The Team at Inside Texas make their predictions for the SEC Championship game. Its Texas vs Georgia part Deux. Join InsideTexas.com: https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-longhorns/join/ This video is sponsored by Laura Baker. Call your real estate expert, Laura Baker, at 512-784-0505 or email her at laura@andyallenteam.com. Want Official IT Merch? Shop Here: https://insidetexasmerch.myshopify.com/ Listen to the Podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3P0cwAUPNZrsNrTOKOfa6x Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-texas-football/id1721623113 Find Us On Social Media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/InsideTexas Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsideTexas/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidetexas/ https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-longhorns/
Inside Texas Football
IT Roundtable: Texas Longhorns vs. Georgia Bulldogs, Team News, SEC Championship Game Predictions
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Second time we're seeing Georgia, we might even see them three times this year, and it is the season where we get to really kind of stretch our muscles a little bit. I want you to go to InsideTexas.com and check out all the stuff that has been going on there this week, and I really genuinely hate pumping the tires of these guys, but they've absolutely crushed it this week. And check us out. It is InsideTexas.com. We've got a silly season sale going on. It is one American dollar that's going to give you seven days worth. I mean, that's you're going to get some of, if not the best, Texas content for one dollar for an entire week, which is an amazing deal. So please come check us out. One of the things that- Oh geez, I froze there for a minute. One of the things that is happening that did happen this week is recruiting, Justin. So if you can, maybe give us the 30,000 foot view of what the recruiting week was like. Again, we talked about this a little bit earlier in the week on the YouTube channel. It was a little anticlimactic. There were a few fish, big fish that Texas was trying to flip late, namely Michael Fosuse, and it just didn't come to fruition. But you know what, it is crazy, and I think Ian and I were kind of talking about this yesterday on the live. This is a number one class in the country. It doesn't really feel like what we've seen before with Texas with a number one class in the country. And that is not to disparage the thick talent that goes throughout this class. But there's still some holes there. There's still some things that need to be filled for this program back in it to be better when they go into 2025. I feel like still, Texas really hit the spot on a number of positions. And namely, Justice Terry's the big one. And I can't wait for, you know, we're going to talk about that one here in just a little bit. But you know, the number two defensive tackle in the country, the most imposing child I saw in the state of Georgia when I went corner to corner in October. And just the delight, he comes from a town of about a thousand population. They still have grass on their football field. That tells you how small they are. But man, what a great kid, big paws, big feet, big smile, and big, whoop your butt style. Like he's just that guy. And so I can't wait to kind of see if he can jump in. I think Georgia's going to lead, it still leads in that one. But they really hit on a lot of important spots. Listen, only two defensive linemen, the two they got are going to be difference makers. Two good linebackers, Elijah Boberns, a little bit better than average, incredible senior year. But Jonah Williams, Lance Jackson, Smith, The Rock Bow, Cade Phillips, the five star duo of Coleak Lockett and Jamie French at wide receiver. You get a daily McCutcheon as your third. That's your floor. And he's got some DeAndre Moore to his game. The only position I was a little hesitant with was the offensive line. And the way flood has built this out in the last three years, I'm going to give him a mulligan on this one. Because I know what's ahead. I know there are some fantastic offensive tackles in 2026. And I know he's going to be able to hit those spots. I'm not going to argue with Ian this morning. We're not going to go back and forth on Nick Brooks being a tackle because he's not. But at the end of the day, man, give Sark and these guys credit. The number one class, now, Justice Terry's decision could sway George's up. And I think it would actually, I think Alabama, if they lose Haywood, would push them back. So Texas, the farthest they could be is number two. I mean, that that's what you're here for. That's what you do when Texas wins on Saturdays, recruiting just falls in line. We had a lot. And again, the live coverage that you had on YouTube and through all our social channels this week was fantastic. Ian, you were on there as well. And I'm just curious, when you hear Justin say that this is a number one class, but you don't have maybe that big splash or it feels like a number one, what does that resonate with you? What is, how does that feel, that concept feel to you? Yeah, I think there's kind of two ways and maybe even three ways in which that's true. One is that maybe four ways. KJ Lacey has been committed to Texas for so long. He's kind of old hat. He's not like a big exciting headliner like everyone's thought he would be after a sophomore year. We're watching a senior film and it's like, oh yeah, this guy's actually extremely talented and extremely likely to be a very good college quarterback. But he doesn't, there's not a lot of hype around him, right? So your quarterback is not like a big headliner, that's one thing. For on my end, there's not the same kind of explosive speed on the perimeter or on the edges. Like there's maybe Nick