1. Four Guys, Three Wins – So in Georgia’s three wins over Texas, a total of four players have scored against the Longhorns. On January 2, 1984, the Bulldogs upset 11-0, second-ranked Texas 10-9. John Lastinger, on an option right, went 17 yards into the corner of the end zone for the lone touchdown of the game. Kevin Butler, who had knocked through a field goal earlier in the game, hit the go-ahead extra point. The victory boosted the Bulldogs record to 10-1-1 on the year, and Georgia finished No. 4 in the national polls. In 2024, the Bulldogs and Longhorns met twice. Georgia won 30-15 in Austin in October. Trevor Etienne scored three touchdowns, and Peyton Woodring made three field goals and three extra points. In the Southeastern Conference Championship Game rematch, Etienne scored both Bulldog touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime, while Woodring made three field goals and the extra point after Etienne’s first TD (In OT, Texas had the ball first and made a field goal, so the touchdown by Etienne ended the game with no PAT attempt).

2. Herschel and Earl – The Greatest College Football Player ever and one of the best running backs of all time … Herschel Walker of Georgia and Texas’ Earl Campbell. The Goal Line Stalker and The Tyler Rose. Two absolute legends. In the golden era of running backs in college football in the 1970s and 1980s, there were a slew of unforgettable runners across the country, including Archie Griffin, Tony Dorsett, Billy Sims, George Rogers, Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson. Herschel Walker and Earl Campbell stand at the very top of this illustrious list. Campbell won the 1977 Heisman Trophy for the Longhorns, who went 11-0 and were No. 1 headed to the Cotton Bowl, where they fell to Notre Dame, costing Texas the national championship. The Bulldogs beat the Fighting Irish for the 1980 national title, with Herschel finishing third in the Heisman voting (behind Rogers and Pitt defensive end Hugh Green) as a freshman. The following year, he finished second to Marcus Allen. With a third straight SEC championship and perfect 11-0 regular season in the books, Herschel Walker won the 1982 Heisman Trophy, finishing ahead of John Elway and Eric Dickerson. I’ll contend always that’s the strongest Heisman finalist trio of all time.

3. Athens and Austin – America’s Greatest College Town, Athens, GA will be electric all week long with the Longhorns and Bulldogs squaring off Saturday night. Austin is a great place as well, but it’s become a big city. Both are famous for their great universities and football programs. Both are loaded with great restaurants. Both have vibrant nightlives with tremendous music scenes. A few pretty good golfers have also attended these two proud universities.

4. My friend Cutts – That includes my good friend Cutts Benedict. Cutts was a longtime golf pro in Athens and loves the Bulldogs. He went to school and played golf at Texas and loves the Longhorns. Cutts is our “A View From” guest this week in the BI. Amongst his Longhorn teammates were Brandel Chamblee of the Golf Channel and 1996 PGA Championship winner Mark Brooks. The ‘Horns may have produced Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Brooks, Justin Leonard, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler, but my favorite Longhorn golfer ever is my friend Cutts Benedict. Earl Campbell and Roger Clemens are my other favorite Texas legends.

5. Car with no driver – So my good friend David Johnston and I were going to Terry Black’s Bar-B-Que (per Cutts’ recommendation) last spring when we were in Austin for baseball. I ordered the uber, not realizing that the vehicle was one of those driverless cars. There were about 20 of them in the city I was told. DJ asked me “did you mean to do this?” I did not. But we got in, and we got there. It was very strange. We both sat in the back seat and got a phone call from the all powerful Oz telling us to buckle our seat belts. I remember thinking, gosh, what if there’s a Terry Black’s in Dallas and I punched that in by mistake? Well we made it safe and sound and ate great. Then got an uber with a driver back to the hotel.