3 big overreactions after Texas's gritty win over Texas A&M
In the first matchup between No. 3 Texas football and the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies in the Lone Star Showdown since the 2011 season, head coach Steve Sarkisian's squad came out of College Station with a double-digit rivalry win. Texas emerged victorious by a score of 17-7 in one of the most high-stakes Texas-Texas A&M rivalry games in the past three decades.
A huge defensive performance vs. No. 20 Texas A&M leads No. 3 Texas football to a Lone Star Showdown win by double digits on the road
The Longhorns won the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. But it was the defense that made the biggest difference when it was all said and done for the Longhorns in the win over Texas A&M yesterday at Kyle Field in College Station.
Texas's defense didn't allow Texas A&M to get any points, despite getting into plus territory on multiple possessions in the game. The defensive front had some huge stands, including the game-altering goal line stand in the fourth quarter after a blocked punt by the Aggies that set them up in the red zone to potentially cut Texas's lead down to just three points.
The win over the Aggies sends the Longhorns to the SEC Championship Game for a matchup against the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta on Dec. 7. Here are three big overreactions after Texas's win in the Lone Star Showdown on the road over Texas A&M on Nov. 30.
Texas is ready to stomp on Georgia in matchup part II in the SEC title game
The rematch is officially set for the Longhorns to face head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta next weekend.
In their Sunday Zoom press conferences on Dec. 1, Sarkisian and Smart both dished on the SEC Championship Game matchup between Texas and Georgia next Saturday. Sarkisian recognizes that the Longhorns still have all their goals in front of them entering the SEC title game and then the postseason in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
"This is a heck of an honor to earn an opportunity to go to Atlanta and compete for an SEC Championship. It was something that was clearly one of our team goals before the season began, and we knew it would be extremely challenging."
- Steve Sarkisian on Georgia
Smart, meanwhile, gave his respects for Sarkisian and the Longhorns and knows they have a big fight ahead in the SEC title game against Texas.
"I have so much respect for Sark and for the rivalry game they played in last night. Extremely physical game for them, emotional game for them. Their team has really navigated the SEC well, especially in the first year team coming in."
- Kirby Smart on Texas
Texas is currently a slight favorite over Georgia for the SEC Championship Game next weekend. Georgia beat Texas by multiple scores when these two teams met in Austin in mid-October, by a score of 31-15. It won't get any easier when the Longhorns have to get out on the road and face Georgia in what is basically a home game for the Dawgs right up the road from Athens in Atlanta.
The good news is that Texas knows what's in front of them against an incredibly-athletic and difficult to face Georgia front seven that beat up the Longhorns' in the trenches the first time these two teams met a couple of months ago at DKR.
If Texas can run the ball like they have in the past two games in wins over the Kentucky Wildcats and Texas A&M this weekend, that will be a major boost for Georgia in the rematch in the SEC title game next week.