After a much-needed bye week, Texas is back in the spotlight Saturday night with a showdown against Georgia in Athens. The Longhorns are an underdog as expected on the road against a top five team, but the number might surprise you.
FanDuel has Texas as a 5.5-point underdog to open the week. The over/under point total is set at 47.5 and Texas is +172 on the moneyline (Georgia is -210).
The #Longhorns have opened as a 5.5 point underdog against #Georgia.
— OnTexasFootball (@ontexasfootball) November 9, 2025
The two teams face off Saturday at 6:30 PM on ABC. #Texas is coming off a bye, while the Bulldogs beat Mississippi State yesterday, 41-21. pic.twitter.com/5mC9khGuiv
What's at stake in Saturday's game?
Everything is at stake for Texas. The Longhorns were all but written off after losing to Florida, but they worked their way back into the college football playoff conversation and are currently ranked 11th, putting them as the first team out.
With BYU's loss to Texas Tech, the expectation is that Texas will move up at least one spot in Tuesday's new rankings, which would put the Longhorns in the bracket. A third loss, especially one to a top team like Georgia, wouldn't completely eliminate Texas. But the Longhorns would no longer have any safeguards, even with a win over Texas A&M, they would be a bubble team that would probably need some help.
Right now, Texas controls its fate and the Longhorns are playing good football right now. Their fourth quarter/overtime against Mississippi State and first three quarters against Vanderbilt showed what the Longhorns could be when they are at their best.
Why is the Texas-Georgia line where it is?
There's always a good chance that Vegas knows something we don't know, but there is an increased confidence in Texas in general. The Longhorns have won four straight, and they have shown a lot of the grit and toughness that they've needed to show over the past month. Arch Manning is playing his best football with consecutive 300-yard, three-touchdown games.
Georgia has also played a lot of close games this season. The Bulldogs have played seven conference games and five of them have been decided by 10 points or fewer. The 47.5 point total tells me that the odds makers expect a defensive game where both teams are going to have to grind to get to 21 points.