Georgia head coach Kirby Smart doesn’t do onside kicks. The last time the Bulldogs had recovered one was in 2013 against South Carolina with then-head coach Mark Richt at the helm.
But, for some strange reason, the three-time national champion called it up with practically a full quarter left to play in the game, his squad already up 21-10.
It was brilliant, it was successful and it caused a hysteria of excitement between both of the 93,000 Bulldog fans watching and the players in the red and black playing. It was over — a nail in the coffin to a team that was already dead, caused by nothing more than a plethora of self-inflicted wounds.
Let’s rewind.
After a boring first half, and No. 5 Georgia up 14-3, Texas finally found some momentum. Midway through the third, junior linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. picked off redshirt junior quarterback Gunner Stockton, cutting through senior receiver Dillon Bell’s slant route and snagging the ball way high for his second interception of the season.
The turnover would lead to Texas’ only touchdown of the game, but thinned the deficit to just four at the time with the Longhorns trailing 14-10.
But Georgia answered. A 10-play, six-minute, 73-yard drive followed by a score. Next, the surprise onside kick recovery led to another one. Finally, a stop — which followed in a Stockton rushing touchdown.
In what felt like a blink, the Bulldogs were leading 35-10 and there was just under five minutes left in the game. There were still 15 minutes left to play after Smart’s successful onside kick call, but Georgia sealed the deal when redshirt senior specialist Cash Jones picked up the onside dribbler.
The Longhorns made it hard on themselves to win this game. For one, Texas dropped four balls to Georgia’s none. Second, Texas had nine penalties called against them for 58 yards and Georgia had just one for 15. Thirdly, Texas went 2-12 in third-down conversions and the Bulldogs went 4-11.
But what stands out the most is the failure to win in the trenches. Georgia ran all over its foe, rushing for 128 yards on 35 attempts. Texas had 23 yards on 17 carries — just 1.4 yards per attempt.
Despite the loss, head coach Steve Sarkisian knows who he has in his locker room. This game isn’t deterring his belief that his players can’t compete with anyone.
“We have too much character in that locker room,” Sarkisian said. “We got too good of a culture, that part is something that I know, the leadership in that, in that locker room we got, we got a ton of fighters.”
It was a surprise kick which completely unraveled the Longhorns in their final away game of the year. Now sitting at 7–3, Texas will have to fight for a chance to make the College Football Playoff by hosting Arkansas and No. 3 Texas A&M in the subsequent weeks.
“I think the challenge for us now is we’ve got a two-week season in front of us,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to get up off the mat. We’ve got to go compete, and we’ve got to find a way to go win the next two ball games and see what happens.”
