Longtime television analyst Kirk Herbstreit has called many big college football games throughout his broadcasting career, but his upcoming assignment as the Texas Longhorns host the Georgia Bulldogs is easily one of the biggest of them all.

The No. 1 Longhorns enter Saturday's home game against the No. 5 Bulldogs as favorites (-5) and enter the regular season with a six-game winning streak in which they are averaging just 6.3 points per game at halftime have admitted this season, by far the best mark in college football.

Meanwhile, the SEC's powerhouse over the past few seasons – the Bulldogs – are off to a 5-1 start, with their only loss coming against the Alabama Crimson Tide, a heartbreaking 41-34 after falling from 28-0 .

While the Bulldogs may not be the team they were in recent seasons – they recently had their 42-game regular season and a record 28-game winning streak against the Crimson Tide – when they won back-to-back national championships , they're still arguably the Longhorns' biggest threat for conference dominance in Texas' first season in the SEC.

“This is a game you just knew – Texas in its first year in the SEC – they were going to have a great team with a lot of big-play ability,” Herbstreit says in a press conference at Raising Cane's in Austin, Texas. “Kirby (Smart), the team that didn’t make the playoffs, had no chance to defend back-to-back championships and they will come into this year with a chip on their shoulder.”

Herbstreit goes into detail about why this is such a big game for the Bulldogs – who still want to show they are the Alphas in the SEC.

“Georgia already suffered the setback when they went to Alabama, and now they're stuck with a loss,” Herbstreit said. “The motivation of both teams is great. I think Steve Sarkisian has done a great job in this program of making them feel disrespected and playing with a chip on his shoulder by coming to every SEC game, let alone from the giants they play against.”

Meanwhile, despite being the top-ranked team in the country, the Longhorns are looking to show they can compete with the SEC's elite in their first season in the conference after transitioning from the Big 12.

“I think Texas is eager to show the SEC that they can keep up with the competition, namely Kirby and Georgia,” Herbstreit said. “I think Georgia is ready to go because when you lose to Alabama like that, you come back to take the lead only to lose it again.”

While the Longhorns have been impressive following their appearance in the College Football Playoff last season, they have yet to face an elite SEC opponent. Texas has victories against ranked teams like the Michigan Wolverines and the Oklahoma Sooners, but neither of those teams are in the same league as the Bulldogs or Crimson Tide.

Herbstreit didn't make a specific prediction about who will win the game, but assumed whoever wins the battle of the trenches will leave Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium victorious.

“When Georgia went to Tuscaloosa (to play Alabama), the game not only lived up to its billing. When I looked again, I found that whoever won the line of scrimmage won the game,” Herbstreit explains. “Coming into this game, I feel the same way.”

Herbstreit admits that while the Longhorns have been impressive so far, they have never faced a team like the Bulldogs.

“Look at Texas, what Sarkisian has done over the last three years in building this roster for these games, and they have passed every test up to this point. But this will be a completely different competition as Kirby is proud to have won the line of scrimmage. It's impossible to predict. It is impossible to predict how it will turn out. But I think the story of who runs the ball and who defends the run determines who will win the game.”

And while Herbstreit has to remain objective when deciding the game, he admits that he's looking forward to it from a fan perspective.

“I’m excited to see these guys on the field together for 60 minutes,” enthuses Herbstreit. “I think it will be great fun.”