Six weeks after Georgia handed Texas football its only loss of the season, the two preseason SEC favorites met in the conference title game Saturday at 3 p.m..
This time, the matchup took place in Georgia’s backyard in Atlanta between one of the conference’s established blue-blood programs and a Longhorn program in its first season in the SEC.
Georgia playing the second half without quarterback Carson Beck, who suffered an injury after getting sacked by Trey Moore on the final play of the first half.
Read below for highlights and a recap of Georgia’s overtime win.
More:Texas vs Georgia: Five things Longhorns must do to beat Bulldogs, win SEC Championship
This section will be updated when the game begins
Georgia grinds out the win and ends the game with a 4-yard scoring run by Trevor Etienne in the first OT. The Bulldogs win the SEC title and will claim one of the top-four College Football Playoff seeds while Texas will play next week, probably at home. The Longhorns will have to wait until the CFP Selection Committee releases its final rankings on Sunday to find out their fate.
Bert Auburn hits a 32-yard field goal after the Texas offense gets one first down before bogging down in the OT format. That was a little close for Texas fans. Georgia has a chance to win with a touchdown; a Dawg field goal sends the game to a second OT.
The intensity matches the ugliness. A pure dogfight – pun intended in Georgia’s backyard – heads into extra time. This is the second consecutive week that Georgia has gone into overtime following last week’s eight-OT win over Georgia Tech, and this is the first OT game in SEC championship history.
Bert Auburn calmly nails a 37-yard field goal to tie the game. He’s 5-for-5 on game-tying or game-winning field goals in the final 2 minutes of a game in his career.
Third-and-long for Georgia, a Texas blitz and an errant throw by Gunner Stockton that Jahdae Barron picks off. Texas gets the ball back at its own 34-yard line.
Quinn Ewers throws his second interception of the game. Georgia’s Daylen Everette comes down with the ball on a forced throw, and Texas is hanging on by a thread at its own 26-yard line.
Georgia is pulling out all the stops with its backup quarterback, and it’s working. A fake punt. An end around. And lots of Trevor Etienne, who has 83 yards on 12 carries. They get inside the Texas 5-yard line but the Longhorns again hold. Peyton Woodring boots his third field goal of the game from 21 yards.
Just like that, Texas makes a play. Quinn Ewers hits DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 41-yard touchdown pass on a quick slant, and Texas has six plays of at least 20 yards today. And Ewers now has a touchdown pass in 24 straight games.
Missed opportunities in the first half are haunting the Longhorns in the second half. Scoring opportunities have dried up for Texas, which had 170 yards of offense in the first quarter alone but just 106 yards since. The running game has 40 positive yards on 17 carries, taking away the sacks. Will Steve Sarkisian turn the ball over to Quinn Ewers?
Georgia coach Kirby Smart shows his aggression by converting a fourth-and-short deep in Texas territory, but the Longhorns hold inside the 10-yard line. Peyton Woodring boots a 24-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a little cushion.
Texas’s Silas Bolden has gotten some heat for his punt returns this season, but a 26-yard return sets up a short field for Texas. But the Georgia defense gets its fourth sack and forces Bert Auburn into a 51-yard field goal try, which he pushes wide left. Georgia has 11 sacks in two games against Texas this season.
Now, the Texas offense has its issues. The Longhorns lose five yards on their first drive of the second half and punt it back to Georgia. Let’s see how Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and his staff adapt to Gunner Stockton, who’s more of a dual threat compared to the pro-style Carson Beck.
Gunner Stockton has replaced the injured Carson Beck at quarterback for Georgia, and he’s brought a sense of urgency to the Bulldog offense. And he brings some athleticism, which Texas will have to adapt to based on that opening drive of the second half. Trevor Etienne gives Georgia its first lead with a 10-yard run.
Carson Beck is out for Georgia with an injury suffered on the final play of the first half, and redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton is in at quarterback for the Bulldogs. He’s a former 5-star recruit who’s a high school legend in Georgia.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian may have the lead but he’s fuming entering the locker room. Texas has 260 yards of offense and has held Georgia to 54 yards but the mistakes are adding up: An interception, eight accepted penalties for 80 yards and a missed field goal. Oh, and two of the offside calls on Texas negated interceptions on the final drive of the first half. But the good news? Texas is dominating the Dawgs on both lines of scrimmage. And Georgia QB Carson Beck takes a massive hit from Trey Moore on the final play of the drive.
Texas has been a run-first team for the past month, but Steve Sarkisian has put the ball in Quinn Ewers’ hand tonight. Ewers has 217 yards on 15-of-23 passing while Texas has run for 30 yards on 15 carries. Texas has the ball at the 2-minute warning and needs points on this drive, based on how its doiminated the first half. If no points, Sark will be one frustrated coach heading into halftime.
Quinn Ewers nearly tosses a pick, and then a false start negates a 37-yard field goal by Bert Aubrun. Backed up for a 42-yarder, Auburn sends it wide left. Mistakes by Texas are keeping this close; the Longhorns have a 234-53 edge in total yards.
Georgia QB Carson Beck finally finds some kind of rhythm but Texas holds at its own 22-yard line. Bulldog kicker Peyton Woodring nails a 44-yard field goal to trim the lead in half. Georgia leads the FBS in drops, and a drop by Arian Smith hurt the Dawgs on that drive.
