Bulldogs take down No. 1 Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – The fifth-ranked Georgia football team went on the road Saturday night and knocked off top-ranked Texas, 30-15, in front of more than 100,000 fans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Georgia’s defense produced seven sacks and four turnovers and running back Trevor Etienne ran for three scores to lead the offense.

The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) overcame three interceptions by Carson Beck thanks in large part to a defensive effort that held one of college football’s top offenses — 43.2 points per game coming into Saturday — in check for most of the game. Georgia finished with 10 tackles for loss, with linebacker Jalon Walker getting three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Georgia was held to 283 yards of offense and converted just 6 of 17 third-down attempts, but it made enough plays when it had to. And kicker Peyton Woodring connected on field goals from 33, 48 and 44 yards. Texas, which was held to 38 yards in the first half, finished with 259.

The win was No. 100 for Kirby Smart, who improved to 100-17 in his nine seasons as Georgia’s head coach.

“This was a team victory — offense, defense and special teams — in a very tough place to play,” Smart said afterward.

Texas (6-1, 2-1) made the first big play of the game, on Georgia’s second drive, when defensive back Andrew Mukuba intercepted a Beck pass at the Bulldog 42-yard line. However, the Georgia defense held firm and forced the Longhorns to punt.

Later in the quarter, with Georgia facing a third-and-8 at the UT 18, Beck’s pass was tipped by tight end Lawson Luckie and intercepted by defensive back Jahdae Barron at the 5. A few plays later, Georgia’s defense got the ball back when cornerback Daylen Everette blitzed, sacked quarterback Quinn Ewers, forced a fumble, and recovered it at the Texas 13.

Georgia made the most of the turnover, eventually scoring a two-yard run to the right side by Etienne to take a 7-0 lead with six seconds left in the quarter. Etienne had 33 yards rushing and 23 receiving on seven touches in the opening quarter.

A Texas penalty on the ensuing kickoff negated a long return and forced the Longhorns to start their drive on their 8. A sack by Walker on third down led to a punt from the back of Texas’ end zone, and Anthony Evans III returned it 19 yards to the 28. Georgia eventually had to settle for a 33-yard Woodring field goal, pushing the Bulldogs’ lead to 10-0 with 10:46 left in the half.

Everette produced another turnover on Texas’ next drive, jumping in front of the intended receiver for an interception at the Longhorn 34. Three plays later, after a 17-yard completion to wideout Dominic Lovett, Etienne ran the ball in for a 15-yard touchdown and a 17-0 lead with 8:30 to play in the quarter.

Walker got another third-down sack on Texas’ ensuing possession, forcing another punt, and the Georgia offense took over at its 45. The Bulldogs drove down to the Texas 30 and Woodring booted a 48-yard field goal to push the lead to 20-0 with 4:43 to play until halftime.

Walker and the Georgia defense weren’t done making plays in the first half. One play after Walker sacked Arch Manning, who had taken over for Ewers earlier in the quarter, for a loss of 11, Damon Wilson II sacked Manning and forced a fumble that Walker recovered at the Texas 30 with 25 seconds left.

Georgia then closed out the half with a 44-yard Woodring field goal to take a 23-0 lead. At the break, Georgia had 170 yards of offense to just 38 for Texas. The Bulldogs held UT to just 1.1 yards per play in the half and got stops for loss on seven of the Longhorns’ 34 offensive plays, with five sacks.

After Texas recovered a Georgia onside kick to start the third quarter, Ewers led the Longhorns on a 55-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond, followed by a successful two-point attempt, cutting the Georgia lead to 23-8 with 10:57 to go in the third.

Late in the third, Georgia appeared to avoid a third interception when Texas’ Barron, who picked off Beck’s pass, was called for pass interference on the play. Play was then halted for several minutes after fans threw dozens of items onto the field, during which the officials waived off the flag and Texas took over at the Georgia 9.

After Georgia’s Mykel Williams sacked Ewers for a loss of nine on first down, the Bulldogs’ sixth sack of the game, Ewers hit Jaydon Blue for a 17-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 23-15 with 2:12 left in the third.

Georgia started its next drive at its 11, and on third-and-10, Beck hit Arian Smith for a 21-yard gain. On the next play, a flea flicker, Beck found tight end Oscar Delp for a 43-yard gain to the Texas 25. Later, after a face mask penalty on Texas on a completion to Dillon Bell, Georgia had a first and goal at the 6. Beck ran the ball down to the 1, On fourth down at the 1, with offensive lineman Micah Morris lined up at fullback, Etienne scored to make it 30-15 with 12:04 remaining.

The Bulldogs’ seventh sack of the game came at a most opportune time, when the Longhorns went for it on fourth-and-6 at the Georgia 37. Williams sacked and stripped Ewers and Wilson recovered at the UGA 44 with 10:23 to play. The Georgia defense later turned the Longhorns over on downs at the Bulldog 19 with 5:26 left in the game.

After stopping a Georgia fourth-and-one rush at the Bulldog 40, Texas took over with 2:13 remaining. The defense got one more stop, turning the Longhorns over on downs at the 11 with 1:10 remaining. Georgia then kneeled down twice to seal the victory.

The Bulldogs return to action on Nov. 2, when they face Florida at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

POST-GAME NOTES

*Career Win #100 For Smart: Head coach Kirby Smart joined a select group of head coaches who have been among the fastest to reach the century victory mark in their career as he reached 100 wins tonight in just 117 games with the road win over #1 Texas. That ranks tied for fifth fastest with Knute Rockne (100-12-5 at Notre Dame) and Chris Petersen (100-17) with Boise State and Washington.

