The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Georgia
No. 14/14 Football preview: vs. No. 6/6 Georgia [Jan. 1, 2019]
12.10.2018 | Football
The Longhorns and Bulldogs meet in the 85th Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year's Day.
No. 14/14 Texas (9-4, 7-2 Big 12) vs. No. 6/6 Georgia (11-2, 7-1 SEC)
January 1, 2019
Where: New Orleans, La.
Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Time: 7:45 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN (Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe)
Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Quan Cosby)
Spanish Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva, Jesus Mendoza)
National Radio: ESPN Radio (Bill Rosinksi, David Norrie, Ian Fitzsimmons)
All-time series: Texas leads 3-1
COMPLETE GAME NOTES
The Opening Kickoff
• The University of Texas will make its 55th all-time bowl appearance, and fourth appearance in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, when it faces off against the University of Georgia on Jan. 1, 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
• The game will kickoff at 7:45 p.m. CT and be televised on ESPN. Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline) will call the action.
• The Longhorn IMG Radio Network broadcast with Craig Way (play-by-play), Roger Wallace (analyst) and Quan Cosby (sideline) can be heard on the local affiliates listed on page two.
• The Longhorns' Spanish language radio broadcast, Cadena Deportiva, can be heard in Austin and Dallas. The local affiliates are listed on page two. Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva (play-by-play) and Jesus Mendoza (analyst) are on the call.
• Longhorn Network's broadcast begins at 5:45 p.m. CT with Texas GameDay, a two-hour pregame show. The show features interviews, analysis and stories to get Longhorn fans ready for the game. LHN also broadcasts Texas GameDay Final after each game, complete with press conferences, interviews, highlights and more.
• Texas enters the game with an overall record of 9-4, including a Big 12 Conference mark of 7-2. The Longhorns played Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game, falling to the Sooners, 39-27.
• The Longhorns have played in nine, one-possession games in 2018, going 6-3 in such games. Prior to the loss in the Big 12 title game, UT's three, regular season losses had come by a combined nine points. The Horns have beaten four ranked teams in 2018, tied for second-most in the country.
• Georgia is 11-2 overall and went 7-1 in Southeastern Conference action. The Bulldogs fell to Alabama, 35-28, in the SEC Championship Game. Last year, in Kirby Smart's second season at Georgia, the Bulldogs lost to Alabama in overtime of the National Championship Game.
• The Bulldogs' only other loss this season came in the state of Louisiana on the road at LSU, where the Tigers defeated Georgia, 36-16, in mid-October. Georgia also has four wins over ranked opponents this season.
• ESPN Radio will have the National call with Bill Rosinski (play-by-play), David Norrie (analyst) and Ian Fitzsimmons (sideline) on the call.
The All-Time Series
• Texas and Georgia meet for the fifth time when they play in the 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 in New Orleans.
• The Longhorns are 3-1 against the Bulldogs all-time. UT won 41-38 over Georgia in the 1949 Orange Bowl, while also beating the Bulldogs 26-7 (1957) and 13-8 (1958) in a home-and-home series played in Athens and Austin, respectively.
• Georgia got the best of Texas in the most recent matchup, a 10-9 victory in the 1984 Cotton Bowl.
• The two programs recently scheduled a future home-and-home series, with Georgia coming to Austin in 2028 and the Longhorns returning the trip to Athens in 2029.
Head Coach Tom Herman
• Tom Herman is in his fourth season overall as a head coach with a career record of 38-14 (.731) entering the Sugar Bowl. He is in his second season at Texas with a mark of 16-10 (.615).
• Including the 2018 season, Herman has spent 15 of his 21 seasons as a coach in the state of Texas on the collegiate level.
• Herman graduated from Cal Lutheran and received his master's degree in education from The University of Texas.
• He owns a career mark of 11-6 against Top 25 opponents, 4-4 against Top 10 foes and 2-2 versus teams in the Top 5.
Tom Herman And Bowl Games
• Herman has led his programs to bowl games in all four seasons as a head coach. The 2019 Sugar Bowl will be Herman's second New Year's Six bowl game, as he guided Houston to the 2015 Peach Bowl in his first season as a head coach.
• In Herman's first season at UT, he led the Longhorns to a 33-16 win over Missouri in the 2017 Texas Bowl.
