No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia final score: Turnovers doom Longhorns in 30-15 loss to the Bulldogs

The Longhorns turned the ball over three times and had four turnovers on downs on the last five drives.

AUSTIN, Texas — in the biggest game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium since the Ohio State Buckeyes came to Austin in 2006, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns host the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday as the Forty Acres sits at the center of the college football universe.

The game pits two former Nick Saban assistants against each other — defensive mastermind Kirby Smart leading the Bulldogs and offensive genius calling plays for the Longhorns in a marquee matchup of strength against strength.

Befitting the expectations surrounding the game, a Texas defense that has allowed only three touchdowns all season finally faces a proven quarterback in Georgia’s Carson Beck, a projected first-round draft pick next spring. Will this be the first time in 2024 that the Horns get into a shootout? According to ESPN’s SP+, the UGA offense (No. 6) is actually better than Smart’s defense (No. 10), and Beck averages over 300 passing yards per game. Texas allowed a season-high 204 passing yards to Michigan in Week Two.

Texas is favored by 3.5 points, according to FanDuel.

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Pregame injury reports

Texas removed junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond from the pregame injury report after he was initially listed as questionable and then upgraded to probable on Thursday.

Georgia is without star linebacker Smael Mondon Jr., but removed starting center Jared Wilson from Saturday’s injury report and could also get starting right guard Tate Ratledge back.

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First quarter

After Texas won the toss and deferred to the second half, the Longhorns kicked off to the Bulldogs to start the game, a touchback by junior Will Stone. Against a safety blitz, Georgia called a run-pass option on the first play, an incomplete pass from Beck. On second down, a drop back, Beck missed his receiver over the middle, setting up 3rd and 10. With the Horns trying to substitute and the Bulldogs trying to use tempo, Texas called a timeout to avoid a penalty. When Beck checked down against the dime package for the Longhorns, Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense rallied to the football to force a punt.

A 58-yard punt by Georgia flipped the field and pinned Texas deep at their own 13-yard line. Bond wasted little time flashing his improved ankle health, catching a nine-yard pass from quarterback Quinn Ewers on the first play before the Longhorns moved the chains with a short throw to senior tight end Gunnar Helm. A check down to senior tight end Juan Davis kept Texas on schedule, then sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner took the edge to pick up another new set of downs.

Trying to get freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo the ball on a screen pass, Georgia’s defense started swarming, forcing Texas into 3rd and 9 after stuffing a Wisner run, too. Against strong coverage from the Bulldogs down the field, Ewers left the pocket and then threw the ball away as both defenses held to open the game. A short punt by walk-on Ian Ratliff wasn’t fielded by Georgia, bouncing to the 17-yard line for 44 yards.

After a solid gain on the ground, Beck tried to throw over the middle, but was intercepted by Texas senior safety Andrew Mukuba, who stretched for an interception, his second of the season with the Longhorns.

Trying to hit a big play quickly, Texas ran a flea flicker reverse that Georgia covered well, except for Wisner over the middle, who dropped the throw from Ewers with acres of space in front of him. Wisner caught a check down on second down for a one-yard gain before the Bulldogs gave the Longhorns an easier third down with an offsides penalty that Texas gave back with a false start by junior wide receiver Matthew Golden. Back in third and long, Ewers was unable to connect with sophomore wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. Ratliff’s second attempt was hit better, but ultimately too well, finding the end zone for a touchback.

Georgia running back Trevor Etienne was able to find a seam up the middle on second down for an 18-yard gain. Then Beck found Lawson Luckie for a 21-yard reception. An overthrow by Beck on second down was nearly intercepted by Texas super senior cornerback Jahdae Barron. But Georgia was able to convert the third and long when Beck chedked down to his running back.

Under pressure, Beck had to check down again on first down, a one-yard loss. A screen pass only produced a three-yard gain into the Texas red zone, setting up 3rd and 8 for Georgia. Given another opportunity, Barron came up with his interception when Beck’s throw intended for Luckie hit his hands, another lapse in accuracy from the Bulldogs quarterback.

After Georgia limited a Wisner run to a short gain, Ewers took a shot to Wingo and drew a pass-interference penalty on the underthrown pass to create some space off the Texas goal line. Running inside with Wisner continued to pay marginal dividends for the Horns with two runs producing five yards and a Georgia blitz hitting home on the blind side of Ewers, causing a fumble that the Bulldogs eventually recovered.