Brooks at tackle. I say yes, Justin says no. The best edge is 270 pounds and maybe the answer for what is Texas to a defensive tackle in a few years. Jackson's 280. Does your next investment opportunity include $8 trillion in private wealth and 300 plus connections with wealth management firms all in one place? Invest in Dubai, the world's fastest growing venture capital ecosystem and a global wealth hub with access to Dubai International Financial Center. Unlock unmatched business opportunities. Join Dubai's financial revolution where growth meets opportunity. Visit www dot Dubai beyond possible dot com to know more. Yeah, yeah, more to the point. So there's not the, there's not the like headline speed on the outside. And then, um, wow, I had another, oh yeah, they needed defensive tackles in the worst way. And they have you maybe we're realizing we're going to backdoor a third in Lance Jackson, we'll see. Maybe they get just as scary later today. But as of now, it was like they need like four defensive tackles and there's you guys with DT next to their name on the list. So you're like, is it really a number one class if it didn't meet the greatest need in the program that everybody's been fretting over for the last two years? Maybe that's legit. We want you to, and again, this is, we wanted to just give you an overview of this week because the amount of detail that these guys have provided at inside Texas.com is extensive. So please go there, check it out again is one American dollar for seven days. I want to talk to you, Paul. I want to go to Brett Nelson's super chat. Don't know if you saw that. This is, this is something that has been, you guys, we covered this even preseason about the probably football playoff and the committee. But one of the things that is getting bandied about is if Texas were to lose and that would they be eligible for that five six seed or more, more to the point, do you see them landing there with the committee? So I think the five is probably less probable. You're probably looking at the six or seven, but we shall see. I think the committee is going to use that five, six, seven, those three slots to make fights, to make styles, to make match ups, right? So you'll see these brackets that are getting issued, where it's all SEC teams playing in the first round and second round and big 10. It's, that's not how it's going to go down. These are malleable. And if you follow the NCA tournament basketball, you'll very frequently see a team that clearly should have been an eight seed, seeded at 11, because then they can put them in another bracket and get a certain match up that they're looking for, right? Or they're going to avoid a rematch for the four time location. Yeah, or location. So there's a, there's a more holistic sort of approach that they're going to take. And that's a fancy way of saying that they're going to try to maximize entertainment and TV dollars. So I think six or seven, someone in the chat saying Paul, they said they won't change it for match ups. Okay. All right, man, because everyone wants to see Texas, Georgia part three. That's right. First game. Yeah, exactly. The quickening. That was the best highlander movie. Really underrated. Okay. Just kidding. You didn't appreciate Sean Connery's accent as a Spaniard. As the Spanish talk, sneezing into his kerchief. He was a better good. He trained McLeod up pretty nicely. Sure did. He did cut the curtains head right off. All right. So here's the thing. I'm still looking at Ian waiting for him to put on chapstick like he did in our deep dive. But yes, that stuff in his pocket. Oh, no. Look, here's the deal. You're you're going to likely end up with some teams that are not belong. They don't belong. They're pretenders in the playoff. And whatever way you can get matched up with them as early as possible. Great. The buy does have inherent value. And Sarkeesian seems to value that. So he mentioned that specifically, he thinks that he can scheme some stuff stuff up. And he also thinks that there's some minor injuries that will heal that have been plaguing guys that maybe aren't getting reported every week. So I think that's something to consider as well. But honestly, styles make fights. There is no super dominant team heading into this playoff. So what you just want is a series of matchups that play well to your strengths. And I think Texas could get that. Whoever pulls the combo of Boise State, Arizona State or Boise State, Iowa State, that would be pretty advantageous to have that run to get into the semifinals. You mentioned something, Paul, and I'm curious about your thoughts on this for the group. You know, we've heard coaches say like there's a disadvantage in playing a championship game, or it may not be worth it if you lose. I get the sense from Sarkeesian that the SEC championship is legitimately important to him. It's something that he values. And is that your read as well? It's a statement. You come in the first year of the league. You win the league. You have the best regular season record. You get revenge against the only team that gave you a blemish. I mean, that's a massive statement. Right now, if you look at the recruiting rankings, Texas one, Georgia, what, three or two, depending on the service. And honestly, Justice Terry could flip that later today, right? Five stars have outsized weight. So Georgia gets him naked, big and rocket to number one. You got Texas and Georgia playing on the field. And as you guys mentioned, down the road, we could actually see them again in the playoffs. So this is about a reordering of the SEC and establishing a hierarchy. So since the advent of the SEC championship game in 1992, which is a while back, there's only been six teams that have won. So these are the true blue bloods of the SEC. Can you guys name them with me? Missouri one, didn't