Can Texas Longhorns Respond After Humbling Loss to Georgia Bulldogs?

The Texas Longhorns got a taste of reality on Saturday night against the Georgia Bulldogs

Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (26) is brought down by Georgia defense in the second quarter of the Longhorns' game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Oct. 19, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUSTIN - The Texas Longhorns looked like a different football team on Saturday night against the Georgia Bulldogs.

But not in a good way.

In a 30-15 loss, Texas looked mortal for the first time all season. In fact, they looked like a shell of themselves for most of the night.

Things started with somewhat of a bang for Texas, forcing an early pair of turnovers to put Georgia in a precarious spot. But as has been the issue for the last couple of weeks, a slow start from the offense was unable to capitalize on those opportunities.

It was an issue we spoke about a few weeks back, with us noting that against a different opponent like Georgia, they could ill afford to make those kinds of mistakes.

Unfortunately for Texas, that is exactly what they did.

But the issues were far more apparent than just a slow start.

The Longhorns made a few egregious errors of their own, turning the ball over three times, giving up five sacks, and giving up 17 points off of the turnovers.

The offensive line which was lauded as the best in the country by many, was dominated for much of the game. Quinn Ewers looked hesitant in the first half for the second week in a row. There were missed tackles, and costly penalties in key situations, and the run game was nonexistent.

The first half was so bad for Texas offensively, that they even resorted to a quarterback change from Ewers to Arch Manning.

But that didn't work either.

One of the few positives for the Longhorns on the evening was the resiliency of their defense, which held together a game that could have gotten out of hand very quickly. In fact, they gave up less than 300 yards from a very explosive offense.

Another positive from Texas was their ability to fight back and outscore Georgia in the second half. But by the end, a defense that was on the field far too long was unable to slow the Bulldogs down in crunch time.

So are these issues fixable for the long run? Can the Longhorns respond to adversity? Or will things begin to fall apart at the seams?

In our opinion, the answer is yes. This is still one of the most talented teams in the country, and they still have one of the best coaching staffs in the country to guide them as they attempt to rebound.

The issue now, however, is that their backs are against the proverbial wall.

The Vanderbilt matchup is not the cupcake many thought it would be coming into the season. And after that, things will only become more difficult.

The Longhorns still have home games against a Florida and a Kentucky team that pushed this very same Georgia Bulldogs team to the brink. They also have tough road trips ahead against the Commodores, Arkansas, and Texas A&M.

None of those opponents are the Georgia Bulldogs from a talent or depth standpoint. However, they are all teams that are capable of taking down a top team when given the opportunity.

In other words, if they are going to fix these issues with slow starts, penalties, and mistakes, they are going to have to do it quickly.

This, after all is the SEC. There are no weeks off in this conference.

And after a humbling loss like this one, their true merit is going to be tested.