AUSTIN — Over a span of 67 years, you might think that two titans like Texas and Georgia met by chance in a bar somewhere. Only four meetings during this time. They weren’t always exactly historic, but they included Darrell Royal’s debut, Craig Curry’s muffed punt and an early declaration from Sam Ehlinger.

Turns out Texas wasn’t really back after winning the 2019 Sugar Bowl.

And if a 30-15 win by fifth-seeded Georgia was the benchmark, it still isn’t.

On a Saturday when the winners of two of the last four national titles lost, and not for the first time, Texas, undefeated and unchallenged, had an opportunity to cement its reputation as a champion of college football’s new era.

But instead of a changing of the guard, the astonished audience at the Royal Memorial Stadium saw a champion reasserting his claim to the throne.

The good news for Texas: Due to the expanded playoffs, not only are the Longhorns out of contention with Texas A&M and LSU the only undefeated teams left in the SEC, they could still make it to the SEC Championship Game.

The bad news: What if that meant they had to play Georgia again?

“Hopefully,” Steve Sarkisian said, “we can get at them again.”

Be careful what you wish for, coach. For the first time since their season-opening win over Clemson, the Bulldogs played like the Dawgs we had become accustomed to in recent years. Buoyed by the return of defensive lineman Mykel Williams, Georgia dominated the line of scrimmage and its linebackers and secondary made plays in space, all but eliminating Texas’ big-play tendencies.

By the way, imagine the difference in the score if Carson Beck hadn’t thrown three interceptions, giving Texas opportunities it couldn’t capitalize on as Georgia took a 23-0 lead in the first half?

Meanwhile, Quinn Ewers got off to a bad start for the second straight game, only this time not against the likes of Oklahoma. Describing Ewers as “a little restless” and his eyes “not where they should be,” Sark replaced him with Arch Manning with 4:43 left in the half to give his starter a chance to “sit back and reset.” to group”.

The plan from the start, Sark said, was to bring Ewers back at the start of the second half. There are no quarterback controversies here.

“Quinn is our starting quarterback,” he said.

In fact, twice.

Still, one can’t help but wonder what he would have done if Manning had done anything to snap the Longhorns out of their malaise when they were shut out in the first half for the first time since the loss to Arkansas in Sarkisian’s debut season .

Until Saturday, Manning had never played in a game in which Ewers was healthy or in which the Longhorns lost. He had looked great against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State, but that was pretty much the story for the Longhorns this season.

Suddenly, those wins over Michigan and Oklahoma, both 4-3 after losses on Saturday, don’t seem so impressive anymore.

The question now is: How good is Texas?

“We are a better team than we played tonight,” Sark said. “I know we can do better.”

Still, he acknowledged that the Bulldogs have been “the standard” in college football for a half-dozen years and appear intent on reclaiming the title on Saturday.

Kirby Smart even had the nerve to use an us-against-the-world tactic in a postgame interview with ESPN.

“Nobody gave us a chance,” he said. “Nobody believed in us. . . Our intention was to come to dinner and be hungry. I’m not interested in all the bells and whistles. What I want is a team that fights… and they did that tonight.”

It’s hard to say whether Smart’s “bells and whistles” comment was a shot at Texas and its celebrity parade at Saturday’s game. But there was no doubt about his intentions on the game’s most controversial play.

“They tried to rob us here with calls,” he told ESPN.

The so-called robbery: In the third quarter, Texas player Jahdae Barron intercepted a Beck pass intended for Arian Smith and returned it to Georgia’s 9, only to have it nullified by a pass interference ruling. Next thing you know, Texas fans were raining water bottles on the north end zone, prompting Sarkisian to walk across the field with his arms raised, begging them to stop.

The delay may have given officials time to reconsider the call for intervention, which they did. Replays showed that it was indeed a bad decision. In a statement from the SEC office, game officials said: “They met to discuss the game that is allowed to ensure that the correct penalty is enforced. At that point, the calling officer reported that he was mistaken.”

On second down from the 9, Ewers hit Jaydon Blue for a touchdown that cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 23-15. But that was all Texas could accomplish. Trevor Etienne, who ran for 87 yards, scored his third touchdown early in the fourth quarter after a trick flipped the field.

But by then, Texas had already laid the groundwork for the biggest disappointment at the Royal Memorial in years. Decades perhaps. The trick now is to make sure it doesn’t last long.

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

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