Have Texas Longhorns Found Budding SEC Rivalry With Georgia Bulldogs?

With the Texas Longhorns' move to the SEC a year ago, analysts and fans alike were excited about the possible marquee matchups that the team could find itself in.

The move to the SEC brought the revival of the Lone Star Showdown against the Texas A&M Aggies and the old traditional rivalry against the Arkansas Razorbacks. But in Texas' short time in the SEC, it has also sparked a brewing rivalry with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Texas and Georgia battled on the football field twice last season and are beginning to battle along the recruiting trail. As the teams faced off twice last season, with the Bulldogs coming out on top both times, and now the Longhorns are winning the commitments of high-end prospects from the state of Georgia, sparking the growing rivalry to a whole new level.

How Texas vs. Georgia Has Grown into a Marquee Matchup

Texas' first big-time SEC loss came against Georgia midseason last year, which in a way gave the Longhorns a warm welcome into the conference. The Bulldogs' defense stifled the Longhorns' offense the entire game for a 30-15 final score, handing Texas its only regular-season loss at home in 2024.

The Longhorns got another crack at Georgia as the two teams met once again, this time with even higher stakes in the SEC Championship Game. Texas's chance to win the SEC in its first season in the conference faltered as the Bulldogs came out on top again, 22-19, reinforcing Georgia's dominance in the SEC.

However, the encounters between the two programs did not end once the 2024 season concluded, as both programs have been entrenched in recruiting battles for some of the top prospects in the 2026 recruiting class, with the Longhorns coming out on top multiple times.

Last Tuesday, Texas received the commitment of five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson, the No. 1 linebacker in the country and the No. 1-ranked player from the state of Georgia, per 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The Longhorns didn't stop there. While both Steve Sarkisian and Kirby Smart were in Atlanta for SEC Media Days, Texas flipped four-star defensive linemen James Johnson, who was committed to Georgia since June 28. Johnson is touted as the No. 1 defensive lineman in the 2026 class by On3's Industry Rankings and the No. 8-ranked player from the state of Florida.

The commitment from Atkinson marks the second year in a row where the Longhorns were able to wrestle away one of the top recruits from the state of Georgia from the Bulldogs, as Texas signed five-star defensive linemen Justus Terry to its top-ranked 2025 recruiting class. Terry was ranked as the second-best player from Georgia and the third-best player at his position per 247Sports.

The Longhorns and Bulldogs write the next chapter of this growing rivalry on Nov. 15 as Texas travels up to Athens to take on the Bulldogs. A victory for the Longhorns could further add fuel to the fire.