Did Texas Longhorns Beat Themselves in SEC Championship?

The Texas Longhorns fell victim to their own mistakes in their SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia.

Georgia linebacker Chaz Chambliss (32) gets to Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) during the first half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ATLANTA - The Texas Longhorns came up short in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, falling to the Georgia Bulldogs 22-19.

First things first - Georgia absolutely earned their win. They showed resiliency, and overcame plenty of obstacles, including losing their starting quarterback, to bring home the trophy.

We are not trying to take anything away from the effort and fortitude they showed to overcome their own problems.

But the simple fact of the matter is, that Texas had more than enough opportunities to come out of Atlanta with a win, and were it not for their own mistakes, penalties and points left on the board, they might have done just that.

"Clearly the penalties were an issue in the first half where we stalled out on some things and for the in some third-and-longs and whatnot," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "But at the end of the day we weren't effective enough in the high red to put touchdowns on the board. I think that in and of itself was probably a microcosm of the game because we had plenty of opportunities, but we didn't capitalize on them."

First and foremost for Texas, was a bevy of penalties. The Longhorns finished the game being penalized 11 times for 94 yards, while the Bulldogs had just five for 49 yards.

Many of those penalties disrupted offensive possessions, and either ended them completely or forced the team to settle for field goals.

The penalties also extended a handful of Georgia drives, resulting in points on the other end.

"I think the negative plays kind of hurt us when we got there," Sarkisian said. "I think a couple of the penalties when we got down there hurt us, as well. You're playing behind the chains, which is never where you want to be in the red area. Anytime you're in third-and-long in the high road, red, those are difficult circumstances to be in."

Then there are the turnovers. Texas committed two on Quinn Ewers interceptions, neither of which led to Georgia points, but did keep the Horns from having more scoring opportunities.

Perhaps looming most largely, however, is the missed scoring chances the Longhorns had on multiple occasions.

Texas kicker Bert Auburn missed two field goals, and the Horns missed two easy potential touchdowns early on in the first quarter, that could have set the tone for the remainder of the contest.

The kicker? These are all the types of mistakes that Texas has been able to survive against lesser competition. They did it against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and at other points of the season. And they almost did again here.

But this was the Georgia Bulldogs, who hold one of, if not the most talented roster in America.

What does all of that equal? It certainly paints the picture that Texas beat itself.

Again, that does not mean that Georgia did not deserve to win. They did, if not for the way they forced Texas into a good number of these mistakes to begin with.

"This was a heck of a football team," Sarkisian said. "I have a ton of respect for their program and their team. What Kirby has done here for seven, eight years now. We knew it was going to take 60 minutes. I didn't know it was going to take 60 minutes plus overtime."

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but the Longhorns will surely feel the hurt from all of the costly self-inflicted wounds, and feel as though they should be the ones bringing home the SEC Title.

The good news for the Horns, is that their season is not over. They will be in the College Football Playoff, and likely host a home game in Austin for a chance to keep their season going.

Until then, they'll have two weeks to figure out their issues and get them fixed before their next challenge.

"The beauty for us is this stings, it's hard, but we get a chance to regroup in a couple weeks and get into the College Football Playoff and go compete for a national championship," Sarkisian said. "I think we're plenty good enough to go win that, but we're going to need to get healthy so we can put our best foot forward to make that happen."

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