couldn’t get out of our own way,” Sarkisian said.
More like, Georgia shoved them out of the way.
Georgia persistently shredded Texas’ brawny, experienced offensive line, which asserted dominance while the Longhorns marched to the top of the rankings. But, Texas had faced no opponent in Georgia’s realm, and the Bulldogs looked miscast as underdogs.
By halftime, the SEC’s last remaining undefeated team had three turnovers and only once penetrated Georgia territory.
Sarkisian turned back to Ewers after halftime, and Texas rallied, but Georgia already had inflicted too much damage to overcome.
Where was this Georgia defense against Alabama, or, shoot, against Mississippi State? Georgia last played like this in a season-opening rout of Clemson.
Is this the real Georgia? Because this Georgia is a team no opponent should relish facing.
Let’s get a couple things straight, though: Georgia didn’t put it all together.
The defense shouldered the load and, for three quarters, propped up quarterback Carson Beck, who threw three interceptions. When Beck found his mark, he couldn’t trust his receivers to secure the pass. And offensive coordinator Mike Bobo treated running back Trevor Etienne like a member of the witness protection program, often hiding him away despite Etienne running strong anytime Bobo remembered his existence.
Georgia’s five scoring drives in the first half traveled 13, 13, 34, 25 and 4 yards, a testament to how frequently the Bulldogs’ defense positioned its offense for success.
To Beck’s credit, he delivered in the clutch. He fired four consecutive completions on a critical 89-yard touchdown drive after Texas had pulled to within eight points.
Texas’ defense looked the part of playoff unit. Its offense failed to hold up its side of the bargain.
Georgia’s defenders just kept coming, and Longhorns linemen were little more than turnstiles. Ewers and Manning faced so much pressure, it’s a wonder they threw for any yards at all.
Ten tackles for loss, the Bulldogs amassed. That’s the kind of defensive effort Georgia used to capture the first of Smart’s two national championships. Appropriately, the game ended with the Bulldogs delivering a fourth-down stop.
If this type of defensive effort persists, don’t count out Smart winning his third national title.
The Bulldogs can play possum with the best of them, but when they become alert, they’ve still got a mean streak.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
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