Sugar Bowl Preview: Georgia vs Texas
Both teams suffered heartbreaking losses in their conference championships. Lots of people including Kirk Herbstreit said that Georgia should have made it into the CFP over Oklahoma because the CFP isn’t about record, it’s about who the better team is. Although Georgia can do nothing about this now, they can focus up on the game ahead against a 9-4 Texas team.
Strength of Schedule
Currently, the spread for the Sugar Bowl is -11.5 for Georgia. The spread started out at -14 for Georgia. Next, let’s talk about Strength of Schedule for each teams. Strength of Schedule is a very loose term because many websites are different, but most websites can agree that Georgia has the hardest schedule in the nation. Georgia had played 5 ranked teams this season according to the week 15 CFP rankings, including number 1 Alabama. Texas has played in 4 games against top 25 opponents, including number 4 Oklahoma twice. They have beat Oklahoma once and lost once. Texas has also played West Virginia, but lost. Texas also beat #24 Iowa State, who I feel like should not be ranked because Iowa State beat Drake by only 3 points. So when you look at it, Texas has only played against 2 different ranked teams.
Stats
Let’s take a look at some defensive and offensive stats for each team. Georgia is ranked 13th for ppg and ypg, while Texas is ranked 34th for ppg and 50th in ypg. I feel like Georgia definitely has the offensive advantage. On defense, Georgia ranks 18th for opponent’s points per game, and 15th in the nation for opponent’s yards per game. While Texas is ranked 56th in opponent’s points per game, and 64th in opponent’s yards per game. Again, I feel like Georgia has the advantage on defense as well. De’Andre Baker, a first round pick and Georgia’s best defensive player, is skipping the game. Although this is a big blow for Georgia, I think they can still pull out the win
Outcome
Texas is a very inconsistent team, they lost to Maryland who is 5-7 on the season and not even bowl eligible. They also only beat Kansas State (5-7), Tulsa (3-9), Kansas (3-9), and Baylor (6-6) by no more than 7 points. I feel like Texas will not stand a chance against Georgia’s high powered offense, and dynamic defense. I think Georgia will soundly defeat Texas in the 86th year of the Sugar Bowl.