they? No. Since when? Since when? 92, since the advent of the conference title game, there's only six teams in the SEC that have won it. Georgia, obviously. Are you wanting us to name all six? Yeah, Alabama, Georgia, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Florida, LSU, Auburn and L. Auburn 13 and I had five or six and only 10 teams have qualified, right, to play in that game. South Carolina, 2010, Arkansas, Arkansas with the McFadden and Felix Jones. That's right. So it's very played, Auburn. I don't hear even though Texas A&M has played for it yet. No, I've heard rumors that they haven't, but that's why I think they're on the put it on their board, but I'm not their vision board. Yeah. Yeah, it's why you have Aggie friends. All this week, you should have been asking him for tips for Atlanta. Like, hey, you have some recommendations for Atlanta and like places to eat. And they'll be like, hey, Billy Lucci knows that place front and back, but he didn't get to go this year. So I have to pull that with it with an Aggie with an Aggie friend. He was like, where's that game again? And I was like, Oh, the SEC Championship game, it's in Atlanta. We're talking about Atlanta's like, that's where the SEC Championship that he just should have just you should have just started playing ludicrous right then. We want to take we're going to get into our picks for this game. I do want to hear from our sponsor really quick somebody that helped our very own Ian Boyd. Hi, I want to tell you about Laura Baker. If you're looking for a new home in the 512 or even at this point, let's face it 737 area code, there's only one number to call. That's Laura Baker at 512-784-0505. As a member of the elite Andy Allen team with Keller Williams, Laura has helped Longhorns find the home of their dreams in central Texas. Just ask our resident sex symbol, Ian Boyd, who moved all the way from Michigan to Texas with Laura's help. Laura can help you find what you're looking for in the 512, the 737, or even parts of the 254 and the 210. Just, you know, give her a call at 512-784-0505. Her email is in the description as well as the rest of her contact details. She's a friend, give her a call. We will, I want to, we in this, at this particular show like to really get in deep with the stats and we've got a very special deep stats today. But before we do, we've got an amazing super chat and I want to thank our friend, Fairweather fans here, for donating to Ian's minivan fund. And I'm curious what your thoughts are on this. I read that Texas was tipping plays against Georgia. I didn't believe it. However, given how Georgia played other teams, I kind of think it is true. And you got into this, Paul and Ian during your deep dive, just specifically, probably that screen game and they just blew that up almost every single time. But what are your thoughts on this sentiment? Well, the screenplays are kind of obvious, like if you run as a flat before the snap, okay, that wasn't the problem. I mean, they snuffed that out for sure. But there were some plays that were telegraphed because Texas had some particular like runs that would have the same motion attached and the motion is intended to try to, this is, it's all very technical. You could tell that some of the motions and formations that Texas ran triggered very aggressive reactions from Georgia. And Texas just didn't have the volume of new play designs to trip them up. And Georgia had obviously given that game maybe a little more attention and scouting and game planning than you would expect. Like, normally Texas goes into a game, they run like, you know, the double throwback screen. Sometimes you see teams are all over it. Sometimes teams are like, Oh crap, you know, this again. With the teams that really scout Texas and plan really well, they usually snuff some of the favorite, like go to plays and Sarg's bag and that's what happened against Georgia. I don't think that was like the major factor in that game, but it for sure happened. Ian, Ian, do you think the lack of a run game period from what I'd heard Kirby smart in a second drive told his guys were coming for Quinn pin your ears back. They can't run the ball. Is there, you know, is there any truth to that? There could be. I mean, you watched, I noticed on rewatch recently this week that Kristen Miller number 52 was driving the guard across from him back into the backfield, like every other snap. Just about every run scheme in the book is difficult. If the defensive tackle is playing in your backfield, I believe he's out for this game. He's at very least questionable. He dislocated his shoulder a couple weeks ago. Seems like that'd be kind of hard to play through as a defensive tackle, depending on the severity of the terror. We'll see if he plays and he's fine, then that's not great. But yeah, I think that was a bigger issue was getting manhandled. If Texas had been able to introduce more hesitation, that would have helped a lot. I think they'll do that this time, but they had the kicking man handled again. That's a bigger, a bigger factor. I want to take a minute here and go beyond the numbers a little bit and look into some deep analytics that are going to give us a good indication about how this game is going to go. And unfortunately, I will go ahead and spoil it for you right now. These statistics really, really are demonstrating that Georgia may have an advantage here. And I want to talk to you about them. These are our deep stats. And we're going to get in specifically with curbs here. One of the things that a lot of people are unaware of is that Kirby Smart was a frat boy. He was a Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Now, you may be saying to yourself, why is that important? Well, some of the alumni from that particular fraternity include Pete Carroll and Troy Aikman. And I know our