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As Texas continues to dominate, timing of Longhorns’ SEC move appears impeccable

In their first SEC season, the Longhorns are No. 1 in the nation and the last undefeated team standing in the conference.

Correction: Looking back over the last couple years of otherwise insightful, award-winning columns, it appears your intrepid reporter might have been wrong about Texas. At least its ambitions. Why leave a comfy league guaranteeing you the playoffs every year, I wrote, for a scary place like the Southeastern Conference? It’s not like Texas needs the money. And nobody needs that kind of aggravation.

Yet here we are, halfway through their debut season, and the Longhorns are No. 1 in the nation and the last undefeated SEC team standing.

The Dallas Morning News regrets the error.

Texas’ timing on its SEC shift appears impeccable, a notion that could be solidified Saturday when fifth-ranked Georgia makes only its second visit to Austin, its first since Darrell Royal’s second season there.

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Only a couple of years ago, as previously noted, this wouldn’t have seemed like a good proposition for Texas. Georgia won back-to-back national championships and was undefeated last year before losing in the SEC title game to Alabama, which had won the last national title before the Bulldogs’ pair.

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But that was then, and this is now: The Bulldogs squeaked past Kentucky, lost to Bama and gave up 31 points at home to Mississippi State, a team the Longhorns blew out by 22.

The 13 points Texas gave up to Mississippi State were the most anyone’s scored against UT this year. Of all the developments going into Saturday, the team with the best defense might be the biggest.

Texas’ reputation under Steve Sarkisian is built mostly on an NFL-primer offense. But, as good as the Longhorns have been under both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, the defense has been better.

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Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) fumbles as he is brought down by Texas...
Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) fumbles as he is brought down by Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) during the first half of an NCAA college football game at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Dallas. Texas defensive lineman Vernon Broughton (45) recovered the fumble.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

In six games, the Longhorns have given up a total of three touchdowns, fewest in the nation. Their defense is No. 1 in average points allowed (6.3), yards allowed (1,378), yards per game (229.7) and yards per play (3.69).

Meanwhile, Georgia’s defense, usually Kirby Smart’s hallmark, is giving up 17.2 points per game, 21st in the nation.

Now, you could argue that the Bulldogs have played four SEC games to Texas’ two. But, other than the 41-34 loss to the Crimson Tide, Georgia’s other SEC games were Kentucky, Auburn and Mississippi State. Both Michigan and Oklahoma are as good or better than any of those three.

For that matter, Alabama celebrated its win over Georgia by losing to Vanderbilt, then barely surviving South Carolina in Tuscaloosa.

Can you imagine how Nick Saban would have reacted to the last two games if he were still king?

A mushroom cloud over Tuscaloosa.

But it’s a new era at Alabama. Kalen DeBoer’s in charge now. He’s still got plenty of time to make a nice first impression. But the Tide look beatable, as does Georgia.

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What’s up with the parity among the traditional powers?

“Oh, I’ve heard a lot of debate about that,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said Saturday. “That’s an interesting question. Is it the amount of movement, team building, culture, coaching changes? That’s one of those things that’s difficult to boil down to just one thing. The movement [of players] probably makes the season a bit more difficult. You have great differences in the rosters between four-year transfers and high school entrants.

“Is that the only thing that’s happening? I don’t think so, but it’s been exciting.”

Here’s my best guess, particularly as it relates to Texas’ surge: This is exactly what Saban feared when he went off about Texas A&M’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the spring of ‘22.

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“We didn’t buy one player,” he said then, “but I don’t know if we’re going to be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it.”

Buying players sounds a little harsh, and that class certainly didn’t work out for Jimbo Fisher. But the sentiment is about right. Especially as it applies to Texas.

Texas athletes were paid $15.5 million last year, according to the Austin Business Journal. A report from JustGamblers in spring revealed only Florida made more name, image and likeness deals for its players than Texas.

The rest of the top 10: Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee, LSU, Penn State, UCLA and Nebraska.

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Neither Georgia nor Alabama cracked the top 10.

Of course, it takes more than just money to make it work. The Dawgs and Tide are still extremely talented and coached well. But the difference at Texas is that Sark built his team on the SEC model of big and bigger, especially on defense, and now it’s paying off. Literally. Unfortunately, I didn’t see this coming like Saban did. My bad.

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

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