ATHENS, Ga. — The fifth-ranked Georgia played to win again and again against No. 10 Texas on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs were aggressive on fourth down, even in their territory, and they even tried and converted a surprise onside kick after scoring early in the fourth quarter. The aggression paid off in a 35-10 win in front of a sellout crowd of 93,033 on hand for the top-10 matchup.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton set a career-high with four touchdown passes, wide receiver Noah Thomas caught two of them, and the Bulldog offense started and finished strong. There were lulls in the middle when both defenses got a lot of stops, but Georgia (9-1, 7-1 SEC) eventually surged past the Longhorns (7-3, 4-2) with aggression and creativity.
The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first two drives to go ahead 14-3, and then finished strong with three more in the fourth quarter. Stockton, who also ran for a touchdown, finished 24 of 29 passing for 229 yards, and Georgia out-gained Texas 357-274. Texas quarterback Arch Manning was held to 251 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, on 27-for-43 passing; he was also sacked three times. Georgia’s defense held Texas to 23 yards rushing on 17 attempts. Linebacker Chris Cole led the defense with seven tackles, including one of the Bulldogs’ seven tackles for loss.
The Bulldogs, who beat the Longhorns twice in 2024, once in Austin and again in the SEC Championship Game, had never hosted Texas in Athens before Saturday. Their only in-state meeting before last season was in Atlanta in 1957. Saturday’s win evened the all-time series at 4-4.
Texas got the ball to start the game, and the Longhorns moved the ball effectively until it got deep into Georgia territory. The Bulldogs got a couple of key stops inside the 20-yard line and held Texas to a 33-yard Mason Shipley field goal and a 3-0 lead with 8:53 to play in the opening quarter.
Georgia answered with its own good drive, but it ended with Stockton throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Noah Thomas for a 7-3 Bulldog lead. Stockton was 6-for-7 for 57 yards passing on the nine-play drive and had a 20-yard rush.
After Georgia’s defense forced a three-and-out, the Bulldogs got the ball back and went on the attack. The ending was the same as the first scoring drive, with Stockton hitting Thomas in the end zone, this time from the 4, making it 14-3 Bulldogs with 12:49 to go in the half. Georgia got inside the 10 when Stockton hit Zachariah Branch across the middle, and the receiver turned it into a 30-yard gain down to the 8.
The Bulldog defense again got a stop. This one came with 6:04 left in the half, when safety KJ Bolden picked off an Arch Manning pass at the UGA 16. Georgia’s offense couldn’t do anything with the turnover, and even though Brett Thorson’s punt only went 26 yards, allowing Texas to get the ball at the UGA 46, Georgia’s defense again delivered, forcing the Longhorns into another three-and-out.
Georgia got the ball back at its 16 with 2:57 left in the half, and Stockton hit tight end Oscar Delp for 23 yards on first down. The drive stalled after that, and Texas took over at its 16-yard line. Gabe Harris, Jr. sacked Manning for a nine-yard loss on first down, and the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 14-3 lead. Stockton was 14 of 17 for 139 yards and the two touchdowns in the first half, while Manning was 12 of 19 for 125 yards and an interception.
Texas’ defense made its big plan midway through the third quarter, picking off a Stockton pass at the Bulldog 36-yard line. It was just the third interception of the year for Stockton. The Longhorns turned the turnover into a touchdown, with Manning hitting Ryan Wingo for a 7-yard score with 5:27 to go in the third quarter, cutting Georgia’s lead to 14-10.
It was the first score for either team since the Bulldogs’ touchdown with 12:49 to go in the first half, a span of 11 drives. Georgia made it two scoring drives in a row by answering the Longhorns’ score. After converting a fourth-and-1 on its own 36 with a pass from Stockton to running back Chauncey Bowens for 10 yards, Georgia drove down to the UT 30. On first down, Stockton faked a short pass and then threw over the top to wide receiver London Humphreys for a 30-yard score and a 21-10 lead with 14:20 to play in the game.
Georgia’s aggressiveness continued on the kickoff, with the Bulldogs converting an onside kick that running back Cash Jones recovered at the UGA 47. It was Georgia’s first successful onside kick since 2013, and it led to a touchdown. The Bulldogs went 53 yards in nine plays, taking a 28-10 lead with 8:53 to go on Stockton’s fourth touchdown pass of the night. This one, a 6-yarder, went to tight end Lawson Luckie on the right side of the end zone.
After another Bulldog defensive stop, which included a strip sack of Manning inside the Texas 10 by linebacker Zayden Walker that the Longhorns recovered, Georgia pushed its lead to 35-10 with 4:43 to play on Stockton’s four-yard rush for a touchdown.