*Huge Road Win! With tonight’s 30-15 victory, No. 5 Georgia has now won 45 of its past 46 games including 31 of its past 32 SEC regular season games. The Bulldogs are 52-3 in their last 55 games. With the latest victory, Georgia’s 2024 senior class improves to 48-3 overall and 42-1 in the regular season. Georgia notched its second win in the UT series with the Longhorns still holding a 4-2 edge.

*Bulldogs Now 4-5 Against No. 1 Ranked Teams: Georgia improved to 4-5 in school history versus the top-ranked team and now 3-1 under Kirby Smart. Tonight marked the first time that the Bulldogs faced a No. 1 team in a true road game.

*Defensive Review: Georgia held top-ranked UT to 15 points and 259 yards of total offense on 76 plays as they were 2-for-15 on 3rd down conversions Coming in tonight, UT ranked seventh nationally in Scoring Offense at 43.2 ppg. UT finished 0-for-7 on 3rd down conversions in the first half.

At the half, top-ranked UT was shutout on just 38 yards of total offense (2-rushing, 36-passing) on 34 plays with a season-high five sacks. It’s the third time this year that the Bulldogs have a first-half shutout, doing it against No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta and versus Tenn. Tech in Athens.

*In the first half, junior Daylen Everette got a sack for minus 15 and a forced a fumble plus recovered it at the UT 13. It was his first forced fumble and fumble recover and sack. It led to an eventual TD and a 7-0 edge with six seconds left in the first quarter. Everette notched his first INT (2nd of his career) at the UT34. It led to an eventual TD and a 17-0 edge with 8:30 left in the first half.

*Georgia’s leading tacklers were junior Jalon Walker with eight tackles plus three sacks. He has team-best 4.5 sacks on the year. The three sacks tied for the most in a game in the Kirby Smart era, last done by Channing Tindall at Tennessee in 2021.

*Daylen Everette had seven stops. Damon Wilson had a sack, forced fumble that was recovered by Walker at the UT30. Junior Mykel Williams added a sack in the 2nd half to give him four on the season.

*UT cut it to 23-8 on its opening possession of the 2nd half, going 55 yards on eight plays in 3:52.

*Following an overturn on interference play that led to an INT, UT needed two plays and nine yards to cut it to 23-14 with 2:12 in the 3rd quarter.

*Summary Of The Offense: Georgia finished 283 yards on 71 plays including 6-of-17 on 3rd downs and 1-for-2 with a TD on 4th downs.

At the half, Georgia led 23-0 with 170 yards of offense on 39 plays. Coming in tonight, UT led the nation in Scoring Defense (6.3 ppg) and had allowed just one passing TD all year.

*Coming in tonight In the Red Zone, UT ranked second nationally, allowing only seven trips and just one TD. In the first half, Georgia was 3-for-4 (2TDs rushing, 33-yard field goal, one INT) in the Red Zone and ended the night 4-for-5 with 3 TDs..

*Georgia capitalized on a sack/forced fumble/recovery to give them the ball on the UT 13. It led to a TD, going four plays in 1:35 on a two-yard score by Trevor Etienne for a 7-0 advantage.

*Georgia built a 10-0 lead with 10:46 left in the first half on a 33-yard field goal by sophomore Peyton Woodring.

*Following an INT by Daylen Everette to give the Bulldogs the ball at the UT34, Georgia turned it into a TD, capped by a 15-yard run by Trevor Etienne and a 17-0 edge.

*Georgia made it 20-0 after a 48-yard field goal by Woodring with 4:43 left, and he made a 44-yard to end the first half for a 23-0 edge.

*At halftime, senior QB Carson Beck was 16-for-28 for 100 yards with no TDs and 2 INTs.

*The Bulldogs had 108 rushing yards on 30 attempts. Junior Trevor Etienne had a team-high 87 yards on 19 attempts with 3 TDs.

*Georgia put together an 11 play, 89-yard TD drive in 5:03 to take a 30-15 advantage with 12:04 left in the contest en route to the win.

*4th Down Success: On 4th-and-goal from the 1, Etienne scored to put the Bulldogs up 30-14 after the PAT. The Bulldogs are now 11-for-12 on the year on 4th down conversions including making their last 10 attempts. Coming in tonight, Georgia ranked fourth nationally in 4th Down Conversions at 91%. Georgia finished 1-for-2 on 4th downs tonight.

*Catching Up With The Receivers: Eight different Bulldogs had a catch tonight with the leading receivers in senior Arian Smith (6-for-32)  Dominic Lovett (4-for-35) and Trevor Etienne (3-for-23).

*Special Teams In Action: Sophomore PK Peyton Woodring tallied 13 points on four PATs and field goals of 33, 44 and 48 yards plus handled kickoffs.

*Junior P Brett Thorson averaged 54 yards on four punts with two returned for minus nine yards. Georgia has not allowed a positive yard on a return this year. Sophomore Anthony Evans had two punt returns for 21 yards.

*Captains, Coin Toss And For Starters: Georgia’s captains were Carson Beck, Trevor Etienne, Malaki Starks and Jalon Walker.

Texas won the toss and deferred the ball until the second half. Junior Jared Wilson returned to his starting role at center after not starting the past two games due to injury. He now has started five games this season.

*Up Next: The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) have an open date and return to action Nov. 2 against Florida (4-3, 2-2 SEC) in Jacksonville. The Gators beat Kentucky in Gainesville tonight and are off next week too.

POST-GAME QUOTES

Coming soon.