SEC Championship Game 2024: Early Preview, Predictions for Georgia vs. Texas
The Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs will do battle for the second time this season in the 2024 SEC Championship Game.
Georgia handed Texas its only loss of the season to date on October 19 in Austin.
Since then, Texas has looked like the better team while UGA's delivered some questionable performances.
Texas will enter Atlanta as the higher-ranked team in the College Football Playoff rankings and as the favorite to win the contest.
Georgia is trying to avoid a third loss in four years in the SEC Championship Game. It is 1-2 in the last three seasons with the two losses coming to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Texas Looking for SEC Title in First Season in League
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Texas' debut season in the SEC was almost perfect.
The Longhorns went 7-1 in conference play and were the only team to not drop multiple games in the league.
The lone blemish on Texas' resume was a loss to UGA at home on October 19, a game in which the Bulldogs dominated the trenches and held the Longhorns to 29 rushing yards.
Since the loss, the Longhorns reeled off five straight wins and limited four of those opponents to 17 points or less.
Texas' defense showed off its championship caliber on Saturday by holding the Texas A&M Aggies to seven points in a game that it had to win to advance to Atlanta.
Texas limited A&M to 248 total yards and the only points concession came on a pick six in the third quarter.
Steve Sarkisian's team is playing its best football of the season at the moment, and that should give it the edge against Georgia to land the SEC's automatic bid into the CFB Playoff.
Georgia Going After 2nd SEC Title in Four Years
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Georgia has become a regular visitor to Atlanta on the first Saturday of December.
The Bulldogs made seven SEC Championship Game appearances in the last eight years. They are 2-5 in their previous seven trips to the title clash.
The good news for UGA is that Alabama is not its opponent. The Crimson Tide beat Georgia three times during its recent run in Atlanta.
Kirby Smart and his staff have plenty of concerns going into Saturday, though, since the Bulldogs barely beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Friday.
The Carson Beck-led offense was not great for the first half against Georgia Tech and its sputtered out on a handful of occasions this season, including in the loss to the Ole Miss Rebels.
As a program, Georgia knows how to win games like this, but it will take a perfect performance to beat Texas again and there are a lot of questions about whether that can happen.
Prediction
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Texas 27, Georgia 17
Texas is simply the better football team at the moment.
The Longhorns are more consistent on both sides of the ball, and on top of that, they will be motivated to avenge the regular-season loss to Georgia.
A win could give the Longhorns the No. 1 overall seed in the CFB Playoff if the Oregon Ducks lose in the Big Ten Championship Game.
At minimum, Texas will be the No. 2 overall seed with a win.
Some experts may think UGA's playoff position will be in peril with a loss, but a three-loss SEC team with two losses to Texas should be safely in the 12-team field.
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