The Bulldogs will play their final home game of the regular season next Saturday against Charlotte. Kickoff is at 12:45 p.m.
POST-GAME NOTES
Winning The Big Games At Home: With tonight’s 35-10 win, the fifth-ranked Bulldogs (9-1, 7-1 SEC) are now 9-0 against top 10 ranked opponents Between the Hedges under Kirby Smart. Also, Georgia is now 55-5 at home in the Smart era. The Bulldogs are 40-3 in their past 43 SEC regular season games. Georgia has evened the series with Texas at 4-4 as it dates to 1949. The Bulldogs have won the past three meetings versus UT.
*Georgia finishes the SEC gauntlet with a 7-1 mark with two non-conference games remaining in the regular season.
*Georgia fell behind early in seven of its eight SEC games this year and went 6-1 in those contests. The win over UK was the lone one to lead wire-to-wire.
*Review Of the Offense: Georgia beat No. 10 Texas 35-10 behind 357 yards of offense (128-rushing, 229-passing) including a 21-point 4th quarter.
*Redshirt junior QB Gunner Stockton finished tonight 24-for-29 for 229 yards, career-tying 4 TD passes, 1 INT plus 29 rushing yards and a score. For the year, Stockton has 27 TDs, (19 passing and eight rushing). In the first half, he went 14-for-17 for 139 yards and 2 TDs plus 17 yards rushing on three attempts.
*Georgia came in averaging 33.4 points a game while UT allowed just 16.4. UT was 2nd nationally in rush defense (78.2) and Georgia managed 128.
*Georgia’s first drive of the 2nd half began after a 44-yard KOR by Zachariah Branch. The drive resulted in no points. Tthe next one ended with an INT.
*On the third drive of the 2nd half, Georgia went 73 yards on 10 plays in 6:01 to take a 21-10 lead with 14:20 left in the contest. The drive was capped by a 30-yard TD pass from Stockton to junior London Humphreys. Georgia had a 4th-and-1 at the UGA 36 and Stockton completed a 10-yard pass to Chauncey Bowens. The Bulldogs are now 9-for-12 on 4th Down this year. Later in the drive on 4th-and-5 at the Texas 49, UT was flagged for offsides resulting in a first down.
*Georgia followed the 4th quarter TD with a successful onside kick. It led to another TD and 28-10 lead with 8:53 left, this drive covering 53 yards on nine plays in 5:27 and culminated in a six-yard TD pass from Stockton to Lawson Luckie. It was Stockton’s career-tying fourth TD pass of the game (also versus No. 5 Ole Miss this year).
*Georgia made it 35-10 with a five play, 33-yard scoring drive finished off by Stockton’s four-yard TD run as he’s responsible for five TDs tonight.
*At the half, Georgia enjoyed a 14-3 lead with 196 yards of offense (57-rushing, 139 passing) on 32 plays versus UT.
*Down 3-0 with 8:53 left in the 1st quarter, Georgia’s first possession resulted in a 75-yard TD drive in nine plays that took 4:41.The drive featured a 19-yard scamper by Gunner Stockton, an 11-yard completion to Dillon Bell on a 3rd-and-10 from the UGA 29, and was capped by a 17-yard TD pass to Noah Thomas.
On the first drive, Stockton was 6-for-7 for 57 yards and notched his 16th TD pass of the season and was the third TD catch on the year for Thomas.
*Up 7-3, Georgia’s second drive resulted in a 66-yard TD drive on eight plays in 4:32. It featured a 30-yard completion to Zachariah Branch and a four-yard TD pass to Thomas, his second of the game, for a 14-3 edge with 12:49 left in the first half. At that point, Stockton was 10-for-11 for 103 yards and 2 TDs.
*Junior Zachariah Branch has a team-high six receptions for 41 yards while senior Noah Thomas had four for 32 yards and two scores. Junior London Humphreys had two for 55 yards. Sophomore Nate Frazier had a team-high 72 rushing yards on 16 carries.
*A Look At The Defense: The Bulldogs limited No. 10 Texas to 10 points and 274 yards on 60 plays (23-rushing, 251-passing) plus managed three sacks.
*UT’s lone TD drive came after an Anthony Hill INT as it covered just 36 yards on six plays. UT came in averaging 29.6 points a game.
*In the first half, UT scored three points and tallied 155 yards of total offense on 30 plays.
*UT got the ball first to start the game and made a 33-yard FG after going 59 yards in 13 plays in 5:31.The drive included a 4th-and-1 conversion at the UGA 30.
*UT’s fourth drive tonight ended with an interception by sophomore SS KJ Bolden, his second of the year and third of his career.
