Two of college football’s premier programs will meet for the second time this season, as the Texas Longhorns battle the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
This is Texas’s first year competing in the SEC, and the Longhorns have had a tremendous season thus far, posting an 11-1 record. The lone loss came to Georgia back on October 19, as the Bulldogs prevailed 30-15 in Austin.
The Longhorns punched their ticket to Atlanta, and further built the College Football Playoff resume should Georgia win, with a 17-7 victory over old rival Texas A&M in College Station. It was the first meeting between the arch rivals since 2011, the year before the Aggies joined the SEC. Texas’ defense dominated in Kyle Field, with the Longhorns keeping the Aggies offense out of the end zone (an interception return for a touchdown accounted for the A&M score. The Longhorns rushing attack was overpowering. Quintrevion Wisner carried 33 times for 186 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
Georgia is 10-2 on the season. The Bulldogs are coming off a thrilling 44-42 eight overtime victory over the arch in-state rival Yellow Jackets. Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs have now won seven straight over Tech in the series, and extended the nation’s longest active home winning streak with 31 in a row – equalling Alabama’s league record set by Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide in the 2010s.
A ticket to the new 12-team College Football Playoff is a virtual certainty for the Bulldogs, who have faced the toughest schedule in the country, and the Longhorns. The winner Saturday in Atlanta gets a first round bye and will head to New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl for a Quarterfinal battle on New Year’s night. The loser will play in the first round of the playoff in two weeks on campus.
A berth in the SEC Championship Game seemed a long shot for Georgia, but thanks to the chaos of November 23rd, a series of upsets in the rough and tough SEC opened the door for the Bulldogs to appear in the league’s title tilt. Saturday’s showdown marks Georgia’s seventh appearance in Atlanta in the last eight years under Kirby Smart’s watch. No team or coach had ever been to six of seven, until Smart’s Dogs made it last year. So seven of eight extends that record.
In Austin earlier this season, Texas turned the ball over four times, while Georgia had three. Smart’s defense keyed the Bulldogs victory. Along with the four forced turnovers, Georgia sacked Texas’s two quarterbacks seven times and registered 11 tackles for a loss.
This will be the third time in Smart’s incredible career that the Bulldogs will have an in-season rematch. In 2017, Georgia lost at Auburn then topped the Tigers in the SEC Championship Game. After falling to Alabama in the 2021 SEC title tilt, the two squared off in Indianapolis for the national title, with the Bulldogs prevailing.
Getting that bye is a huge step in the race for the national title. For the loser, it’s a quick turnaround, and an extra game. Lose in Atlanta in the SEC Championship Game, to return for the National Championship Game on January 20, they would be playing their 17th game of the year.