AUSTIN, Texas – Georgia coach Kirby Smart had been waiting for his team to put together a complete performance.

On Saturday evening the No. 1 team finally won 30:15. 5 Bulldogs vs. No. 1 Texas at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

“Nobody gave us a chance,” Smart told ESPN. “Their own network doubted us, and then they tried to rob us here with calls. These people are so resilient.”

Three weeks after Georgia fell behind by four touchdowns in the first half of a 41-34 loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs flipped the script and took a 23-0 halftime lead over Texas.

Georgia’s defense sacked Texas quarterbacks seven times and had 10 tackles for loss. The Longhorns had just 259 yards on offense, including 29 rushing yards. Texas went 2-14 on third down and 1-5 on fourth down.

Georgia, playing in Texas for the first time since 1958, handed the Longhorns their first loss of the season. Texas was the last remaining undefeated team in the SEC. According to ESPN Research, it’s the first time since 2007 that every SEC team has lost before the end of October.

Georgia’s 15-point win marked the third-largest road win against an AP No. 1 team ever and the most since Notre Dame’s 31-16 win over Pittsburgh in 1982.

In a city that prides itself on keeping things weird, a crazy series of events almost helped the Longhorns get back in the game.

With Texas trailing 23-8 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck threw down the left sideline for receiver Arian Smith on third-and-10 from the Georgia 31. Longhorns safety Jahdae Barron stepped in front of Smith and intercepted the passport. He returned the ball to the Georgia 9 from 36 yards.

That’s when things got strange. First, the officials penalized Barron for pass interference and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs. Referee Matt Loeffler announced the call to the crowd and called the 15-yard penalty to the Georgia 44.

Texas fans booed the call while watching replays on the stadium’s jumbotron. Some fans threw debris into the north end zone, stopping play for several minutes. While staff and security cleaned up the bottles, officers conferred again and returned the call.

When Loeffler told Smart about the turnaround on the sideline, the Georgia coach told him, “You can’t do that! You can’t do that! …This is bullshit—!”

“Now we’ve set a precedent: If you throw a lot of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, you have a chance of having your call overturned,” Smart said. “And that’s unfortunate because it’s dangerous for me. That’s not what we want, and that doesn’t mean criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”

Smart said Loeffler suggested to him that the penalty was called on the wrong player – that it should have been an offensive pass interference on Smith.

“It took him a long time to realize that,” Smart said.

In a statement released early Sunday morning, the SEC said officials “gathered to discuss allowable play to ensure the appropriate punishment is carried out.”

At that point, the league said, “the referee reported that he was in error and a foul for defensive pass interference should not have been called. Consequently, Texas was awarded the ball at the (Georgia) 9-yard line.”

“Although the original evaluation and adjudication of the penalty was not properly conducted, it is unacceptable for debris to be thrown onto the field at any time,” the SEC statement said.

The league said it would review fan behavior in the context of its athletic policies and procedures.

“I understand the frustration,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We were all frustrated right now, but all of us, the Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said officials did not explain to him why the call was reversed.

“I understand the frustration,” Sarkisian said. “We were all frustrated right now, but all of us, the Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better.”

Barron told reporters that the delay in clearing up the bottles on the field “most likely” contributed to officials changing the call.

“It was crazy,” Barron said. “I thought it was a bad call, so it was good that that changed.”

Despite Smart’s protests, Texas took over at the Bulldogs’ 9. After a first-down sack, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw a 17-yard touchdown to Jaydon Blue over the middle. The point-after kick made it 23:15. Suddenly the Longhorns had life after doing very little in the first half.

But Georgia’s offense responded with a long touchdown drive of its own. A 43-yard pass on a Flea Flicker play to tight end Oscar Delp brought the Bulldogs to the UT 25. On first-and-goal from the 6, Beck ran 5 yards to the 1. After two straight stops, Georgia stagnated Trevor Etienne stormed into the end zone on fourth-and-goal, extending the lead to 30-15 with 12:04 to play.

Etienne finished the game with 87 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns.

Trailing 23-0, Texas finally got on the scoreboard after recovering from a Georgia onside kick attempt early in the second half. Ewers, who was on the bench at the end of the half, started the third quarter. After a pass interference penalty on Bulldogs safety KJ Bolden in the end zone, Ewers threw a 2-yard touchdown and the ensuing two-point pass to Isaiah Bond to cut Georgia’s lead to 23-8.

Beck threw two interceptions early – the second coming on a pass to Barron at the UT 5 with 3:34 left.

However, Georgia’s defense didn’t allow the Longhorns to get anything going after suffering two first downs on Texas’ first possession.

After Beck’s second interception, Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette shot from Ewers’ blind side on third-and-six at the Texas 27. Everette’s tough tackle caused Ewers to fumble and Everette recovered the ball at the UT 13.

Four plays later, Etienne scored a 1-yard touchdown on a throw to left for a 7-0 lead with six seconds left. The Texas offense finished with a three-pointer on each of its next three possessions. On third-and-7 from the UT 11, Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker dropped Ewers for a 9-yard sack.

Georgia took over at the Texas 28 and kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 10:46 left in the first half.

Things would only get worse for the Longhorns. On the next series, Everette intercepted Ewers’ pass to Matthew Golden at the Texas 34. That set up Etienne’s 15-yard touchdown run up the middle, giving the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead with 8:30 left in the half.

Georgia made it 20-0 on Peyton Woodring’s 48-yard field goal with 4:43 left.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian benched Ewers and replaced him with redshirt freshman Arch Manning on the next possession.

Ewers was just 6 of 12 for 17 yards and an interception in the half. He was sacked three times and lost a fumble. The Longhorns had just 15 yards on 23 plays when Manning entered the game.

Manning, the nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, didn’t fare much better. Texas fumbled on its first drive, then was sacked by linebacker Damon Wilson and fumbled on its second drive. Walker recovered the ball at the Texas 30.

Woodring hit a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the half to give Georgia a 23-0 lead.

Walker, a junior from Salisbury, North Carolina, had seven tackles and three sacks in the first half. According to ESPN Research, he is the first player in 20 years to do so in a game against a team ranked No. 1 in the AP rankings.

Smart got his 100th win in 117 games as coach of his alma mater, which is tied for fifth fastest to 100 wins with Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne and Chris Petersen, who did it at Boise State and Washington.