*UT’s sixth drive tonight began at the UT 16 with 34 seconds left and Arch Manning was sacked for nine yards by DE Gabe Harris Jr., his first of the year.
*In the first half, UT was 0-for-6 on 3rd Downs and 1-for-1 on 4th Down. They finished 2-for-12 on 3rd Downs and 2-for-3 on 4th Down.
*Georgia’s leading tacklers were sophomores Chris Cole with a career-high seven while senior CB Daylen Everette had five. The SEC’s leading tackler, junior ILB CJ Allen, had three stops in limited action after a leaving the game due to a leg injury in the first half.
*Georgia finished with three sacks. Sophomore OLB Quintavius Jackson and freshman Zayden Walker each had a sack in the second half.
*Special Teams Update: Junior PK Peyton Woodring tallied five points on five PATs plus he handled the kickoffs.
*Junior Zachariah Branch had two kickoff returns for 63 yards and three punt returns for 30 yards.
*Senior Brett Thorson punted four times for a 31.0 average with a long of 49, placing one inside the 20 and none were returned.
*In the 4th quarter, Georgia recovered an onside kick for the first time since 2013 against South Carolina when Collin Barber got it in the first quarter of an eventual 41-30 win here over No. 6 USC. Tonight, it was recovered by senior Cash Jones. It led to an eventual TD and a 28-10 advantage.
*Captains, Coin Toss And For Starters: Georgia’s captains were Dillon Bell, Drew Bobo, CJ Allen and Gabe Harris, Jr.
*Georgia won the toss and elected to defer the football until the second half.
*Redshirt sophomore DL Xavier McLeod made his second straight start. Junior DL Jordan Hall started the first eight games this season before getting injured in the win versus Florida. Hall is now out. These are the first two career starts for McLeod.
*Junior CJ Allen owns the longest starting streak on the team at 13 games dating to 2024.
*Up Next: Fifth-ranked Georgia (9-1) plays host to Charlotte (1-9) next Saturday with kickoff at 12:45 pm (SECN). The 49ers fell 28-7 to UTSA today.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Kirby Smart
On the onside kick…
“It made the decision for us, there were a couple things working there. We were 21-10, we just took the lead to an
eleven-point game. I’m looking at it since we’ve got the best returner in the country. If you kick it to him there’s a
chance he houses it, there’s a chance he gets it to the 50-yard line. We felt like we had about an 80% chance on the
onside based on our rate. We thought it was there, we worked it, we prepared for it. The hardest thing to do is call that
call after a scored touchdown because you could theoretically lose momentum but it was executed well by two players
who on Monday in 20-degree weather and 20 miles per hour wind, they were practicing it.”
On the offense…
“Gunner [Stockton] is a winner, he’s tough. He and Mike [Bobo] make a great pair. Mike is more and more comfortable
with him, aggressive, trusting, a good decision maker, plays with his legs, puts us on the right run. He’s operating at a
80/90 percent success rate on decision making. When you do that with great players, you’re going to be really
successful. Mike and them executed really well on offense tonight.”
On the defense…
“First, we had a lead. Second, we stopped the run. If you stop the run and take the lead, you get in passing situations.
We felt like we could rush the passer once we controlled the run game. And we were able to do that and that’s a big
part of who we are. We work on first and second down to get to third and long, we’ve always done “rush the passer.” I
don’t worry about what other people say, it’s a matter of getting the opportunity to do that and once you get a lead in
the game, which we haven’t had a lot of, we can rush the passer.”
#14 Gunner Stockton | QB | R-Jr.
On going for it on fourth down…
“It was a big part. Whenever Coach Smart decides to go for it, I am like ‘heck yeah, let’s go!’ I am glad he made that
decision.”
On receivers stepping up after Colbie Young injury…
“They have done awesome. They just attack practice, they just see the way they are doing it. Colbie has been at every
away game and every practice. It is good to have him there, he is just a good guy.”
On him getting stronger in the second half of the season…
“I am getting better at situational football, just managing the game. Also, the confidence has grown as the season has
gone on.”
#33 Quintavius Johnson | OLB | So.
On how much the defense is benefiting from snaps and experience…
“I feel like we get better week by week. I feel like the younger guys and the older guys, we just connect as a defense. We
know our main goal coming into the game.”
On how the defense pressured Arch Manning upfront…
“I feel like coming into this game, we knew what we wanted to do. We knew that we wanted to keep the quarterback on
track, and we knew that he was a capable runner, so we just did our job and rushed as a whole in the front.”
On how far UGA has come since the Alabama game…
“We have been coming in week by week and getting better. To be honest, I did not even know Alabama lost today. I
have been focused on my game and coming in ready to play my game.”