very own Paul has thought about this because it is a undervalued advantage that a lot of coaches have being in a fraternity. And if you have a second, Paul, we'd love to understand what advantage does a coach have coming from a fraternity? So you're always recruiting. You're always finding new members. Yeah. And you're also always recruiting sorority girls. Yeah. Not for membership, but more for other plans you might have. Sure. Justin, that was unnecessary. Maybe it's a personal Bible study. You don't know. So the second thing is hazing. Hazing is an important feature of fraternity life. It's a lot like two a days. It's a good prep for that. Also, just being cruel to people for no real reason is an excellent preparation for being a football coach. That's what you get from hazing. I think you would find it shocking how many players are actually SAEs at Texas. Yeah. And this is precisely why I brought it up is it is one of those undervalued metrics that doesn't get talked about a lot. Is that the one that got kind of Oklahoma for the song on the bus? I'm sorry. I'm not familiar with. Oh, the wheels and the bus go around and around and around. That's a song. That was not the song. That was not the song. It was. I would say. He was trying to get us kicked off YouTube. So we're just gonna pretend you didn't say. Was it SAEs, the Oklahoma State guys against Oklahoma with the the corpse of the the the dead cow on the front? That was a form fraternity. That's a different breed. Oh, that's right. That's right. That's a that's an honorable husband. But to LC's point, I think it does give Kirby an advantage. The the other advantage we have here, and I'm gonna go to Ian for this, but Kirby's father was a football coach. So he's been around football his entire life. Everybody knows this. But again, what is not getting talked about coming from his parentage is that they were very thrifty. And here's what I mean by that. It's not that they were just trying to save money at the grocery store. They were playing the long con on this. They named all three of their children with a K name. Now, what does that do? Well, that saved you in embroidery that saves you in that saves you in writing the kids names. You just write K smart and you guys are set. So this is forward thinking. And if you really want to get into the weeds here, Kirby's parents are are looking at some initials that are K K K very specific, right? He's going and wants to keep it in line. So Ian, if you wouldn't mind, just let me know like what what if having thrifty parents help in in in terms of coaching a SEC championship game? I did not know that particular setup was coming. I think the thriftiness is apparent though in his coaching in a couple of ways. One is that they obviously spend big on defense. But are you aware of the thrifting strategy where you buy quality products second hand? Sure. And then you just run them into the ground? Yeah. He has a similar approach with his defensive line. They get really, really good players. But then like like Michael Williams is going to be drafted in the first or second round as a pass rusher. Kirby does not let him pass rush very much. Does your next investment opportunity include $8 trillion in private wealth and 300 plus connections with wealth management firms all in one place? Invest in Dubai, the world's fastest growing venture capital ecosystem and a global wealth hub with access to Dubai International Financial Center. Unlock unmatched business opportunities. Join Dubai's financial revolution where growth meets opportunity. Visit www dot Dubai beyond possible dot com to know more. He has those guys eating blocks, taking on double teams and being as efficient as possible and stopping to run with their big guys without allowing them to make plays and get up the field. So that's I think that's there's some thriftiness evident in his scheming and then there's their cut. Yeah, it's it's totally true. And I think it's time that we go ahead and get into our picks because we pretty much lost the entirety of the chat with that particular segment. So we'll start with you Ian. I do want to give a quick a quick shout to hear Matthew Hudson soon. He's got a good point about what Ian had done. I just want to say I actually had a parent of a player watch yesterday when it was brought back up Ian and he thought it was the funniest part of the entire show. He wanted to give you props. Oh, good job. I think he gets the props on. I don't know. It's a joint. It's a family here. I just wanted to let you know that was actually taking taking very well from a from a handful of people inside Texas. Well, for the purposes of the chat, why how about a quick refresher on what it occurred? We're good. We're good. It's not it's not a good. We don't need to go down. You know, given what else we've talked about today and what is your what do you anticipate seeing in this game and give us a score prediction? I went. So Paul noted recently that this game is going to be played on a fast track at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. You see scores are often inflated in that game partly because of that. So I bump my score up a little higher than I would have. And I had Texas 30 Georgia 24. I think the difference is Sark is going to have a couple plays drawn up that creates going chances for Texas. Hopefully the arch fourth and one play action bomb. And yeah, Texas, Texas wins with some trickeration on offense. Oh, it's going to take some trickeration. How do you see this going Justin? I think we've seen a trend of low scoring games here in the last month outside of Texas playing Florida who is obviously being dubbed because I think they're playing through their strengths. The offense is doing just enough to to win the turnover battle and move the ball where the defense is is just going to place