No. 5 Georgia will travel to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday for the first time since 1958, so a lot of eyes and media attention will be on the game. In five matches played between the two southern powerhouses, No. 1 Texas maintains four wins on one loss. The Bulldogs of Athens, Georgia, won their only game against the Longhorns 10-9 in 1983. Looking this time to take down the top-ranked Longhorns, let’s take a closer look at this opponent.
Georgia has room for improvement on the offensive side of the football. Ranking sixth in yards per game and seventh in points per game in the SEC, the Bulldogs average 33.8 points per game and 452 yards of offense per game. Nationally, the Bulldogs rank 34th in yards per game and 37th in points per game. Running the offense is offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who was a quarterback for the Bulldogs from 1993-97. In his second year on the job, Bobo also held the role of offensive coordinator for Georgia from 2007-14 before taking a job as the head coach for Colorado State, which lasted four years. Also, as the quarterback coach, Bobo works closely with first-round NFL Draft prospect Carson Beck. Before garnering the job as offensive coordinator in 2023, Bobo was an offensive analyst for the 2022 Bulldog squad that destroyed Alabama 33-18 in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Defensively, Georgia finds itself in a similar spot. In the SEC, the Bulldogs rank seventh in yards allowed per game and seventh in points allowed. With 312.5 yards per game allowed and 17.2 points per game allowed, these numbers rank 27th and 20th, respectively, in all of FBS. The defensive coordinator for Georgia is Glenn Schumann. He has been with the program for eight years now, starting as the inside linebacker coach in 2016 before becoming a co-defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs in 2019. He had that role for three seasons before being elevated to the sole defensive coordinator in 2022.
Head coach Kirby Smart leads the charge for the No. 5 Bulldogs. Smart is currently in his ninth season as head coach for the Bulldogs and holds a record of 99–17. In those seasons, Smart has won nine bowl games, with four being prior to the National Championship, and has gone 2–1 in championship games. His only bowl loss, ironically, was to Texas in the 2019 Sugar Bowl. Before the 2024 season, Smart signed a ten-year contract extension worth $130 million.
For Texas, this game represents a chance to protect its house and prove its place as the nation’s best. With national attention on both teams, this is a defining moment in the season — one that either keeps the Longhorns on top or serves as a reminder that Georgia, despite a slower start, remains a formidable force.
The eyes of Texas, and the rest of the nation, are upon this one.
