CFB Preview: No. 5 Georgia vs No. 10 Texas

On Saturday, the No. 10 Texas Longhorns will travel to Athens to take on the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in a rematch of last season’s SEC championship game.

Georgia enters the matchup with Texas at 8-1 on the season, their lone loss coming to then No. 17 Alabama in the fourth week of the season. Last week, they dominated their fellow Bulldogs, beating Mississippi State 41-21.

In the matchup with the middling SEC team, star quarterback Gunner Stockton passed for 264 yards and three touchdowns, while also carrying the ball six times for 31 yards. The performance continued his strong season, as he has passed for 2,040 yards, 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions on the year.

Stockton rushed for the second-most yards on his team, trailing only Nate Frazier, who had a career day. Sophomore running back Nate Frazier carried the ball 12 times, averaging 15.1 yards per carry to total 181 yards on the ground.

The Compton, California native also found the end zone, only the third time all season he has done so, despite being Georgia’s leading rusher on the season. Most of the Bulldogs’ rushing touchdowns have come from Stockton, with seven, and their second-highest rusher, Chauncey Bowens, with six.

After losses to Ohio State and Florida earlier in the season, Texas found itself out of the AP Poll entirely. The team has battled back, however, and now sits as a top-ten team in the country.

Sophomore quarterback Arch Manning entered the season as a highly-touted Heisman contender, but an underwhelming campaign has seen him fall out of the race. His numbers have still been solid, passing for 2,123 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo has been Manning’s favorite target, catching 31 passes for 593 yards and 5 touchdowns. DeAndre Moore and Parker Livingstone have also been frequent targets, recording 379 and 351 yards, respectively.

The Longhorn defense is led by sophomore linebacker Colin Simmons, whose eight sacks on the year rank in the top ten nationwide. Their secondary has been strong as a unit, with three players recording two interceptions each and eight players with two or more passes defended.

As previously mentioned, the last matchup between the teams came in the 2024 SEC championship, where then-backup Gunner Stockton relieved an injured Carson Beck to lead his Bulldogs to a 22-19 overtime victory.

Beck would transfer to Miami before this season, giving Stockton the reins as Georgia’s quarterback.

Despite losing their most recent matchup, Texas leads the all-time series against Georgia 4-3. This will be the Longhorns’ first time travelling to Georgia, as each prior matchup has come either at a neutral site or in Austin.

ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Georgia a 59.9% chance to defend their home field in Texas’ first trip there, and FanDuel has the Dawgs as a -6.5 point favorite.

Ultimately, the experts will be proven correct as Stockton and the Bulldogs will scrape out the win. Arch Manning has looked shaky throughout the season, and it will continue on Saturday night. Bulldogs get the win, by a score of 31-21.

Elliott Inscho is a first-year student studying digital and print journalism. To contact him, email eli5026@psu.edu