• He is 2-0 in bowl games that he has coached in, as he did not coach UofH in the 2016 Las Vegas Bowl after taking over the Longhorns' program.
• Herman, as Ohio State's offensive coordinator, coached against then-Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart in the 2015 Sugar Bowl, a game that the Buckeyes won, 42-35, in what was a CFP Semifinal that season.
Longhorn Sugar Bowl History
• The 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl will mark Texas' fourth appearance in the historic game. UT is 1-2 in its Sugar Bowl history.
• The Longhorns beat Alabama, 27-7, in the 1948 Sugar Bowl. They lost to Ole Miss, 39-7, in 1958 and also to Virginia Tech, 28-10, in 1995.
Longhorn Bowl History
• Texas makes its 55th all-time bowl appearance, second-most in the country behind Alabama. Georgia is also making its 55th all-time bowl appearance.
• The Longhorns have an all-time bowl record of 28-24-2 (.556) in bowl games.
• UT is playing an SEC opponent for the 23rd time in a bowl game. The Horns are 13-8-1 in bowl games against current SEC members.
Louisiana Longhorns
• The Allstate Sugar Bowl will be a homecoming of sorts for the four Longhorns on the roster who hail from the state of Louisiana.
• Junior Malcolm Roach is from Baton Rouge (Madison Prep), junior D'Andre Christmas-Giles is from New Orleans (St. Augustine), junior Gerald Wilbon is from St. Rose (Destrehan) and freshman Michael Williams is from Baton Rouge (Dunham School).
Ehlinger By The Numbers
• True sophomore Sam Ehlinger has completed 256-of-398 (64.3%) passes for 3,123 yards (6th in school history) and 25 touchdowns this season. He has also rushed for 418 yards and 13 scores. The most rushing TDs by a UT QB in school history is 14.
• Ehlinger's 38 touchdowns accounted for are tied for second-most in school history with Vince Young in 2005. Colt McCoy has the school record of 45 in 2008.
• Ehlinger has thrown just five interceptions, and attempted a school- and Big 12-record 308 consecutive passes without an interception in between picks in the season opener at Maryland and the regular season finale at Kansas.
• Ehlinger is the seventh Longhorn to eclipse 5,000 career passing yards. He currently sits seventh with 5,038 career yards. His 36 career touchdown passes are seventh-most in school history.
• He has 3,541 yards (3,123 pass/418 rush) of total offense this season, fifth-most in school history. Only Colt McCoy (2007-09) and Vince Young (2005) have had more in a season.
• For Ehlinger's career, he currently ranks eighth in school history with 5,841 yards (5,038 pass/803 rush) of total offense.
Two-Headed Monster
• Junior wide receivers Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson have combined for 144 receptions, 2,054 yards and 16 touchdowns so far this season.
• Forty FBS teams have at least one receiver with 65-plus catches so far this season, but Texas is one of just seven to have two receivers with 65-or-more catches.
• The seven schools are TEXAS, Hawaii, Ole Miss, Nebraska, NC State, Ohio State and Washington State.
• Humphrey (79) and Johnson (65) became just the eighth WR duo in school history to both eclipse the 50-catch mark in the same season (also 1998, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014). This season marks just the second time, however, that two UT receivers have had at least 65 catches in the same season (also 2008).
• 2008 is the only season in school history with two, 1,000-yard receivers in the same year.
Lil'Jordan, Big Impact
• Lil'Jordan Humphrey became the first 1,000-yard receiver since John Harris in 2014 and the ninth in school history.
• He leads the team with 79 catches (5th UT single season history) for 1,109 yards (5th UT single season) and nine touchdowns (T-7th UT single season).
• Humphrey is one of just four players in school history (Jordan Shipley, 2009; Quan Cosby, 2008; and Roy Williams, 2003) with at least 1,100 yards and nine receiving TDs in a season.
• Humphrey became the first Longhorn since Mike Davis in 2012 to register 100 receiving yards in back-to-back games when he did so against WVU and Texas Tech.
• In fact, Humphrey was just the fourth player in school history (Roy Williams, 2002; Wane McGarity, 1998; Mike Adams, 1993) with 140-or-more receiving yards in back-to-back games.
• He has a catch in 23 consecutive games.
