No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia: Five matchups to watch

The Longhorns and Bulldogs are set to do battle again in Atlanta.

Game No. 13 brings about a chance for redemption and revenge for the No. 2 Texas Longhorns, as they are set to do battle once again with the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs. Back in October the Longhorns were humbled on their own turf in Austin by Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs, and now they have a chance to right their only wrong of the 2024 regular season.

The stakes are even higher this time around, as the winner will not only claim rights to a bye in the College Football Playoffs, but they will be crowned the champion of the SEC for the 2024 season. When the Longhorns announced they would be making the transition to the SEC, these were the kind of games that both players and fans dreamed of and now it is right in front of them in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

These two teams have already become very familiar with each other this season, so I am very intrigued to see how this matchup will play out in Atlanta given how both teams fared down the home stretch of the season after they collided in October.

Lets get after it and discuss some matchups I will be keeping close tabs on in the SEC Championship rematch between Texas and Georgia.

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Texas’ offensive line vs. Georgia’s defensive front

This was where the game was won by Georgia in the first matchup in Austin. The Bulldogs absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage as a defensive unit, and they were constantly able to keep the Texas offense off schedule and behind the sticks. The Georgia defense was as aggressive and locked in as we’ve seen them all year and because of that, Texas could never get their footing offensively.

Guys like Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams were very disruptive in the first matchup, and it is going to be imperative for the Texas offensive line to do a better job of slowing these guys down and giving quarterback Quinn Ewers a chance in the pocket. In October, the Bulldogs combined for 10 tackles for a loss and seven sacks, which is by far the best performance a defense has had against the Texas offensive line all season.

Something to keep an eye in the rematch is that Texas All-American left tackle Kelvin Banks is a game-time decision after injuring his ankle last week at Texas A&M seven snaps into the ballgame. Redshirt freshman Trevor Goosby was inserted into the lineup in place of Banks a fared very well on short notice, but this will be an even taller task for the young tackle to step into for this matchup. Sark stated that Banks has practiced this week, so we will see come warm-ups if he is moving around well and able to give it a go. Banks has not missed a start since arriving to Texas.

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Quinn Ewers vs. Georgia’s pressure packages

Protecting Ewers is obviously going to be the most important aspect of this matchup after what we saw several weeks ago, but Ewers is also going to have to be better when it comes to handling the different disguises and pressures Smart and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann are going to be sending at him. Aside from pressure getting to him in the first matchup, Ewers never looked comfortable in the pocket and even when he time to operate, he had happy feet and either didn’t see open receivers or just missed them.

Considering Ewers is still nursing a high ankle sprain, it is going to be even more imperative for him to have a firm grasp on where the pressure is coming from and be able to get the ball out on time. After Texas A&M allowed Ewers to get outside the pocket and hurt them some with his feet last week, you can guarantee that Georgia will try to keep him in a phone booth and try to make it feel like the walls are closing in on him to make him panic.

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Carson Beck vs. Texas’ pressure packages

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck had one of the roughest stretches I can recall from a quarterback earlier this season, when he threw NINE interceptions over a four-game stretch, including three against Texas in Austin.

Despite Georgia winning the game the first time around, Beck was not playing well as he finished the game 23-of-41 passing for 175 yards with three interceptions and zero touchdowns. With that said, over the last three games Beck has been playing much better and more confident. Against Tennessee, UMass, and Georgia Tech, Beck threw for a collective 941 yards with an 11-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Beck is playing much better than he was at time of the first matchup, but the Texas secondary has been consistently one of the best in the country, and they will be looking to put another notch in their belt against Beck in the rematch.

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Texas’ run game vs. Georgia’s run defense

The Texas run game was essentially taken away in the first matchup against the Bulldogs, but it is something that has a good chance in improving upon in the rematch in Atlanta. In October, the Texas run game only mustered 29 yards on 27 carries due to sack yardage suffered by Ewers, as Tre Wisner led with the way with 52 yards on 15 carries on the night.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas offense are at their best when they are able to have a balanced offense and are able to threaten you with deep shots down the field off of play action. After being up and down in the run game throughout the season, the Texas offense has had back-to-back weeks with dominant rushing efforts against Kentucky and Texas A&M. Both the Wildcats and the Aggies featured defensive fronts with future NFL players, and the Longhorns were able to rush for 251 yards and 243 yards, respectively, with Wisner serving as the focal point of both of those performances.

If Texas is able to establish the run game early and get Wisner going the way they have in the past couple of weeks that would be huge for the offense’s overall ceiling in this matchup. Steve Sarkisian mentioned recently that the staff made some tweaks with how they are blocking some things up in the run game and that has helped them get going. We will see if that success carries over in Atlanta.

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Texas’ secondary vs. Georgia’s tight ends

When tight end Brock Bowers took his talents to Sundays, many people wondered how the Bulldogs would be able to replace his production. Well, the long and short of it is they can’t, and they likely never will because Bowers is a unicorn and players like him are extremely rare. You can tell it has been an adjustment period for not only Beck, but the Georgia offensive staff, as they have not had a skill player in the passing game they could lean on in a pinch like they did with Bowers in recent years.

So why am I mentioning the Georgia tight ends heading into this matchup? Because the tight trio of Lawson Luckie, Oscar Delp, and Ben Yurosek have combined for 705 yards on 52 catches and have netted the Georgia offense seven touchdowns. More importantly, they are getting targeted more in important situations by Beck given the Georgia wide receivers’ tendency to drop passes throughout the year.

While this group may not be as dangerous and versatile as Bowers was for the Bulldogs the last three years, they are definitely becoming a safety valve for Beck and it will be something the Texas secondary will have to keep an eye on this time around. Delp got loose in Austin on a flea flicker for a 43-yard gain, so they certainly like to try to scheme them into the game plan. We will see if Texas can put together another solid performance against Georgia’s passing game and get Beck out of sync like he was in Austin.