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    • Georgia football crushes Texas and gives life to Kirby Smart's title chase
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    Georgia football crushes Texas and gives life to Kirby Smart's title chase

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    • The Georgia Bulldogs can compete with the best, but when they let their guard down, they still have a mean streak.
    • Georgia's defense takes over the day before Carson Beck provides the clutch drive.
    • Texas' second-half surge prevents collapse. The teams could meet again in the SEC Championship.

    AUSTIN, Texas – The possum has woken up.

    Georgia didn't go down in the first half of the season. It was just played like he was a roadkill.

    When the Bulldogs' defense comes to life, like it did Saturday night, their claws cut like razors and their fangs sink deep.

    No. 4 Georgia remains strong enough to compete for the national championship. It proved that in a 30-15 win over No. 1 Texas.

    The Bulldogs (6-1) are still a threat – when they want to be. It's still hard to know which version of Kirby Smart's team will emerge. Consider Saturday the work of Mr. Hyde in this split Georgia season, as Georgia inflicted torture and malice on Texas (6-1).

    Darryl K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium turned into a tomb in the second quarter as the Bulldogs pulled away from an opponent that overwhelmed inferior opponents in the first six games.

    When cannon fire finally pierced the silence at halftime, the Bulldogs led 23-0, the Longhorns had just 38 yards and the SEC pecking order had been rearranged.

    Kaboom, that's the end of Texas' No. 1 ranking and wait until the Longhorns are crowned the new kings of the SEC.

    Don't bury the Longhorns either. These teams could meet again in the SEC Championship Game – if Texas recovers and plays like it did after halftime, when a one-sided affair in the fourth quarter turned into a one-score game.

    Texas can't handle Georgia, but don't bury Longhorns

    Texas quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning showed shocked expressions in the final seconds before halftime.

    The Longhorns tried every quarterback, but the Bulldogs tormented them both.

    Daylen Everette sacked Ewers and later intercepted him.

    The Longhorns gained 15 yards on Ewers' first six drives.

    So coach Steve Sarkisian turned to Arch Manning in the second quarter, and the sellout crowd awoke with a roar of joy. Then things went quiet again after Jalon Walker fired Manning.

    Georgia persistently destroyed Texas' muscular, experienced offensive line, which asserted its dominance as the Longhorns marched to the top of the rankings. But Texas had had no opponents in Georgia, and the Bulldogs seemed miscast as underdogs.

    By halftime, the SEC's last undefeated team had gained 38 yards and three turnovers.

    Sarkisian turned back to Ewers after halftime and Texas rallied, but Georgia had already done too much damage to overcome.

    Where was that Georgia defense against Alabama or, say, Mississippi State? This is how Georgia last played in its season-opening win against Clemson.

    Is this the real Georgia? Because this Georgia is a team that no opponent should want to play against.

    Georgia's defense dominates while the offense does just enough

    However, let's get a few things straight: Georgia didn't put it all together.

    The defense shouldered the load and supported quarterback Carson Beck, who threw three interceptions, for three quarters. When Beck found his target, he couldn't trust his receivers to secure the pass. And offensive coordinator Mike Bobo treated running back Trevor Etienne like a member of the witness protection program, often hiding him, even though Etienne was running strong every time Bobo remembered his existence.

    Georgia's five first-half scoring drives went for 13, 13, 34, 25 and 4 yards, a testament to how often the Bulldogs' defense set up their offense for success.

    You have to give Beck credit for delivering. He scored four consecutive completions on a crucial 89-yard touchdown drive after Texas got within eight points.

    Texas' defense appeared to be part of a playoff unit. His offense failed to hold up its end of the bargain.

    Georgia's defenders kept coming and the Longhorns' linemen were little more than turnstiles. Ewers and Manning were under so much pressure that it's a wonder they even threw for a yard.

    The Bulldogs racked up ten tackles for a loss. That's the type of defensive effort that helped Georgia win the first of Smart's two national championships. Fittingly, the game ended with a fourth-down stop by the Bulldogs.

    And if this kind of defensive effort continues, don't count on Smart winning his third national title.

    The Bulldogs can play possum with the best of them, but when they get noticed, they still have a mean streak.

    Blake Toppmeyer is the national college football columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

    Subscribe to read all his columns.

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    Kathleen William
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