• For his career, Humphrey has 118 catches (14th school history) for 1,555 yards.
• Humphrey's impact has gone far beyond just catching the ball this season.
• In addition to his nine receiving touchdowns, Humphrey also has a passing and a rushing touchdown.
• The last Longhorn to register at least one passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in the same season was QB David Ash in 2011. The last non-quarterback to do so was Darryl Clark in 1982.
• Humphrey is just the fourth Longhorn since 1980 (Ash, 2011; Peter Gardere, 1992; Darryl Clark, 1982) to record at least one passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in the same season and just the eighth in that time span to do it in their career (Jerrod Heard, 2015-active; Ash; Ricky Williams, 1995-98; Curtis Jackson, 1992-94, '96; Gardere; Eric Metcalf, 1985-88; and Clark).
Johnson Having Another Monster Season
• Collin Johnson set a Big 12 Championship Game record with 177 receiving yards against Oklahoma.
• He currently has 65 catches (10th single season) for 945 yards (10th) and seven touchdowns, a season after having 54 catches for 765 yards and two TDs.
• He has a reception in 26 straight games played, tied for the sixth-longest streak in school history.
• For his career, Johnson has 147 receptions (9th in school history) for 2,025 yards (9th in school history) and 12 touchdowns.
O-Line Continuity A Key
• After missing a combined 36 games along the offensive line in 2017, UT's starting offensive linemen have missed just three combined games so far in 2018.
• In 2017, UT was forced to use eight different starting offensive line combinations in 13 games. So far in 2018, UT has used just three different starting combinations, including the same one in each of the last eight games.
• LT Calvin Anderson, LG Patrick Vahe and RG/C Elijah Rodriguez have each started all 13 games thus far.
• That continuity, mixed with the return of tight end Andrew Beck, who missed the entire 2017 season, has led to increased offensive productivity in 2018.
• UT's offense is averaging 415.6 ypg (151.2 rush/264.5 pass) and has allowed just 25 sacks. Last season, for comparison, UT averaged 398.5 ypg (139.6 rush/258.8 pass) and allowed 34 sacks.
• Every starting offensive lineman was honored by the Big 12 Conference's coaches. Center Zach Shackelford was named first team All-Big 12 by the AP and second team by the coaches. Left tackle Calvin Anderson, left guard Patrick Vahe and right guard Elijah Rodriguez all earned honorable mention along the offensive line, while redshirt freshman RT Samuel Cosmi earned honorable mention as the Big 12's Offensive Freshman of the Year.
Omenihu Named Defensive Lineman of the Year
• Senior defensive end Charles Omenihu was honored as the Big 12 Conference's Defensive Lineman of the Year. He is the third Longhorn, and second straight, to earn the recognition.
• Omenihu has registered at least one tackle for loss in nine straight games. He had one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss in the Big 12 Championship Game.
• The senior has lived in the opponents' backfield. His 9.5 sacks rank first in the Big 12 and are in the Top 15 nationally. He also leads the team with 16 tackles for loss, tied for third-most in the Big 12.
• Omenihu's 16 TFL are the most for a Longhorn since Jackson Jeffcoat had 22 in 2013. He is looking to become the first Longhorn with 10 sacks since Jeffcoat (13) and Cedric Reed (10) each reached that plateau in 2013.
Sterns Named Defensive Freshman of the Year
• True freshman safety Caden Sterns was named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year. He is the seventh Longhorn to earn Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors joining Cory Redding (1999), Derrick Johnson (2001), Rodrique Wright (2002), Brian Orakpo (2005), Quandre Diggs (2011) and Malik Jefferson (2015).
• Sterns has started all 13 games, becoming the first UT true freshman DB since Blake Gideon (13 starts) in 2008 to start the first 13 games of his career.
• He has 62 tackles (three TFL), four interceptions, four pass breakups and a blocked FG.
• He had two interceptions against TCU and was named Thorpe Award Player of the Week, as well as Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, for his effort.
• He also has interceptions against Tulsa and Baylor, while his blocked field goal against USC was returned for a touchdown by Anthony Wheeler.
• He was the first true freshman at UT with two interceptions in a game since DeShon Elliott (2015) and just the third ever (Chris Carter, 1993).
