Top-ranked Texas football hosts the recent standard bearer for the SEC on Saturday, when No. 4 Georgia visits Royal-Memorial for the first time since 1958.
Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) and Georgia (5-1, 2-1) entered the season as favorites to play for a national championship, and each remains on firm footing for one of the 12 spots in the College Football Playoff. The game, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m., drew an appearance from the College GameDay crew.
We ask three key questions for Texas before the game against the Bulldogs and will answer them postgame.
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How will the Longhorns hold up against an elite quarterback?
Pregame question: Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, one of the preseason Heisman favorites, has thrown for 1,818 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions on 67.9% passing this season. His QB rating of 79.7 is 19th in the nation, and he’s coming off his most productive game of the season with 459 yards on 36-of-48 passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State.
The Longhorns have taken on a litany of quarterbacks that includes two true freshmen with Oklahoma’s Michael Hawkins Jr. and Mississippi State’s Michael Van Buren Jr., collegiate journeymen General Booty of ULM and Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi of Colorado State, a first-year full-time starter in UTSA’s Owen McCown and a quarterback who has since been benched in Michigan’s Davis Warren.
Texas ranks second in the nation with 126 yards passing allowed per game, but Beck offers the biggest challenge of the season.
Postgame answer: Check back here for the answer.
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Will the Texas defensive line neutralize Georgia’s offensive front?
Pregame question: The Joe Moore Award voting committee, which will honor the nation’s best offensive line, didn’t have Georgia alongside Texas and 21 other teams on its midseason honor roll. But don’t think that omission signals a weakness; the Bulldogs boast four players on the offensive line who have played at least four collegiate seasons, and there’s a chance All-American guard Tate Ratledge returns from an ankle procedure done after a Week 3 game against Kentucky.
The line powers Georgia to 452 yards a game, which ranks 27th in the nation. The best offense that Texas has faced so far this season? UTSA, which ranks 68th with 396.5 yards a game. Texas tackles Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins will have to hold up inside, and a pass rush led by Colin Simmons and Barryn Sorrell will need to make Beck uncomfortable.
Postgame answer: We’ll provide an answer after the game.
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Can Texas avoid another slow start on offense?
Pregame question: To Oklahoma’s credit, the Sooner defense came out flying last week in the Cotton Bowl and held Texas to eight total yards on nine snaps with an interception and two punts on the Longhorns’ first three drives. Georgia and Beck have a lot more offensive firepower than Oklahoma, and they’ll likely turn short fields on three straight possessions into more than three points.
Postgame answer: Check back here for the answer.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football vs Georgia: 3 questions we’ll answer postgame
