Kirby Smart: Georgia football like an anaconda in 35-10 home win

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The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs toppled the No. 10 Texas Longhorns 35-10 to all but ensure Georgia a trip to the College Football Playoff. Georgia (9-1, 7-1 SEC) has to beat the Charlotte 49ers next week in order to finish the year with a record of 10-2 or better.

The Bulldogs beat Texas (7-3, 4-2 SEC) behind some timely coaching decisions from Kirby Smart and a big day from quarterback Gunner Stockton. Smart and Georgia recovered an onside kick in the second half and used that to derail any momentum Texas had after cutting Georgia's lead to just 14-10. The next time Texas got the ball back, the Longhorns were trailing 28-10.

"It's heartbreaking when that happens, because you just gave up a touchdown, and the defense is over there drinking water, and they all of a sudden got to go back out," Smart said on Texas allowing Georgia to recover an onside kick. "So I don't know what the continuous time was they (the Texas defense) were on the field. Our offense, it's like a big strong anaconda just squeezing you."

Smart and Georgia moved to 3-0 against Texas over the past two seasons. The Longhorns are 20-3 against all other opponents during that time span (two of those losses came to Ohio State).

Once again, Georgia's run defense shut down Texas, who mustered only 23 rushing yards. Georgia's defense allowed Texas to convert just two of 12 third down attempts. Georgia sacked Texas quarterback Arch Manning three times. The home win came at a cost for Georgia, who lost star linebacker CJ Allen due to a knee injury.

Georgia's offense operated effectively against a talented Texas defense that entered the game as the SEC's top run defense and had the nation's lead in sacks. Gunner Stockton scored five total touchdowns against Texas.

"I love when we play aggressive all the time," Georgia receiver Noah Thomas said. Thomas had two touchdowns in the first half. "That's who we are. We are the aggressor."

Aggressive decisions paid off for Georgia against Texas. Smart's decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 and later to do an onside kick helped fuel Georgia's dominant performance. The Dawgs looked like a national championship contender in their SEC regular season finale. Now, Georgia will sit back and see if they return to the SEC championship game in Atlanta.

"They continue to get better," Smart said after the win over Texas. "They continue to grow, work hard, believe in each other. It's a good football team, guys, but you're a week away from humility."

This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Aggressive Georgia cruises past Texas in decisive 35-10 win

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