Texas Longhorns vs. Georgia Bulldogs SEC Championship Preview: Keys to Victory

Get your popcorn ready for one big rematch between the two current giants of the SEC football landscape.

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker sacks Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers in the second quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday October 19, 2024. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorn football team had a successful first season in the SEC conference. They handled businesses and went 7-1 to be the home team in the SEC Championship on Saturday in Atlanta, GA.

And that one loss on their schedule will be the team that Texas will be across from on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium field, the Georgia Bulldogs. After going 6-2 on their season with losses to Alabama and Ole Miss, the Bulldogs secured a chance to keep their supremacy in the conference., winning the tiebreaker against the other 6-2 team, Tennessee.

Not only does Texas have the pressure to not lose twice in one season to the same team, but not winning will also cause the losing team to play an additional game in the College Football Playoffs while the winner gets a bye week. It should be noted that both teams are widely expected to make the playoffs no matter the outcome, however.

It's a very tall task for the Longhorns. Although many people think Georgia has lost some pep in its step this season, Texas should be the first to say that is not true.

So here are three things the Longhorns need to do to win:

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE

The turnover battle was tricky the last time these two played. Both teams combined for seven turnovers, but only one team really took advantage of it. Georgia turned the ball over three times, but Texas could only muster one touchdown in the three drives after the turnovers, despite two landing them on Georgia's side of the field. Texas turned the ball over four times and Georgia scored 17 points off of them.

But what is important is that Georgia won the turnover battle, and took full advantage of it. While the Texas offense has been proven to catch the turnover bug every now and then, the Texas defense has usually been able to hold down the fort and keep Texas in the game like last week against Texas A&M.

The Georgia game was the only exception although they did everything they could. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian care deeply about the turnover battle and winning it. Showing that Texas has struggled to move the ball against Georgia's defense before, it is as important as ever to ensure winning the turnover battle to have a chance of winning the game. This time, they will just need to take advantage of the turnovers. It will be difficult, Georgia QB Carson Beck, who threw three interceptions against Texas, has not thrown one in his last three games. But it should be noted that some of those opponents are teams like UMASS.

ESTABLISH THE RUN GAME EARLY

Running back Quintrevon Wisner has played some winning ball in recent games. His recent productivity has helped him get 158 yards against Kentucky and 186 yards against Texas A&M in the last two weeks. But against Georgia, Wisner had the lowest rushing yards he's had all season when having over ten carries and Texas was in the negative for rushing yards for almost the entire first half.

The offensive line didn't help, and the playmaking calls didn't help either. Texas has proven in these last few weeks that establishing a solid running game in the first half and leveling it up in the second half has helped the offense find consistency and the defense get good rest on the sideline. It will also help open the field massively for Ewers and for the screen passes that coach Sarkisian dearly loves.

It will have to be a full team effort and a lot of preparation to change the approach from last time, but if Texas can be steady with their run game throughout the game and show more of it earlier with good efficiency, they should win.

LIMIT BIG PLAYS

Georgia has been able to get back into many games with their great play calling. Against Alabama where they trailed 28-0 at one point, the Bulldogs managed to drive down the field using big plays including a 67-yard touchdown to take the lead in the fourth. Against Georgia Tech they were able to make big-time turnovers and long gains in the second half to being them back after trailing 17-0.

These games have proven that Georgia is never out of games, they trailed for the majority of the Kentucky game before winning with a touchdown in the fourth. No game or lead will you be able to count Georgia out of the game if you are Texas. And if they get down like they did in the first match, Georgia has shown that they can handle the pressure and make big plays to slowly grab the momentum back making it impossible to come back.

With Texas going into technically a road game, it will be more important than ever to not let Georgia get the momentum. The Texas defense did well limiting Georgia's offense the first time, it will be on the offense to not give up the ball for Texas to limit the big time plays.

The game is set up to be a great one, make sure you will be ready to watch it when it starts at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday on ABC.

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