How will Steve Sarkisian use Arch Manning? On a fourth-and-1 from the 28-yard line, Manning gets under center for an apparent sneak but Jake Majors snaps it between Manning’s legs to Jaydon Blue, who runs for a first down. That’s a new one. But three penalties for 40 yards are killing Texas, and it helps stall the drive. Bert Auburn nails a 42-yarder. Big kicks from Auburn, who was just 10-of-15 entering the game.
Quinn Ewers just hits Matthew Golden for a 32-yard gain on third-and-14, which is a fitting end for a quarter dominated by Texas. The Longhorns have 170 yards of offense compared to nine for Georgia, and Ewers has 149 yards passing. Texas is set up at th Georgia 37-yard line to start the second quarter.
Texas gets the ball back. After two possessions, Georgia has 9 yards of offense. The Longhorns look every bit the No. 3 defense in the nation early.
A 50-yard pass from Quinn Ewers to Matthew Golden on third-and-long gets Texas out of the shadow of its own goal line, and a 22-yard dart to Isaiah Bond puts Texas deep into Georgia territory before the Longhorns settle for a 41-yard field goal by Bert Auburn. Ewers is getting good protection and dicing apart the Bulldog defense with 119 yards on 6-of-9 passing. If Trevor Goosby, Kelvin Banks Jr.’ replacement at left tackle, had gotten a block on a screen, Texas may have seven on the board. By the way, Auburn now has 61 career field goals, a school record. He had been tied with Cameron Dicker.
But the Texas defense holds with a third-down stop by defensive tackle Vernon Broughton, who stays hot after having a big game against Texas A&M. You can see the difference in philosophy between Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Texas HC Steve Sarkisian there; Smart choses to punt on fourth-and-1 from his own 42-yard line, and Sarkisian likes to roll the dice in that situation.
Georgia gets the first break of the game when an interception by cornerback Daylan Everette pops the ball in the air and comes down with the interception at the Georgia 33-yard line. Lot of contact with the intended receiver Isaiag Bond, but no flag.
The SEC championship game between Texas and Georgia will kick off at 3:16 p.m. CT. Texas is the designated home team even though the partisan crowd will favor the home-state squad.
In the final walk-through, injured Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is not suited out and is watching warm-ups in shorts. He will apparently not play in the SEC championship game because of a left ankle injury.
Banks was officially listed as a game-time decision on the last injury report issued ahead of Saturday’s SEC Championship Game between No. 2 Texas football and No. 5 Georgia, and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian on Thursday said Banks had practiced this week. An All-American candidate and a projected first-round NFL draft pick in 2025, Banks was clipped on the left ankle by a Texas A&M pass rusher while blocking for Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers during the first quarter of the Longhorns’ 17-7 win over Texas A&M last Saturday.
Redshirt freshman Trevor Goosby replaced Banks at left tackle against Texas A&M and drew praise from the Texas coaches after the game. He will presumably get the start against Georgia.
Injured Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is officially listed as a game-time decision on the last injury report issued ahead of Saturday’s SEC Championship Game between No. 2 Texas football and No. 5 Georgia. He is suited up and went through warm-ups at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Banks was listed as questionable on the most recent SEC football availability report, and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian on Thursday said Banks had practiced this week. An All-American candidate and a projected first-round NFL draft pick in 2025, Banks was clipped on the left ankle by a Texas A&M pass rusher while blocking for Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers during the first quarter of the Longhorns’ 17-7 win over Texas A&M last Saturday.
Texas’ game vs. Georgia in the SEC championship game will be broadcast on ABC. Streaming options for the game include Watch ESPN and Fubo, which is offering a free trial for its streaming service.
Thomas Jones, Texas beat writer
Georgia 27, Texas 21
SPECIAL TEAMS A SPECIAL PROBLEM
Sarkisian and his squad have embraced the Longhorns’ identity as a run-first, defensive-oriented team, but season-long troubles on special teams could prove costly in the Bulldogs’ backyard.
Cedric Golden, Columnist
Texas 24, Georgia 20
IMPROVED HORNS COMPLETE SEC RUN
The Longhorns are better than they were five games ago when Georgia delivered a much-needed wakeup call and a 30-15 win at DKR. Texas is road-tested and hungry to right the wrongs of that day. Quinn Ewers will take care of the ball and will outplay Carson Beck in the latest signature win in Steve Sarkisian’s fourth season.
Danny Davis, Texas beat writer
Texas
LESS MISTAKES MEANS WIN FOR UT
The Longhorns will need to avoid the self-inflicted wounds this time around, but I expect Texas to complete its SEC coronation against a Georgia team that has not looked great since it left Austin in the middle of October.
David Eckert, Texas insider
Georgia 24, Texas 21
NOT ENOUGH OFFENSE FOR SEC TITLE
The Longhorns will put up a much better performance than they did in October, but their offense will need to play much better than what it has shown in recent weeks to win this game. 
Embed: 75018740007
Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Saturday:
Texas: RB CJ Baxter (out), RB Christian Clark (out), RB Velton Gardner (out), DB Derek Williams Jr. (out), OL Kelvin Banks Jr. (questionable).
Georgia: RB Branson Robinson (questionable), RB Chauncey Bowens(questionable), DL Joseph Jonah-Ajonye (out), WR Colbie Young (out-suspended), DT Christen Miller (questionable), RB Trevor Etienne (questionable).
Dome.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

source

Post Views: 11