it's going to be stout. It's really the backbone of the program this year. I've got Texas winning this one 23 to 20. I think it's going to come down to field goals. I think that both teams are going to be able to move the ball relatively. But once they get in the red zone, that's going to be to me the difference maker. And as we saw then the first match up, Georgia had one drive the entire game from the other side of their field. And I think that is going to be the biggest focal point here is just not gifting them that really good field position. I like Texas by Fogo. Like I said, I think these are low scoring. We went into this season thinking this offense was going to be high octane 35 45 points a game. And in some games, they've been able to match that. But in the last month, the identity of this program has becoming more and more about defense. And I think as long as they keep guys in front of them and make the plays and don't bend too much or break rather when they're in the red zone, I like Texas by Fogo. Paul, are you going to maintain the trend here of everybody picking Texas? I'm picking the longhorns. I think it's going to be a close one. I think Texas is likely to get out to an early lead. And then I think they're going to hold on. I think that's the plan. So I think I've got Texas 24 to 23. Yep. I remembered it somehow. So I do think there's going to be more offense in this one. I think between the 20s, I think you're going to see some big plays. I think you're going to see more offense, fast track, dome, perfect conditions, et cetera. And then both teams know each other a little better. So some of those coverages that were novel for both teams, they're going to have some reps against now. However, both teams have some red zone issues. So I think you're going to see some offenses going up and down the field, but they're going to bog down on the red zone. I think you're going to see some fourth and ones, fourth and twos that are probably swing the game. And I think Georgia is going to have to kick some field goals. If it comes down to too many field goals, Georgia's got advantage in the kicking game, unfortunately. But maybe old Burt has been just laying in the weeds, waiting to bust out and have his best game. He never, he never missed this one. It actually matters. It's always to like marginal value field goals where he blows it. They all matter. Every kick matters. Usually, but I'm going to ask Paul this, this being a home game for Georgia, how important is it really for Texas to kind of get out to a really good start? Because you don't want 70, 65, 70% of that crowd to really get into it midway through the second quarter. It is important, but I would say this is Georgia's fourth consecutive SEC title game. Also, you got the playoffs, which you kind of want to pace yourself for. Your upper middle class and traveling to go visit, go see Texas and you want to pick the games. Also, man, Texas crowds always over for forming. Texas is one of the great travel crowds in college football. And no one gives Texas credit for it. No national pundits ever talk about it. The Texas travel crowds are amazing. And the proof of it is go on the boards of the teams we just played on the road the next day. And there's just endless posts freaking out about how many Texas fans were in the stadium and how impactful they were. So it might be 70, 30, it might be 55, 45. We'll see. But we have got to get off to a good start. I like Texas in the first quarter to get out to a lead. That would be necessary. I'm with you, Paul, but I really do think it's nationally known. Texas and Notre Dame travel better than any programs in college football. And only reason is because every time you see bull reps in the press box, week after week, those are the two teams that they'll mention. Hey, if we got those two, that's when we can make a big splash. Well, I think it's a little more nationally known that Texas and Notre Dame, they travel better than anybody else. I don't know if Notre Dame even travels so much as they just have a day. They have a diaspora of fans. So like they naturally have fans like in every big city. But that's part of it. But Notre Dame fans travel. If you're a bull rep, you want the horns or the fighting Irish. That is your big pay bank. That's where you can really maximize revenue for that weekend. To review the scores, we've got 30 to 24 by Ian just in 23 to 20 and Paul 24 to 23. Now, if you're asking yourself, how did they come to these numbers? Why did they come to this conclusion? Well, what you need to do is you need to go to inside Texas.com and you will be able to read all the analysis that happened this weekend or this week rather. Go ahead and check out the rest of the YouTube channel. We've got the deep dive also inside the program is up right now that can give you all the team news prior to this game. Please check us out. It is $1 that's going to give you seven days of content. Very let's call it high quality content. We really appreciate you being here. We are going to start a pregame one hour before kickoff and the second that clock hits three four zeros, we are going to have a post game. So please check us out there as well. We want to thank you for being here. It is our pleasure to bring you this as as often as we can. And you guys are awesome for being here. Thanks so much. Dubai is a magnet for global entrepreneurs seeking to leverage unparalleled opportunities, competitive financial incentives and global talent and trade connections. Dubai's digital transformation sets the pace of change from the cutting edge solutions creating new possibilities to the green investments shaping a more sustainable future. Dubai stands out as a launch pad for success.
The Team at Inside Texas make their predictions for the SEC Championship game. Its Texas vs Georgia part Deux.