Here's The One Hurdle Texas Must Clear To Win its First SEC Title

The road to winning an SEC title is clear — it runs through Athens, Ga. — but do the Texas Longhorns have what it takes to win the conference?

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) celebrates scoring a touchdown with teammates in the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

For the last decade, there has been a simple equation for winning the SEC title — that is, simple in terms of knowing what is needed.

The road to the SEC Championship Game goes through Athens, Ga., as the Georgia Bulldogs have appeared in eight of the last nine conference title games.

However, that has not been simple to execute. Georgia has won the SEC in three of the last four seasons, and head coach Kirby Smart is 117–21 at the helm. The Texas Longhorns fell to Georgia in the title game in overtime in 2024 and missed the big game in 2025. Do they have enough to run the table in 2026?

Why Beating Georgia Is the Key to Texas Winning the SEC

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian and Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart interact after a game at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Smart took over the head coach position at Georgia in 2016, and since then, the team has become a national powerhouse. The Bulldogs have five College Football Playoff appearances and two national championships in this time.

Since 2017, only three types of teams have won the SEC: Georgia, a team that beat Georgia in the title game or a team that beat Georgia in the regular season. However, that has been easier said than done.

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide were the most successful against Smart and the Bulldogs. Saban had a reputation for beating his ex-protégés, famously going 28–3 against his former assistants. He only lost to Smart once — the 2022 CFP National Championship — and beat him in three SEC title games and one national championship.

However, with Saban retired and Ed Orgeron no longer coaching, the list of active SEC head coaches who have beaten Smart and the Bulldogs is limited. Kalen DeBoer is 3–1 against Smart, Lane Kiffin is 1–2 and Pete Golding is 1–0.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia and Texas played three times since Steve Sarkisian became the head coach, all three in the last two seasons since joining the SEC. In those games, the Longhorns are 0–3 and have been outscored 87–44. While Georgia has been one of the best defensive programs over the last decade, Sarkisian has not yet cleared 20 points against the Bulldogs.

Texas does not play Georgia this season, which leaves the Longhorns without another shot at the Bulldogs until a potential SEC Championship Game. Getting that far won’t be easy, though. Texas has one of the toughest schedules in the country.

The Longhorns face five teams that finished inside the top 25 of ESPN’s SP+ metric in 2026. They also play an improved LSU squad, and their non-conference schedule is headlined by a Sept. 12 showdown with Ohio State.

However, one potential avenue for Texas to overcome Georgia could be a contentious addition made to their coaching staff. The Longhorns hired Will Muschamp in December as their new defensive coordinator, one of the few coaches who have upset Georgia.

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Zachariah Branch (1) is tackled by Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) and defensive tackle Hero Kanu (93) in the first half at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Muschamp and the Gamecocks upset the No. 3 Bulldogs in double overtime in 2019, winning 20–17. However, he was fired a season later in 2020 and joined Georgia’s coaching staff, serving in multiple roles: special teams coordinator, co-defensive coordinator, safeties coach and defensive analyst.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly was critical of the Muschamp hire, citing that he has not produced a top defense as a solo coordinator since 2009. However, he posited the hire could provide “knowledge of Georgia's inner workings.”

Sarkisian himself referenced this following Muschamp’s hire, but he insisted this was not a critical factor in the move.

“One of the unintended consequences of this is we do get a little intel into the Georgia theme,” Sarkisian told the media in December.

“That's not the main theme, but rather, ‘How do we get somebody in here that's going to play our brand, our style, our thinking of how we want to play defensive football, and get a guy over there that can really be the head coach on defense and lead these guys and get them to play with the intent, the passion, the physicality that I'm looking for on a weekly basis?’”

Georgia wide receiver Dillon Bell (86) drops a pass from Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) during the first half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Is it enough for Texas to know how the sausage is made? After leaving Texas in 2010, Muschamp has been a solo coordinator for just one season (Auburn, 2015), coming up short in head coaching stops at Florida and South Carolina. However, he co-led a talented Georgia defense to top-10 seasons in 2022 and 2023 in terms of total yardage and points allowed per game.

Texas ranked 40th and 28th, respectively, in those metrics in 2025, leaving a clear area for improvement. A revamped offense should also help Texas become more competitive, as an average of fewer than 15 points per game against Georgia is not a recipe for success.

If the Longhorns want to win their conference, they will likely have to go through the Bulldogs, and it is critical they find a way to match up and compete with the peak of SEC success.