The Texas Longhorns begin their final stretch of the 2025 season with one of their toughest challenges yet. Coming off a bye, and what should be a comfortable victory the week before against Vanderbilt, the Longhorns will need to be well-rested as they take the final lap of the 2025 regular season, beginning with a tough road game.
As in Week 12 of the college football season, Texas travels up to Athens, Georgia, to take on the Georgia Bulldogs on the road; their meeting on Nov. 15 will be the third time in two seasons the teams have faced off. After suffering two losses to the Bulldogs last season, the Longhorns will look to get one win back this time away from home.
Playing at Sanford Stadium has been one of the hardest challenges in all of college football in recent memory, as the Bulldogs currently ride a 31-game home winning streak that began back in 2019. However, Steve Sarkisian has been no stranger to ending long home winning streaks after breaking Alabama's 21-game streak in 2023 and Michigan's 23-game streak last season.
The Longhorns struggled in their first clash against Georgia, falling 30-15 at home after a huge performance from Atlanta Falcons first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, linebacker Jalon Walker, who recorded eight total tackles, three tackles for loss, and three sacks. As a whole, the Bulldogs' defense recorded seven sacks, 10 tackles for loss, one sack and an interception, also aided by a three-touchdown performance from Trevor Etienne to leave Austin with a victory.
After the loss, the Longhorns bounced back, winning five games in a row to close out the regular season and punched their ticket to the SEC championship, and set up another meeting with Georgia. Looking for revenge after their loss early in the season and an SEC title in Texas's first season in the conference, the Longhorns were held off once again after an overtime thriller went in the way of the Bulldogs 22-19.
Much has changed for both squads from a season ago. Both will be led by new starting quarterbacks with Arch Manning finally becoming the Longhorns starter, and for Georgia, Gunnar Stockton takes over for Carson Beck, who transferred to Miami.
Both teams are also in need of replacing a number of key players who left for the NFL, with the Bulldogs having 13 players drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft and the Longhorns having a program record 12 players drafted.
Also, both teams will head into the 2025 season with a new look offensive line, as both teams are replacing four out of their five starting offensive linemen. Texas loses Kelvin Banks Jr., Hayden Conner, Jake Majors, and Cameron Williams, three of whom were drafted, and one signed to an NFL team as an undrafted free agent. Georgia is replacing Dylan Fairchild, Jared Wilson, Tate Ratledge, and Xavier Truss, and just like Texas, three were drafted and one signed after going undrafted.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!