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Texas Football: Longhorns make emphatic Sugar Bowl statement

By John Mitchell

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 01: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates a touchdown during the first half of the Allstate Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 01, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 01: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates a touchdown during the first half of the Allstate Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 01, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

2. Texas dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides

On paper, Georgia figured to have a big advantage on the lines of scrimmage, with the popular belief always stating that the SEC was the more physical league, while the Big 12 was more finesse, rarely able to hold up in the trenches against the big, bad SEC.

That script was flipped from the opening whistle in New Orleans, with Texas overwhelming Georgia up-front on both sides of the ball.

Led by senior RB Tre Watson and sophomore QB Sam Ehlinger, the Longhorns managed 178 yards rushing, with Ehlinger punching in three touchdowns on the ground. They were consistently the more physical team on offense, with Ehlinger invoking plenty of comparisons to former Florida Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow with his willingness to lower his shoulder and run through Georgia’s defense.

On the other side of the ball, Georgia’s bread-and-butter was completely neutralized. The ‘Dawgs ran for 72 yards on 30 carries, a mere 2.4 yards-per-carry average. Elijah Holyfield was the only back who managed sustained success, racking up 62 yards on 12 attempts. The aforementioned Swift, arguably the best running back in the SEC, fumbled twice, losing one, and picked up just 12 yards on 8 carries.

It was clear from the outset that Tom Herman and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando gameplanned to stifle the Georgia running game and force sophomore QB Jake Fromm to beat them with his arm. It was the gameplan that worked for LSU when they rolled the Bulldogs, and it worked for the Longhorns here too.

Fromm struggled with pressure in his face all night, throwing for 212 yards on 20-of-34 passing for three touchdowns and an interception, two of the three touchdowns coming with the game well in-hand. Fromm uncharacteristically missed several open throws, rarely looking like the dialed-in assassin that we saw in Atlanta against Alabama.

Texas’ front-seven didn’t allow Georgia to achieve any semblance of offensive balance, and then their young secondary was able to hold up against an elite group of wide receivers to frustrate a Bulldogs offense capable of putting up a lot of points.

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