This crucial SEC showdown has real potential to make or break the college football season for both the Georgia Bulldogs and the Texas Longhorns. Kirby Smart and Georgia keep finding ways to win late in games, but they’ve proven to be much less than invincible. The Texas Longhorns have lost to number one Ohio State and Florida (somehow), but are trending up.

Georgia has finally found their pass rush in recent weeks and they’re going to need it from here on out. Steve Sarkisian finally has Arch Manning putting up numbers as he looks more comfortable in his first full season as the starting quarterback for Texas. Which rising force wins out on Saturday? The Georgia defense or the Texas offense?

Given how meaningful this game is likely going to be in deciding the playoff path for both Georgia and Texas, media members from A to Z Sports who cover both teams decided to weigh in, predicting a winner. The picks are in. Enjoy!

Georgia 27, Texas 24

The Georgia Bulldogs haven’t looked like themselves for much of the 2025 season. Their pass rush has consistently ranked outside the top 100 all year long. The running game has been inconsistent. However, there’s no denying that the Bulldogs just keep finding ways to win. Even if they allow five straight touchdowns to Ole Miss, 41 points to Tennessee, or struggle to reach 20 points against Auburn and Florida, Kirby Smart’s team finds a way late in games. They did finally clean things up against Mississippi State, racking up three sacks and looking like the best version of the team so far, so maybe they just dominate here. What’s more likely though? Arch Manning continues to connect with his targets underneath and Texas wide receivers break a few big plays, making this a close game to the very end. Texas’ offensive line costs them late, putting the Longhorns in a couple bad spots, then Gunner Stockton opportunistically converts on a few key third downs as running back Nate Frazier runs in the winning score in the fourth quarter. 27-24, Georgia. – Travis May, A to Z Sports CFB & NFL Draft Managing Editor

Georgia 27, Texas 17

No. 5 Georgia and No. 10 Texas meet Saturday in Athens in one of college football’s biggest Week 12 matchups – a rematch of last year’s SEC Championship thriller. Georgia beat Texas twice in 2024, including a 30-15 road win and a 22-19 overtime victory for quarterback Gunner Stockton’s breakout moment.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has spent the past year reshaping his roster to close that gap, battling Georgia head-to-head on the recruiting trail and building a defense capable of stopping elite SEC offenses. After a bye week, the 7-2 Longhorns enter rested and motivated against the 8-1 Bulldogs. With playoff stakes on the line, both teams face win-or-go-home pressure. – Nick Wright, A to Z Sports Texas

Georgia Bulldogs News

Kirby Smart reveals details on Arch Manning recruitment and progression ahead of Georgia Bulldogs face off with Texas Longhorns

Kirby Smart clearly respects Arch Manning’s progression and understands the threat Georgia faces now

Travis May

Georgia 34, Texas 29

The Georgia Bulldogs faced the Texas Longhorns twice last season, first beating them 30-15 in Austin. They then met in the SEC Championship where the Dawgs won 22-19 in overtime. Gunner Stockton stepped in for the the injured Carson Beck in that thrilling win and gave Georgia some hope at the future of their QB1. However, as Kirby Smart said, these are two very different teams matching up this time. Texas will have to rely on its passing game which Georgia has been getting better at covering in recent weeks so that could be a problem for them. But the same can be said for Georgia, who might not be able to lean as heavily on their dominate rushing attack against the No. 2 run defense. In a projected pass heavy outing under the lights, I think Georgia pulls off the win by making the big stops where it matters most, though it won’t be easy – Kelsey Kramer, A to Z Sports Georgia

Georgia 20, Texas 16

Last season, Texas and Georgia was a massive game both in marquee and for College Football Playoff seeding. The Bulldogs won both matchups, but the Longhorns made it to the College Football Playoff semifinals. This game doesn’t feel like the same kind of matchup, mainly because both teams don’t have the same level of cache and dominance that they’ve had in year’s past. This is not a good Georgia defense, especially when you compare them to units of recent years, mainly because the talent level just isn’t there. For the Longhorns, they have been massively inconsistent, losing to the Florida Gators in The Swamp and barely beating a Mississippi State team that had them dead to rights at the end of regulation. This could be a very ugly game, and because of a lopsided score, but both teams just don’t play a good brand of football. I’ll defer to the home team here, as it’s very difficult to win in Athens, and Arch Manning hasn’t proven he can be consistent against really good competition just yet. – Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Florida

Final Score Predictions for Georgia vs. Texas

The A to Z Sports staff unanimously believes that the Georgia Bulldogs will pull off the victory here over the Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns, but overall believe this is going to be a tight game. On average, our staff believes Georgia wins this game somewhere around 27-22. That would be fitting, as both teams have been cutting it close in many of their games this season. This would put the Georgia Bulldogs firmly in line to hold a top five seed and perhaps a first round bye in the College Football Playoff. Texas would essentially be eliminated from the picture entirely.

We’ll be back with more Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!