Texas Longhorns Stock Watch After Week 12: Who's Up & Who's Down?

The Texas Longhorns take another major step back on the season with a rough loss on the road in Athens to the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs, being completely outclassed, falling 35-10 on Saturday night.

Not only will the loss hurt the Longhorns' pride after being blown out on the road, but it will also damage Texas' chances at the College Football Playoff, with a shot at the postseason being extremely hard to come by now at 9-3 and with a No. 3 Texas A&M team waiting in the final week of the regular season.

Some players are improving, while others have taken a back seat. Here's a look at a couple of Longhorns whose stocks are trending upwards or downwards. After Texas's disastrous loss to the Bulldogs, the Longhorns need to get back on track when hosting the struggling Arkansas Razorbacks for their second-to-last game of the season on Nov. 22.

Trending Up

Arch Manning, QB

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) looks to make a pass in the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Despite many pieces of the Longhorns squad falling apart on Saturday, one steady piece was the play of quarterback Arch Manning, who ended the game 27 of 43 passing for 251 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

While the stat line might not jump out just by looking at it, Manning was the best Longhorn on the field, having to battle through his pass catchers dropping well-placed throws, not getting much support from the run game, and his protection falling through a few times.

Down the stretch of the season, Manning has developed into the quarterback many people were expecting, with the signal caller looking poised and in complete control of the Texas offense even when the players around him are not playing up to par.

Trending Down

Secondary

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) looks to make a pass in the second half against the Texas Longhorns at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Longhorns' defense has been sure-handed for the majority of the season, being the better side of the ball for Texas; however, against the Bulldogs, especially on the back end, it was not the best performance the Longhorns' secondary has turned in.

With Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton able to carve up the Longhorns' secondary with not much resistance, he finished the game completing 24 of his 29 pass attempts and tossing for four touchdowns and just a single interception.

Even with a healthy secondary with safety duo in star Michael Taaffe back after a few weeks out with injury and Jelani McDonald good to go after leaving the game against Vanderbilt with an injury, the Longhorns still suffered busts in coverage and miscommunications all night long.

Special Teams

The Longhorns have been able to rely on special teams in critical moments of the season, with some of their specialists making game-changing plays; however, against Georgia, special teams added to the loss with key mistakes.

The two biggest plays were a holding penalty that was called on a 59-yard kick return from Ryan Niblett, which erased the Longhorns' good field position, and the biggest play was a surprise onside kick from Georgia when the Longhorns were gaining momentum; the Bulldogs recovered and scored on the ensuing drive, icing the game out.