Texas Longhorns Secondary Falls Apart in Ugly Loss to Georgia

The No. 10 Texas Longhorns traveled up to Athens for the first time in program history to take on the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs at home and will be returning home with a demoralizing loss, as the Longhorns were bested 35-10 on the road in Sanford Stadium.

Texas will be left scrambling, with its chances at making the College Football Playoff looking bleaker than ever. The final two games of the season are against Arkansas and No. 3-ranked Texas A&M. The loss also marks the third consecutive loss the Longhorns have suffered at the hands of the Bulldogs.

The Longhorns found themselves dominated on many phases of the matchup Saturday night, and no bigger struggle was more on display than the Texas secondary, which could not match up against the Georgia passing offense.

Longhorns Secondary Cracks vs. the Bulldogs

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Noah Thomas (5) makes a catch for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Heading into the matchup, the Bulldogs' passing offense had not lit the world on fire, ranked as the No. 10 passing offense in the SEC, averaging 239.1 yards per game. The leader of the air attack, quarterback Gunner Stockton, had completed 179 of his 258 pass attempts for 2,040 passing yards, 15 touchdowns to just two interceptions through Georgia's nine games of the season.

While the Longhorns have not exactly been the best passing defense in the conference, ranked as the No. 12 passing defense in the SEC, allowing 235.3 passing yards per game. The Longhorns have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 198 of their 312 pass attempts for 2,118 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Texas would back itself up to be able to defend the pass when needed; however, in Athens on Saturday night, the Longhorns' secondary completely unraveled.

Stockton was able to carve up the Longhorns' secondary, as he ended the night completing 24 of his 29 pass attempts for an impressive 82 percent completion percentage, averaging nearly eight yards a completion, tossing for four touchdowns and just a single interception. Adding more to his big day, Stockton was a big factor in the run game and added a touchdown on the ground, putting the final nail in the coffin for the matchup.

The Bulldogs' pass catchers had themselves a day, with wide receiver Noah Thomas finishing the day with four catches for 32 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and wide receiver London Humphreys ended with the most receiving yards on two catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. And finally, tight end Lawson Luckie's single catch went for a touchdown.

Even with the return of star safety Michael Taaffe, the Longhorns' secondary still had miscommunication and lapses in coverage, which the Bulldogs took advantage of the entire night. The secondary will have to regroup in the final two games of the season, with any hopes of the postseason hanging in the balance.