ATHENS — Kirby Smart has a lot of respect for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas program.
The Georgia head coach has always been complimentary of Sarkisian and the program he’s built at Texas. The Longhorns played Georgia twice last season, with the Bulldogs winning both times. Once in Austin, Texas, and then again in Atlanta as a part of the SEC Championship game.
“Texas is a tremendous football program and team. They have got big physical defensive linemen, offensive linemen, and they are a really strong SEC team,” Smart said after the SEC Championship game.
Entering the 2025 season, Georgia and Texas have positioned themselves as the top two teams in the league. In addition to playing for the SEC championship, the schools were the highest-rated in both the final AP Poll for the 2024 season and the final recruiting rankings for the 2025 cycle.
And while on the field Georgia showed it was the superior team when the two met, Texas has dominated the off-field headlines of late between the two.
David Cobb of CBS Sports ranked the College Football Playoff losers in terms of the team most likely to win it all next season.
Cobb had Georgia at No. 3.
“After going 42-2 from 2021-23, Georgia’s dominance waned in 2024, and there’s not just one thing to pin it on,” Cobb wrote. “The offense dealt with crippling turnover woes and inconsistent receiver play, while the defense didn’t impose its will at the line scrimmage like it had in previous years. Given how much talent the Bulldogs have amassed, they’ll have a chance. But coach Kirby Smart has a lot to clean up if UGA is going retake its place atop college football.”
Strong words given what Georgia did against a difficult 2024 schedule, that figures to be very challenging in 2024.
Ahead of Georgia, Cobb had Penn State at No. 2 and Texas, ever the darling, at No. 1.
“It‘s Arch Manning’s time to shine, as the top-ranked quarterback prospect from the Class of 2023 will take over at QB for the Longhorns in 2025,” Cobb wrote. “Texas is replacing four of five offensive line starters and its two leading pass-catchers. But coach Steve Sarkisian has recruited strongly enough to withstand those losses and build on back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinal appearances. Manning’s mobility raises the team’s ceiling to true national title contenders.”
Manning’s presence figures to give Texas an added bump heading into next season. Georgia knows the quarterback well, having recruited him in the 2023 recruiting class and then playing against him in the 2024 season. Manning struggled when thrust in for Quinn Ewers against Georgia, as he completed just 3 of his 6 pass attempts for 19 yards. He also had a fumble.
When analysts talk of Manning, they speak with certainty. As if he’s pre-ordained to win be a great quarterback in this league. As for Georgia’s quarterback situation, Gunner Stockton doesn’t receive the same glowing reviews. The quarterback situation is seen as a question mark, with Carson Beck now at Miami.
Never mind that Manning’s two starts last season came against UL-Monroe and Mississippi State. Stockton’s most significant playing time came against playoff teams in Texas and then Notre Dame.
Quarterback isn’t the only position worth discussing when comparing the two programs. The Longhorns have gone out of their way to beef up their defensive line. This past week, Texas landed Ohio State transfer Hero Kanu. A few hours before his decision, Kanu had been on an official visit to Georgia.
Then in December, Texas landed 5-star defensive lineman Justus Terry after most thought he was going to end up at Georgia.
Sarkisian has clearly taken some plays out of Smart’s playbook, beefing up on the defensive line. In the two games against Texas this season, Georgia finished with 13.0 sacks and 25.0 tackles for loss. The dominance of that unit had a huge hand in pushing the Bulldogs past Texas.
Georgia and Texas will meet again in 2025. The Longhorns visit Athens to end Georgia’s SEC slate on Nov. 15. It will undoubtedly be one of the games of the regular season.
It’s a contest that is worth looking forward to 10 months out.
Given how Georgia and Texas are battling it out away from the football field, it makes the 2025 on-field matchup all the more important for the future of both programs.
