Major Issue Arises Again in Texas Longhorns' Loss to Georgia

Costly penalties early in the game led the Texas Longhorns to their third loss this season.

Nov 15, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Zachariah Branch (1) is tackle by Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) and defensive tackle Hero Kanu (93) in the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

On Saturday night, the No. 10 Texas Longhorns were handed their third loss of the season by the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs. While the game stayed close well into the third quarter, a 21-point performance in the final 15 minutes from the Bulldogs put the game out of reach with the final score being 35-10 in Athens.

The Texas offense has been trending in the right direction recently, but the Georgia defense was always going to be tough to overcome. Despite the shootout against No. 7 Ole Miss earlier this season, the Bulldogs have been one of the best in the business when playing at home in recent memory.

While it wasn't the only reason for the loss to the Bulldogs, one of Texas' problems all night was its llack of discipline in the penalty game. Though there's an argument that there were calls that were missed by the officiating crew, the Longhorns still had costly mistakes that shifted momentum out of their favor.

Penalties Have Plagued the Longhorns

Nov 24, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talks with a referee during the first half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

It's an understatement to say that the Longhorns have struggled with penalties this season. Texas currently ranks No. 135 in the country in total penalties committing 82 across 10 games for 653 yards. Meanwhile, their opponents have been flagged just 49 times for 339 yards.

Against the Bulldogs on Saturday night, the Longhorns were flagged on nine occasions for 58 yards. Georgia was only flagged one time on a pass interference call in the third quarter which later set up a Texas touchdown. Even some on social media were questioning some of the missed calls by the Georgia/Texas officiating crew.

The refs have called Texas for 3 holding penalties so far but somehow miss this against Georgia… pic.twitter.com/cIVC4l2qqs

— Dalton Hill (@DaltonHill_4) November 16, 2025

The problem with penalties began on Texas' first drive of the game. After moving the ball well into Georgia territory, it was a false start by left guard Cole Hutson that threw things out of rhythm leading to a Longhorn field goal.

On the very next drive, the Texas offense was forced to punt after another false start on 4th and 4 in their own territory. Giving the ball directly back to a Georgia offense that found the endzone on their first drive of the game is definitely less than ideal for any team.

Whether on offense or defense, the Longhorns were called for a penalty on four of the game's first five drives.

By the time Texas finally settled in offensively, the damage had already been done with Georgia taking control of the game.

Against a Georgia team that excels at controlling the time of possession, it was extremely important that the Longhorns play a clean game when it comes to getting penalized. By the end of the game, the Bulldogs had held possession of the football for over 35 minutes.