AUSTIN, Texas — Dirt and grass stains splashed across his uniform, Bulldogs running back Trevor Etienne stood amid several cameras and fielded questions following No. 5 Georgia’s 30-15 win over No. 1 Texas.
His answers were reasonably benign. The writing on his eye black said much more about Georgia’s mindset entering the night: “Why not us?”
Etienne, a Florida transfer, may be new to the program. But he’s already mastered the continual cycle of motivation spun by Kirby Smart that’s made Georgia such a powerhouse this decade. The Bulldogs were an underdog for the first time since Sept. 4, 2021. You better believe they noticed as the Saturday morning pregame shows swooned over the Longhorns and almost unanimously picked against the Dawgs.
“I feel like we were doubted, “Etienne said. “I feel like coming into this game we have a lot to prove.”
Perhaps that’s why we got a 2021 or 2022 vintage performance from Georgia (6-1) after several shaky moments against Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi State to begin conference play.
Athletic freaks are the foundation of the Georgia’s usually all-world defense. The Bulldogs are built via No. 1 recruiting classes to dominate opponents along the line of scrimmage. That group hasn’t been the same early in 2024. The Bulldogs ranked just 44th nationally in rushing yards allowed per carry coming into the week and 83rd nationally in sacks.
Those hard-won blue-chips splattered across the depth chart weren’t living up to expectations.
That changed in Austin.
Texas came into the week having allowed six sacks through its first six games. Georgia totaled seven Saturday night, consistently teeing off against two of the best tackles in college football in Kelvin Banks and Cameron Williams. Georgia also completely mitigated Texas’ rushing attack, holding the Longhorns to 1.1 yards per carry.
The Longhorns swaggered into the week, a program on the rise in its SEC debut.
Georgia, which allowed only a single sack on the other side of the ball, reminded them winning in the SEC starts in the trenches.
“They really never established the run,” Smart said. “That’s what you have to do in this league. If you can’t do that it makes you on-dimensional.”
Whether you believe him depends on how attuned your BS meter is, but Smart insisted postgame he didn’t feed into the doubt to motivate his team prior to the game. Instead, Smart said he preached intention.
As for the nature of that intention, Smart summed it up simply: “Attack and be aggressive.”
It’s why Smart went for it up 15 on fourth down with 2:13 remaining on his own 40-yard line. Georgia had a chance to win the game. It needed to take it. Etienne, who had three touchdowns on the day, failed to gain that yard. And with that failure, Smart gained a teaching point: “We’ve got to get a yard when we need to get a yard.”
That’s the worrisome part — at least for the rest of college football — of Georgia’s win. The Bulldogs didn’t play clean. Not close. Carson Beck, the preseason NFL Draft darling, threw three interceptions. Georgia’s receiving corps didn’t help him much, dropping too many balls. The defense had several interceptions bounce off its hands, too. It’s a catching situation Smart described as “almost comical.” The Bulldogs will be hitting the jugs machine this week in practice.
Those errors show Georgia, despite a 15-point road win over the No. 1 team in the country, remains a work in progress. Yet they’re awfully scary, especially so if they reach their best versions of themselves this season.
Texas is arguably the fastest team in the FBS with its athletic skill. Only two other teams (Miami, Ole Miss) entered the week with more plays of 20-plus yards this season than Texas. The Bulldogs held Texas to just four of those, all but one of which occurred in the second half after UGA raced out to a 23-0 lead and Texas had to press.
Despite all its errors, Georgia’s offense still managed to score more points on Texas combined than Michigan, Mississippi State and Oklahoma (28).
Nobody is infallible in college football this season. There’s a reason why every SEC team has a loss and only two preseason top 10 teams (Oregon and Penn State) remain unbeaten. As Kirby Smart said after the game looking ahead to a bye: “Humility is only two weeks away.”
But Georgia, built atop a bully-ball roster unlike any in the sport, looked like the monster that’s long loomed over the rest of the SEC for the first time this season.
You best believe that monster knows it’s been overlooked, too. It heard the narrative that surrounded Texas this week. A bigger, badder, flashier bully had come to take over the SEC. And you know exactly how Georgia responds to doubt: With intent.
“We try not to focus on the outside noise,” Etienne said with a grin when asked about the message on his eye black. “But you do see it.”
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