The No. 5-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (8-1, 6-1) are set to host the No. 10-ranked Texas Longhorns on Saturday night in Athens, Georgia, for a game that has both major SEC and College Football Playoff implications. If Georgia wins and then wins again vs. Charlotte and Georgia Tech to close the regular season, it’ll finish the regular season 11-1 and still have a shot at making the SEC Championship Game. It would need Alabama to either lose both of its remaining two SEC games or Texas A&M to lose one of its next two conference games (South Carolina or Texas).
But Georgia fans aren’t terribly worried about making it to Atlanta as they have their sights set on another College Football Playoff run following a quarterfinal exit to Notre Dame last year.
If you’re planning on placing some bets on the game this weekend, here are some things to know, plus my predictions for what’s going to happen if that means anything to you. Since you’re here, I assume it must, so I’ll try not to screw it up too badly.
Where to watch the Georgia vs. Texas game on TV:
- Kickoff time for Georgia vs. Texas is set for 7:30 p.m. ET
- Georgia–Texas will air on ABC from Sanford Stadium
- ESPN’s Chris Fowler will handle the play-by-play commentary, Kirk Herbstreit will serve as the color analyst, and Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge will serve as the sideline reporters
- You can stream the game through the WatchESPN/ESPN app here
Game odds for Georgia vs. Texas:
All odds courtesy of ESPN Bet
- Spread: Georgia -6.5 (-110)
- What that means: Georgia’s projected to win by 7, and you’d need to risk $110 to win $100
- Over/Under: 49.5 (-110)
- What that means: You’re betting on the game finishing over or under 49.5 points, and you’d need to risk $110 to win $100
- Texas Moneyline: +190
- What that means: A Texas win returns $190 on a $100 bet
- Georgia Moneyline: -225
- What that means: You’d need to risk $225 to win $100 on Georgia to win straight up
Score prediction for Georgia vs. Texas:
Georgia’s the better, more physical team that’s hit its groove. Texas is a good team. That’s why it started the season ranked No. 1 in America. It lost to Ohio State by just seven points on the road in Week 1, but that was a long time ago. It also lost to Florida. But if you remember correctly, Georgia almost lost to Florida, too.
I think UGA will play stronger, more physical football than Texas will, control the line of scrimmage and run the ball down the Longhorns’ throats. Nate Frazier ran for 181 yards last game and Gunner Stockton has been hitting on all cylinders lately. Not to mention, this game is at home. That’s good for the Dawgs defensively, but offensively UGA will benefit from running its game plan in a more tame environment.
As for Texas, Arch Manning has shown he gets rattled under pressure. That word “pressure” has two meanings here. Because Georgia’s actually proven terrible at applying physical pressure to quarterbacks this season. It did well last week, getting to Mississippi State’s quarterback three times. But UGA ranks No. 122 in the FBS (out of 136) in sacks this season with 11. Had it gotten to the QB zero times last game instead of three, it would rank second-to-last in America in total sacks. But let’s talk about the other kind of pressure for a second. Sanford Stadium is one of the most hostile environments in college football, and it turns it on even more when the sun sets in Athens. Not to mention the fact that this is a must-win for Manning and the Longhorns. I think a few costly errors from Arch lead to a Georgia win on Saturday. It may not come in the form of a turnover, but maybe a missed deep ball or a bad read.
Prediction: Georgia wins and covers, 23–16.
Injuries to know:
Texas said it has no injuries heading into the Week 12 game against UGA, per its Thursday availability report released by the SEC.
As for Georgia, tight end Lawson Luckie, who suffered a frightening injury in the second quarter against Mississippi State, was removed from the report and is expected to play.
Georgia lists wide receiver Colbie Young, tight end Ethan Barbour, wide receiver Talyn Taylor, defensive back Kyron Jones and defensive lineman Jordan Hall as out.
For Texas, the Longhorns are coming off a bye week, so they could be rested up and healthy. They could also be playing games. Who knows. But safety Michael Taaffe, who missed two games with a broken thumb, is expected to return for Texas – a huge boost for the Longhorns secondary.
James Morgan of UGA Wire put it cleanly: “Incredibly, Texas is completely healthy and has nobody on the SEC availability report. Every other SEC team has at least one player out and at least three total players with injury designations.”
Last time Kirby Smart (Georgia) coached against Steve Sarkisian (Texas):
Georgia beat Texas twice last year. In October, Smart and the Dawgs went into Austin and took down the Longhorns by a score of 30–15. Texas was ranked No. 1 at the time and Georgia was No. 5.
Georgia entered that game as 4.5-point underdogs before leaving Austin with a 15-point win. That was Carson Beck vs. Quinn Ewers. Arch was 3-of-6 for 19 yards.
They met again a few weeks later in the SEC Championship Game. Georgia won that one 22–19 despite being 2.5-point underdogs again. Stockton played that one after Beck left with injury, completing 12-of-16 passes for 71 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception.
So Georgia’s won two in a row, and it was the underdog in both of those. This time, it’s a 6.5-point favorite.
