What just happened: Gutsy decisions lead UGA to huge win over Texas
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton faked the handoff and ran to his right, tucking the ball in the process. As a running threat, this one detail caused four Texas defenders to run directly at Stockton, freeing up tight end Lawson Luckie.
With Luckie running free, Stockton untucked the ball and threw an easy touchdown pass, giving the Bulldogs the needed kill shot in what ended up being a 35-10 victory over the Longhorns at Sanford Stadium.
Here’s the thing. For two and a half quarters, this was a close game. Georgia jumped out to a 14-3 lead, with Texas cutting it to 14-10 midway through the third quarter. However, a series of gutsy coaching decisions from head coach Kirby Smart kept the ball away from Texas and allowed Georgia to turn a 4-point lead into an 18-point advantage in a matter of minutes.
On Georgia’s ensuing possession after Texas’ score, Smart had the offense go for it twice on fourth down. The Bulldogs picked up the first conversion with a short pass and the second by drawing Texas offside. They capped the drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Stockton to London Humphreys. Georgia then recovered a surprise onside kick and capitalized nine plays later with Luckie’s touchdown.
Up 28-10, Georgia forced a Texas punt and scored again with Stockton rushing in a score. Stockton could receive some additional Heisman Trophy consideration after this performance as he completed 24 of 29 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns. He also carried the ball six times for 29 yards and a score.
Stockton’s first two touchdown passes were thrown to Noah Thomas in the first half.
Georgia’s defense had an excellent game, holding the Longhorns to 274 total yards.
What it means
There aren’t many teams that will want to see this version of Georgia moving forward. The offense started fast, overcame a lull and finished strong. The defense followed its best outing against Mississippi State with an even better game against Texas. While special teams had some punting concerns, the group otherwise had a solid outing.
If Texas A&M and Alabama win their rivalry games against Texas and Auburn in two weeks, and if Ole Miss loses to Mississippi State, Georgia won’t reach the SEC Championship. But that’s OK. There is still a chance for Georgia to earn a first-round bye if it finishes the regular season with wins over Charlotte and Georgia Tech.
A question that needs answering
Will CJ Allen be able to return before the Georgia Tech game?
The biggest concern for the Bulldogs is Allen’s health after suffering a leg injury in the first half. Allen was unable to return, with Raylen Wilson taking over his role on the defense. Allen has been Georgia’s best defender all season long and an extended absence would hurt the Bulldogs tremendously. Allen recorded three tackles in the game and is tied for first in the SEC with 78 on the season.
Three important plays
Oopsie daisy: On Texas’ first drive of the game, it drove down to Georgia 16-yard line. On third-and-8, however, Arch Manning threw a pass to wide-open Ryan Wingo, who dropped the ball. That forced the Longhorns to settle for three points, giving the Bulldogs an early win on defense.
Fourth-down conversions: Facing a fourth-and-1 in the third quarter in Georgia’s own territory, Smart decided to go for it and not give the ball back to Texas. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo dialed up a great play fake that sucked the Longhorns to the field side, with Stockton bootlegging the other way to hit Chauncey Bowens for a first down. The Bulldogs later had a fourth-and-5 on this same drive and drew Texas offside for a first down, even though the play had an obvious pass interference penalty that was flagged and strangely picked up. Ultimately, those gutsy decisions led to the 30-yard touchdown pass to Humphreys.
The gutsiest call of the season: Right after Humphreys’ touchdown, Smart showed his guts even more and called an onside kick. The Bulldogs executed it to perfection with Cash Jones recovering it in stride easily. Can you imagine the reaction if the onside kick didn’t work and the Bulldogs lost? The whole sequence was remarkable, quite frankly. Going for it twice on fourth down and calling a surprise onside kick is what you’d typically see from a teenager playing College Football 26 as opposed to Smart on the sideline. The most important part of this decision was that it resulted in Georgia capping off a nine-play drive with Stockton hitting Luckie for a touchdown. Additionally, this play added insult to injury to a Texas’ special teams unit that was absolutely atrocious Saturday night.
Other games of note
No. 3 Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 30: The Gamecocks led the Aggies 30-3 at halftime and collapsed in spectacular fashion. Texas A&M remains unbeaten with Samford and Texas remaining. The Aggies are all but guaranteed for a playoff berth at this point, regardless of what happens against Texas.
No. 11 Oklahoma 23, No. 4 Alabama 21: The Sooners’ College Football Playoff hopes remain alive and the Crimson Tide will need to defeat rival Auburn to both ensure a berth to the SEC Championship and playoff. Alabama uncharacteristically turned the ball over three times, which proved to be the difference since it out-gained Oklahoma with 406 yards to 212.
No. 16 Georgia Tech 36, Boston College 34: The Yellow Jackets had to rally furiously to thwart an upset attempt from the Eagles. Georgia Tech will face a test against Pittsburgh, which was blown out by Notre Dame earlier Saturday, before the annual meeting of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate.
Grading Georgia
Offense: A-
The offense started fast but ran into some trouble in the second and third quarters. However, after Stockton threw an interception that led to Texas cutting the game to 14-10, he responded with a touchdown drive. Stockton and the offense then added two more touchdown drives to close out a huge win.
Defense: A
The defense found ways to pressure Manning and remained aggressive all game. The Bulldogs recorded three sacks and defensive back KJ Bolden picked off Manning. It sure looks like Georgia’s defense has figured things out at the right time of the season.
Special teams: C+
The onside kick recovery was outstanding and Zachariah Branch had a good game returning kicks. When it came to punting, it was a different story. Georgia obviously didn’t want to give Ryan Niblett a chance to return a punt. However, Brett Thorson’s sky kicks fell awfully short in the process. Thorson has been excellent with hang time and preventing returns. Perhaps Thorson put too much effort in skying the kicks as Georgia was fortunate no points resulted after a 26-yard punt gave Texas the ball at the Georgia 46-yard line.
Season grades to date
Offense: B
Defense: C+
Special teams: B+