In approximately seven hours in Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (seating a measly 71,000 fans), the Georgia Bulldogs will welcome the Texas Longhorns to the championship game of the Southeastern Conference.
This is Texas’ first season in the SEC and earlier this season Georgia played Texas in Austin at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium. The crowd was the largest to ever see a game at that stadium and Georgia prevailed handily with the final score 30-15. That game sat the largest crowd to ever view a football game at DK Royal with more than 105,000 fans.
[Note: Coach Darrel K Royal was the real deal and for two decades fielded teams that regularly vied for conference and national championships. No other era has been as successful and storied as the Royal years. I used to play golf with Coach — rarely by design — when we would both accidently be at the same golf course at 5:30 PM (long after he retired) on a summer evening. In none of those enjoyable rounds of golf did we ever speak one word about football. We often spoke about World War II and the military. I once played golf with Coach Royal, Coach Landry, and former VP Dan Quayle. Quayle, smart as a whip contrary to the bad rep hung on him by the press, was the best golfer of the bunch. It was a Rick Perry fundraiser.]
Until that defeat, Texas had been undefeated and the loss to Georgia is the only blemish on their schedule. Understandably, Texas is looking to avenge that loss whilst Georgia is intent on proving their earlier triumph was no fluke.
Texas comes to Atlanta ranked #2 and favored by 2.5 points over the #5 ranked Dawgs.
This is a big game and a grudge re-match of epic proportions.
The two coaches, Steve Sarkasian of Texas and Kirby Smart of Georgia are both Nick Saban acolytes and first rate coaches. I think Kirby Smart is a more experienced big game coach, better schemer, and more inspiration and motivational, but that’s just me.
Ahhh, beyond the obvious — Texas and Georgia being huge state schools with long traditions in football and the pride of their states, there is the issue of Texas’ first year in the mighty SEC and Georgia’s near dominance having won two of the last three national championships.
This was to have been a rebuilding year for Georgia and Texas is on the top of its game having spent a few years returning to their prior glory.
As noted, Texas would love to avenge their earlier loss in Austin and Georgia is intent upon welcoming the Longhorns to the SEC and its style of football.
Any fair minded viewer would see this as a great match. It is very unusual for two teams to play each other two times in a single season.
[Full disclosure: Both of my kids graduated from Georgia and I live in Savannah now.]
Two such renowned programs have a sense of state pride that inspires their fans to talk shit about the other team.
Georgia’s infamous cheer includes the following colorful lines:
Who’s that coming down the track?
It’s a mean machine in Red & Black…
Aint nothing finer in the land…
Than a drunk obnoxious Georgia fan!
Georgia began its intercollegiate football program in 1892 and Texas started a year later in 1893.
Georgia fans accuse Texas of playing a soft schedule and being soft. Texas played the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and Colorado State University. In fairness, Georgia played Tennessee Tech and the University of Massachusetts. Generally, Georgia has played the harder schedule.
Texas fans accuse Georgia of having a ghetto cast of players which is marginally accurate as a number of Georgia players have, in fact, had brushes with the law this year.
Texas has Arch Manning on its depth chart, one of the famous Manning quarterback line.
On Instagram, Facebook, and X the discussion has been raucous and the language salty, but that is the nature of rivals.
Got it. There will be a football game in Atlanta at 4:00 PM and it will be a clash of titans.
Georgia will, again, win handily with its defense being a substantial contributor, but with the Georgia quarterback having a once-in-a-career performance. Arch Manning will get into the game and Sarkasian will develop a package of plays to showcase Manning’s talent.
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car. Go Dawgs!
