Georgia vs. Texas Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for SEC Conference Championship Game

Reed Wallach | 3 Hours Ago

Texas Longhorns edge rusher Trey Moore (8) looks down at Texas A&M running back Amari Daniels (5) after a tackle during the Lone Star Showdown at Kyle Field on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 in College Station, Texas. / Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Georgia and Texas will meet for a second time this season, now in the SEC Championship Game as each team jockeys for College Football Playoff positioning. 

The Longhorns have only one defeat this season, to the Bulldogs at home in which the team dug itself a double digit hole it couldn’t come back from. Can Steve Sarkisian’s bunch get off to a better start this time around against a Georgia team that has been known for starting slow? 

Here’s our betting preview for the SEC Championship Game. 

Georgia vs. Texas Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Georgia: +2.5 (-105)
• Texas: -2.5 (-115)

Moneyline

• Georgia: +114
• Texas: -137

Total: 48.5 (Over -122/Under +100)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Georgia vs. Texas How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, December 7
• Game Time: 4:00 PM EST
• Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium 
• How to Watch (TV): ABC
• Georgia Record: 10-2
• Texas Record: 11-1

Georgia vs. Texas Key Players to Watch

Georgia

Carson Beck: Beck helped engineer a second half rally to keep Georgia in position to make the College Football Playoff, but the offense continues to lack overall consistency. Beck finished the game with 297 yards through the air in the eight overtime affair, but will need to maintain his sound decision making, which features no interceptions in the last three games. Even in Georgia’s double digit win at Texas, Beck struggled with only 175 yards passing and three interceptions. 

Texas

Quinn Ewers: Ewers looked more than capable on the field against Texas A&M last week despite an ankle injury. He passed for 218 yards and added 29 yards on the ground as the Longhorns won 17-7. With another week to rehab his ankle, the hope is that Ewers can put together a cleaner effort than his poor outing against Georgia earlier in the season in which he completed a season low 58% of his passes for 211 yards while taking five sacks. 

Georgia vs. Texas Prediction and Pick

While Georgia was able to suffocate the Texas offense in the first meeting in Austin, I do believe that the Longhorns are equipped to handle the Bulldogs in the second meeting and win the SEC Championship in its first season. 

For starters, Texas may be onto something on offense, deploying more run-first schemes with backup Arch Manning stepping in for the hobbled Ewers. Georgia has consistently struggled against mobile quarterbacks this season, allowing more than 100 yards on the ground to the likes of Jalen Milroe and Hyanes King as well as struggling to contain Jaxson Dart. 

While Manning may only be used rarely, this facet of the game may be the most effective one for the Longhorns as it tries to keep Georgia off balance. 

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs offense continues to fall behind in games as the passing game lacks a game breaking talent. 

In the first meeting, Georgia got ahead due to its ability to get pressure on Ewers and lean on its ground game in a run-heavy game script, but that has been far from the norm for Georgia this season, who has had to comeback in a majority of its games in SEC play. 

Further, Georgia will likely be without Trevor Etienne for this one, the team’s top running back. In the game against Texas, Etienne ran for 87 yards on 19 carries with three touchdowns. Overall, Georgia has had a middling run game all season, ranking 79th in yards per carry and 106th in explosive rush rate. Without its top RB, I believe the Bulldogs are going to be behind the sticks early and often. 

Look for Texas to get out to an early lead in this one behind a sound script from Steve Sarkisian and eventually win the SEC Championship in its first season as the team is well positioned to pounce on a potentially gassed Georgia team following a grueling eight overtime game. 

Texas is nearly +16 in the first half of games on average this season while Georgia is a far worse +1. Take the ‘Horns early. 

PICK: Texas 1H -0.5

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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