Texas can't capitalize on opportunities, falls 22-19 in OT to Georgia in SEC championship

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Georgia running back Trevor Etienne hurt Texas the first time the teams played this season, and then he did it again Saturday.

Etienne scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime on a 4-yard run, lifting the Bulldogs to a 22-19 win over Texas in the Southeastern Conference championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

#Texas WR DeAndre Moore sat for a while by himself after the loss.#HookEm | @KXAN_News pic.twitter.com/D7fiYZO5Kd

— Noah Gross (@noah_gross27) December 8, 2024

Georgia backup quarterback Gunner Stockton helped the walk-off score with a gutsy 9-yard scramble up the middle to the 4-yard line, and he took a massive shot from Texas safety Andrew Mukuba that made his helmet fly off. Carson Beck, whom Stockton replaced after he injured his shoulder on the final play of the first half, came in to hand it to Etienne. Etienne ran for 94 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Against Texas on Oct. 19, he had three rushing touchdowns.

"This one stings, it's hard," Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "At the end of the day, we weren't effective enough in the high red zone to put touchdowns on the board, but we showed a great deal of resiliency."

Texas kicker Bert Auburn helped force overtime with a 37-yard field goal with 0:18 left to tie it at 16-16 and then knocked a 32-yard kick through on the first overtime possession. Auburn missed two field goal attempts earlier in the game.

Texas was penalized 11 times for 94 yards with many coming at the wrong time. One penalty wiped out an Auburn make from 37 yards (he missed from 42 after the flag), and two others nullified interceptions in the first half. Flags also led to numerous stalled drives, and even though Texas gained 260 yards of offense in the first half, all they had to show for it were a pair of field goals and a 6-3 lead.

"We shot ourselves in the foot a few times and got into some third-and-longs that were hard to get out of," Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said. "We had a good plan going in, and we just didn't capitalize. Some games go that way."

The Longhorns' lone touchdown came on a 41-yard pass from Ewers to DeAndre Moore in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 13-13. Moore finished the game with 114 yards on nine catches while Matthew Golden hauled in eight for 162 yards with catches of 50 and 36 yards in the first half. Ewers finished 27-for 46 for 358 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Georgia was great against the Texas run game as they were in the 30-15 win in Austin. The Bulldogs allowed 31 rushing yards on 28 carries. Quintrevion Wisner had 51 yards on 19 carries, but 27 yards were lost due to six Georgia sacks.

For the Bulldogs, Stockton finished 12-for-16 with 71 yards and an interception. Jahdae Barron picked him off with 2:30 left in the game to help set up Auburn's field goal to send the game to overtime.

Georgia claims its second SEC title in the past three seasons and should receive a bye to the quarterfinals in the College Football Playoff tournament. Texas will more than likely receive a high enough seed to host a first-round CFP game either Dec. 20 or 21, but they'll have to wait for the committee to make its final selections Sunday. Both of the Longhorns' losses this season have been to Georgia.

Sarkisian said his team is "plenty good enough" to win the national championship.

"We get a chance to regroup and get healthy," Sarkisian said. "We need to put our best foot forward to make it happen."