Georgia was able to pick up a first down deep in Texas territory by running the ball twice after the sudden change. Trying to score with a play-action pass, Beck’s throw was dropped, but going back to the run paid off with Etienne running finding the end zone for the game’s first score.

A 64-yard return by Golden threatened to shift the momentum, but Texas was flagged for holding on the play, forcing the Horns to start the drive inside their 10-yard line.

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Second quarter

Sarkisian kept trying to hit shot plays, calling a play-action pass that Ewers turned into a three-yard gain and another deep shot that Bond had to break up the pass. Facing third and long, Ewers was sacked just outside the end zone, forcing a constricted punt by Ratliff, especially after an illegal substitution penalty by Texas. Opting to put on a return, Georgia gained 19 yards on the return, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the 28-yard line.

The Texas defense started the drive strong, blowing up a screen pass for a three-yard loss. A check down by Beck picked up the lost yardage and a little bit extra to set up an important 3rd and 7. With plenty time in the pocket, Beck was able to find a receiver on a cross route and the Texas zone defense allowed the first down by the time a defender arrived for the tackle. Working the flat, Georgia’s next completion only gained two yards on second down. Beck misfired on third down to force the field-goal unit onto the artificial turf for a 33-yard attempt that extended the lead to 10-0.

A sub package with redshirt freshman running back/wide receiver Ryan Niblett gained five yards on first down, but Georgia defended the Texas misdirection throwback screen well enough to force an incompletion. Then Ewers made his second big mistake trying to target Golden, who had a Bulldogs defensive back jump the throw for an interception in Longhorns territory.

A second-down screen produced an explosive play for Georgia and Etienne scored on the next play as the Texas defense started to reel along with the offense as the Bulldogs went ahead 17-0.

The Longhorns offense quickly went three and out as the Bulldogs continued to dominate the line of scrimmage and tackle well in the open field, blitzing on 3rd and 11 and getting a sack of Ewers, the third of the game for Georgia.

The cracks continued to show for the Texas defense with a missed tackle on second down allowing a check down to pick up nine yards and a run by Etienne to break free for 14 yards thanks to a missed run fit.. Pressure forced a throwaway by Beck and a run stuff set up 3rd and 8 after the second defensive timeout by the Longhorns in the first half. The defense finally held just at the edge of field-goal range when Dominic Lovett couldn’t hang on to a pass with Georgia converting from 48 yards to lead 20-0.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning entered the game for Ewers and was immediately under pressure, throwing the ball away on first down and taking a sack on third down that was negated by a face-mask penalty on the Bulldogs. A double move intended to hit Bond took too long to develop and Manning was quickly under pressure again and forced to attempt a check down that went incomplete. After a false-start penalty, Manning was able to connect with Helm for a short gain, setting up 3rd and 6. Manning tried to connect with Moore and misfired with Golden wide open over the middle on an easier throw. Forced to punt again, Ratliff kicked the ball into the end zone for the second time in the first half.

Texas stopped Etienne for no gain on first down, but then gave up a nine-yard completion to Lovett, allowing Georgia to face 3rd and 1 after the two-minute warning. Longhorns super senior defensive tackle Alfred Collins and super senior defensive tackle Jermayne Lole flashed with a tackle for loss to force the Bulldogs to punt with 1:56 remaining in the first half after Georgia tried to get a cheap set of downs with a hard count.

Manning’s legs made an impact with the Bulldogs playing man coverage, scrambling for 21 yards up the middle and then checking down twice to junior running back Jaydon Blue that gained a combined 11 yards. The athleticism wasn’t enough to escape pressure, though, resulting in an 11-yard loss. Then the struggles of the Texas tackles showed up again with Manning under quick pressure and fumbling, recovered by Georgia. The Bulldogs finished the half with a 44-yard field goal to lead 23-0.

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Third quarter

With Ewers back on the field at quarterback, Texas ran the ball four straight times to start the half, including an end around to Wingo on 4th and inches, a conversion by the freshman from St. Louis. The first pass attempt by Ewers since his return was a play-action pass to Golden on an in-breaking route that gained 24 yards into the Georgia red zone. Texas moved even closer to the goal line after a face-mask penalty on the ensuing play. A swing pass to Wisner resulted in no gain and Ewers had his second-down pass attempt batted down at the line of scrimmage. On third down, Ewers tried to find Golden over the middle, drawing a pass-interference penalty and a fresh set of downs. Return motion by Bond produced a two-yard touchdown pass to end the eight-play, 55-yard drive that included a two-point conversion, also to Bond, to make it 23-8.

