AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 1 no longer resides in Austin, Texas.
No. 5 Georgia jumped out to a 23-0 halftime lead behind an incredible defensive effort, and held on during a wild second half that had trash thrown on the field by fans, to beat Texas 30-15 on Saturday at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.
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The Bulldogs dominated the first half with its defense, allowing Texas to rush for two yards and gain 38 yards of total offense. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian replaced starting quarterback Quinn Ewers in the middle of the second quarter with Arch Manning after a slow start but the offense still sputtered. Ewers returned to the game and played the entire second half.
The Longhorns scored on their first drive of the second half to cut Georgia’s lead to 23-8, and then things went sideways. Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron intercepted a Carson Beck pass and returned it 36 yards to the Bulldogs’ 9-yard line, but an official flagged Barron for pass interference.
That caused Texas fans near and inside the student section to throw bottles and trash onto the field after the replay was shown on the stadium jumbotron. The replay showed contact by Barron and Georgia receiver Arian Smith, and while stadium personnel were cleaning up the mess and Sarkisian was yelling at fans to stop, officials talked about the play. The referee, Matt Loeffler, announced that “after discussion,” the play was reversed to count Barron’s interception and return, erasing the penalty. Texas scored two plays later to cut the deficit to 23-15.
During ESPN’s postgame interview, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said the referees “tried to rob us,” in response to the reserved call.
The Bulldogs tacked on another score in the fourth quarter and held off a last-gasp Texas effort. Georgia’s average starting field position in the first half was its own 47-yard line and its own 38-yard line for the entire game. Texas turned the ball over on downs four times.
Ewers finished 25-for-43 for 211 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked five times and Texas was 2-for-14 on third down. Gunnar Helm caught six passes for 62 yards.
For Georgia, Beck finished 23-for-41 for 175 yards with three interceptions. Running back Trevor Etienne scored three touchdowns and rushed for 89 yards on 13 carries.
Texas (6-1, 2-1 SEC) travels to Nashville, Tennessee, next week to take on Vanderbilt at 3:15 p.m. on the SEC Network. Georgia (6-1, 4-1) has a bye and then takes on Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 2 for the rivalry game nicknamed “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”
More details and postgame quotes will be added to the story later. Check back for more.
