AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart agree that neither team is the same as they were on Oct. 19 when the Bulldogs handed the Longhorns their only loss.
Georgia took advantage of Texas miscues and converted short-field opportunities into points, winning 30-15 on Oct. 19 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas turned the ball over four times, something they hadn’t done all season, and Georgia made them pay.
“We were out of character and out of sorts,” Sarkisian said. “We’re going to have to play a better brand of football on offense, and I thought defensively we did our best to stop the bleeding.”
That was the only game in which Texas didn’t lead at halftime and half of their eight penalties were pre-snap false start flags. That’s the most false starts they’ve had in a game. Texas wasn’t Texas that night.
Smart knows that, too. He knows that wasn’t the best version of Texas, but he also knows that his team has improved quite a bit from then.
“Offensively, we didn’t run the ball really well against these guys. We kind of succeeded off of their mistakes, their turnovers,” he said. ” We’ve also not put a complete game together. And that’s probably what we’re trying to do best now, is play our best when our best is needed.”
Georgia gained 108 yards on 30 carries during the first outing while Texas was dreadful with 29 yards on 27 carries. A lot of that was due to sack yardage, but the fact remains that they didn’t come anywhere close to establishing a running game like they have against their last two opponents, Kentucky and Texas A&M.
Wanting revenge for a previous loss is one thing to help motivate players, but Sarkisian doesn’t want that to be the only thing. He said external motivators are nice, but he wants his players to be self-motivated and want to change from the inside.
“The motivation should be what did I do today that I’ll be thankful for on Saturday,” he said. “What are you doing today to put yourself in a better position to win on Saturday? That’s the challenge I posed to the team. I don’t think we played very good against them the first time out. They deserve to get our best shot. I know we’re going to get theirs. And the fans who watch the game and tune in deserve to get the best version of Texas football, too. That’s what our focus is on.”
Texas has averaged almost 41 carries and 189 yards per game in its past five games. Against Kentucky and Texas A&M most recently, the Longhorns have averaged 48.5 carries and 245 yards. The 50 carries against the Aggies were the most this season since they ran it 52 times against Louisiana-Monroe in a 51-3 win at home. Perhaps because he was once a prolific quarterback and has coached high-profile guys, Sarkisian is mostly labeled as a pass-first play-caller. The numbers beg to differ.
This season, Texas has 451 rushing attempts to 402 passing attempts. While they’ve been more of a run-heavy team lately, they’re still a balanced offense. Smart knows that.
“They’ve committed to running the ball, being really physical,” Smart said. “You know, they’ve had 30 and 40 carries, runs in several games and a commitment to that and a physicality while also being able to throw the ball really efficiently. They’ve got the weapons to do both.”