Georgia stayed on the ground for the first two plays of its drive, picking up seven total yards and allowing the Bulldogs to move the chains with a slip screen. On a play-action pass, Beck left the pocket, sliding to avoid a hit and taking a sack instead of forcing a throw into coverage. Barron showed up again for the first time since his early interception, breaking up Beck’s second-down pass. On 3rd and 12 against the Texas dime defense, Longhorns redshirt junior safety Michael Taaffe broke up Beck’s throw and nearly came up with an interception, ending the six-play drive by the Bulldogs.

Pinned near their goal line once again following a long punt and a holding penalty on the Longhorns, Ewers connected with Golden for a 34-yard gain, allowing his wide receiver to play the ball with an underthrown pass. After a short completion to Davis, Wisner found a seam behind the right side of the line to gain 10 yards, his longest run of the game. On a swing pass to Blue, the Texas running back was able to make a defender miss for a nine-yard gain, but wasn’t able to bring in a throw from Ewers on the next play. In four-down territory after a run by Wisner, Georgia was able to get a stop to set up 4th and 7, increasing the degree of difficulty for Ewers, who had his pass intended for Bond broken up by a Georgia cornerback to anticipated the slant and had the throw hit his chest. Once again, Golden was open, this time on the opposite side.

Overthinking it offensively, Georgia called a push pass on first down that was blown up by Texas senior Jack end Barryn Sorrell for a six-yard loss. On third down, Barron initially appeared to have his second interception of the game, but he was flagged for pass interference instead, negating his long return and giving the Bulldogs a first down. At least initially — after a four-minute stoppage of play because students were throwing water bottles on the field and hectoring by Sarkisian on the sideline, the officials picked up the flag.

After the strange sequence, Ewers immediately took a sack, but bounced back by throwing a touchdown to Blue, who took advantage of a mismatch on the 17-yard reception to make it 23-15.

Momentum seemed to swing more firmly in favor of Texas when Georgia tried to return the kickoff and only made it to the 11-yard line and the Bulldogs quickly faced 3rd and 10, but Beck hit Arian Smith for 21 yards and then took advantage of a busted coverage on a reverse flea flicker that went for 43 yards to tight end Oscar Delp to near the Texas red zone, where Georgia prepared to start the fourth quarter facing 2nd and 8 at the 23-yard line.

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Fourth quarter

Not only did Georgia pick up a first down on the first play of the fourth quarter, Mukuba also went down with an injury holding his left knee following an awkward tackle attempt, eventually leaving the field under his own power. On a slip screen, Sorrell’s pursuit was good, but he was flagged for a face-mask penalty, setting up first and goal for Georgia at the 7-yard line. A read option by Beck moved the ball down to the goal line, where it remained after another running play, setting up a review prior to the potential third-down play. Despite Etienne appearing to break the plane on replay, the call stood on review. A quarterback sneak by Beck was stopped short by Texas, setting up a critical fourth down that saw Etienne finally find the end zone to take a 30-15 lead.

On a 19-yard completion to Golden, Georgia was flagged for targeting, resulting in an ejection and moving Texas past midfield. After a check down to Helm, Ewers misfired targeting Wingo running a deep over route. Wisner nearly converted the 3rd and 7 on a screen pass that required Ewers to throw from a low arm slot. Lined up to go for it, Helm was flagged for offside, the fourth penalty on Helm in the last three games. Following a timeout, Ewers fumbled trying to attempt a pass, ending another drive with a turnover on downs.

In a strange drive by Georgia, Beck threw incomplete twice and then settle for a check down that at least took some time off the clock. Ultimately, the drive only took 35 seconds.

A throw to Wingo converted the first third down faced by the Longhorns on the ensuing drive before Ewers hit Helm on a fake pitch and the Bulldogs dropped another interception. Instead of facing another third down, a long targeting review resulted in another Georgia ejection and more extra yardage for Texas. But a false start, a throwaway from Ewers, and a check down set up 3rd and 12 needing two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to tie the game. Under pressure on fourth down, Ewers wasn’t able to deliver an accurate pass that forced Wingo to a knee short of the down to gain.

Texas ultimately ended the game with turnovers on downs on four of the final five possessions in the 30-15 loss.