Texas Football vs. Georgia: 10 reasons to be excited for the Sugar Bowl

2. Point spread allows Texas to carry a chip on its shoulder

For a lot of the teams in the Big 12 this year there was one narrative that rang true throughout the regular season. Teams like the Horns, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State, all thrived as underdogs during the regular season. There has to be urgency and a fire lit under both Texas and Georgia, but the underlying circumstances and expectations entering the Sugar Bowl might favor one squad over the other.

Since the Horns are such an overwhelming underdog, for this being a New Year’s Six Bowl games between two quality rosters, there has to be some added level of motivation for each player. Texas shouldn’t just go away lightly when national pundits are considering Georgia as a guaranteed victor and a 12.5-point spread something that seems accurate.

Texas is not a team that is two possessions worse than the Dawgs, when it’s played at a neutral site. It had some difficult losses during the non-conference slate, and in Big 12 play, but the Horns also showed some strong responses during the regular season. No dip lasted for more than a week or two at a time.

Twice this year, Texas was an underdog and each game proved to be pretty close. The Big 12 Championship Game loss to the Sooners, by the final score of 39-27, was closer that the scoreboard showed when the clocked struck zero. This is by no means a guaranteed projection, but the probability shows that a Herman-coached Horns team is going to give Georgia, and Vegas, a run for the money in the Sugar Bowl.