Georgia Football: 3 reasons to watch 2019 Sugar Bowl vs. Texas
After a disappointing loss in the SEC Championship Game, Georgia football will look to refocus on a Sugar Bowl matchup with Texas.
It doesn’t get much more heartbreaking than what Georgia has experienced in their last two meetings with Alabama.
With the national title on the line in January, the Bulldogs blew a 13-0 lead to a backup QB in the second half, ultimately succumbing in overtime after Tua Tagovailoa launched a game-winning 41-yard touchdown to Devonta Smith.
Georgia had an opportunity for revenge in the same building, this time with the SEC Championship on the line. In a fatal twist of irony, history repeated itself in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Georgia’s defense rendered Tua mostly ineffective, knocking him out of the game in the fourth quarter with a high-ankle sprain, after Tua injured his other ankle in the first quarter. Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs built several two-touchdown leads, and led 28-21 when Tua was helped off the field.
Jalen Hurts, the two-year starting quarterback who lost his job against Georgia in the title game last year after ineffective play, plunged the knife into the hearts of the ‘Dawgs faithful. Hurts came off the bench, completed 7-of-9 passes for 82 yards and rushed for 28 yards with two total touchdowns – the first tying the game on a throw to Jerry Jeudy, and the second proving to be the game-winner on a perfectly timed QB draw to lift the Crimson Tide to a 35-28 win.
For most of the game, Georgia played perfectly, capitalizing on every Alabama miscue and nearly landing several knockout blows. They let them hang around too long, and suffered their second heartbreaking loss to Nick Saban and company this calendar year.
Texas’ loss wasn’t as heartbreaking in the Big 12 Championship, but they too squandered opportunities and blew an early lead.
The Longhorns undoubtedly took a step in the right direction this season under Tom Herman, and while they didn’t capture the coveted conference crown, they’ll get their opportunity in the New Year’s Six for the first time.
It has been an up-and-down year for Texas filled with inconsistent play. They opened the year with a home loss to Maryland and also dropped a game to 6-6 Oklahoma State, while beating the likes of Tulsa, Kansas State, Baylor, and Kansas by a single score each. Along the way they also knocked off Oklahoma in the regular season, though, and acquitted themselves nicely against the playoff-bound Sooners in the rematch.
Texas will get the opportunity to firmly announce that they are back among the national elite in the Sugar Bowl, if they can beat the team the committee had as the first team out.
There’s plenty of intrigue around this New Year’s Day matchup between two of the sport’s blue bloods. Here’s why you should watch: