Underdog Texas swinging for a KO
Longhorns haven’t won a bowl of this caliber since 2008
NEW ORLEANS — Chris Nelson hasn’t forgotten the clips he watched of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.
At the beginning of the season, Texas staffers included some of his fights in a sort of macho pump-up video compilation. Nelson recalled one moment when Holyfield’s heavy hook sent an opponent’s face to
the mat and his mouthpiece soaring. That, he thought, is a bad man.
“They try to pull out different boxing clips so they played his and the whole team meeting got
fired up,” the Longhorns’ senior nose tackle said. “The other dude got knocked out.”
On Tuesday, Nelson and the Longhorns will get up close and personal with the former champ’s son, Georgia running back Elijah Holyfield. And 15th-ranked Texas (9-4) wants nothing more than to knock out the fifth-ranked Bulldogs (11-2) in the Sugar Bowl.
Texas took a step on the path back to relevance and respect last December by beating Missouri in the Texas Bowl. It was the program’s first postseason win since 2012.
But Texas has not won a game of this magnitude since the 2008 season, when it topped Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Longhorns realize a victory on this stage, over this opponent, could be a defining moment in the program’s ongoing rebuild.
“This is another very important step,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “Winning it would certainly be even bigger. Our guys, they understand that we can’t just be satisfied to get here. We’ve got to do what it takes and take the necessary steps to prepare to go win a game. And we’re excited to do that.”
Georgia is feeling angry and slighted. It believed itself worthy of inclusion in the College Football Playoff, even after falling to Alabama, 35-28, in the SEC championship game.
Texas would love to gripe about whether it deserved a playoff spot. Beating last year’s national runner-up, a program on the rise under coach Kirby Smart, could catapult the Longhorns into 2019 with Mack Brownera hype.
“I don’t think we are that far away,” senior defensive end Charles Omenihu said. “I think Texas will be there pretty soon. We have to matchup a little bit more if you want me to keep it real. We were a few plays away here and there from having one or two losses for the season.”
There haven’t been any fireworks since Texas and Georgia arrived in New Orleans last Thursday.
Georgia complimented the Longhorns’ defensive backs on their physicality. Smart praised Herman as a brilliant offensive mind who surrounded himself with brilliant defensive minds.
Bulldogs defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter praised Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger as a great leader and formidable runner.
Texas was equally complimentary.
Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando gushed over Georgia tailbacks Holyfield and D’Andre Swift. Ehlinger commended the polish and discipline of the Bulldogs defense. Omenihu deemed Georgia’s offensive line the most complete of any he’s seen this year.
The compliments will cease when the teams play Tuesday.
“We need to start out fast,” senior linebacker Anthony Wheeler said. “Show them that we came to play and that we can play with them, regardless of what other people say.”
Intriguing matchups abound.
Perhaps most importantly: Which sophomore quarterback will rise above the other?
Georgia’s Jake Fromm threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns against Alabama’s stifling defense. He completed 68 percent of his passes with 27 touchdowns and five interceptions this season.
Ehlinger shook off his “turnover-prone” label to throw for 25 touchdowns with only five picks. The 235-pound quarterback also bulldozed his way to 13 rushing touchdowns.
And Texas receivers Collin Johnson and Lil’Jordan Humphrey won’t have to contend with Georgia defensive back and Jim Thorpe Award winner Deandre Baker, who will skip the game to prepare for the coming NFL draft.
The defining question for Orlando’s defense will be whether it can withstand the physicality of Georgia’s offense, which boasts a muscle-bound wall along the offensive line and a glut of weapons.
Omenihu said the Longhorns can’t let hubris get the best of them when it comes to tackling, especially with regard to Swift and Holyfield. His coach concurred.
“They’re going to hit DBs. They’re going to hit linebackers. And those guys are going to remember them,” Orlando said of Georgia’s tailbacks. “That’s how they play, with that kind of street to them, but also to say, ‘I can make you miss.’
“Every team that we’ve watched stacked up the box, eight-man fronts, nine-man fronts where they’ve got to make somebody miss. They’ve done it consistently.”
Underdog Texas is going to come out swinging. If it lands a few early blows, that could be a sign an upset is brewing in the Superdome.
“For the first time in a long time, I think we understand that our best is good enough, that if we play our best, we can play with and/ or beat any team in the country,” Herman said. “We’re certainly not good enough to show up with our B game and expect to beat a team like Georgia. We’re going to need our A game.”