Sarkisian, Smart Keep Focus On Big Matchup Between No. 10 Texas, No. 5 Georgia

When it comes to doing battle under the lights and between the hedges on Saturday night, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian and Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart have a lot of work to do in getting their top-10 teams ready to go.

On Monday, both head coaches offered their opening salvos in their respective media press conferences.

Sarkisian, who spoke to reporters in Austin, Texas, knows that he’s got a big challenge ahead of him along with his Texas players.

“Obviously, this week is a heck of a challenge going to play at Georgia, the respect that we have for that program and the job that they’ve done not only this season but over the years, what Coach Smart has done,” Sarkisian said, according to Inside Texas.

“Think they’ve been to four consecutive SEC Championship games,” Sarkisian said. “He’s got a couple of national titles. This is a very tough team to play at home. They’re 51-2 in their last 53 games at home.”

Smart addressed the upcoming showdown in Athens, Ga. “We’ve got a big matchup,” Smart said, according to Dawgs247. “Lot of respect for Sark. He’s become a good friend of mind. He’s done a tremendous job. … Look forward another great matchup on Saturday night.”

He’s also focusing attention on Texas’ offense. “Explosive, attacking, window dressing,” Smart said. “They’ve got a lot of shifts, motions. They employ tempo.”

Sarkisian has an awful record against top 10 teams as Texas’ head coach. Entering Saturday’s matchup between the hedges in Athens, Ga., Sarkisian has a 2-11 overall record when dueling top-10 football teams at UT.

That’s got to change on Saturday, for sure.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns bounced back into the top 10 for the Associated Press’ Top 25 Poll that came out on Sunday, moving up three spots in the poll to No. 10 in a bye week.

“I think it’s important for everybody,” Sarkisian said when talking about his players being ready for the game. “When you play really good teams who are really well coached, you never know what’s going to be the play of the plays that are going to be the deciding factors in game like this. Everybody’s got a role in our organization. Everybody’s got to get themselves ready to play.”

Georgia stayed steady right at No. 5, so this squares up at being a top-10 matchup.

The contest didn’t need much more hyping up from either Sarkisian or Smart. ESPN/ABC will have its No. 1 college football broadcasting team on site at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium on Saturday night as kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

That’s right: Chris Fowler will handle play-by-play duties with Kirk Herbstreit along as the game’s analyst. Could we see a “paw-by” visit from Herbstreit’s beloved Golden Retriever, Peter? Anything is possible when these two take the mics.

But the action on the field will be getting more attention than Peter, for sure.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 41-21 win over Mississippi State last Saturday night while Texas had a bye week. Georgia is 8-1 overall, 6-1 in SEC play; the Longhorns sit at 7-2, 4-1.

Of course, Texas has Arch Manning, who has had a bit of a revival in his play lately, at quarterback against the Bulldogs’ QB1, Gunner Stockton. Georgia has an edge in total offense over Texas, 436.3 yards to the Longhorns’ 381.4.

On Manning, Smart said on Monday, “Yeah, he’s playing with more confidence. Number one, he’s getting better protection. … He’s maturing. He’s had an opportunity to play and grow. You don’t really get that until you go out there and play.”

When it comes to the turnover battle between Texas and Georgia, Sarkisian knows that his team has to be ready for them.

“Our ability to continue to protect the ball is paramount,” Sarkisian said on Monday. “Defensively, we’ve got to find a way to get the ball off them, whether it’s off the quarterback, the runners, affecting the quarterback in the pocket, forcing some errant throws.”

Sarkisian also took some time to address the maturation process that Ryan Wingo is undergoing on the field right now.

“I think this is what we always envisioned it would be,” he said regarding Wingo. “I don’t think it’s necessarily new. I think it’s just taking some time, and that’s okay.

“Things take time,” Sarkisian said. “What I’m happy about is we’re evolving and getting better as the season is moving on. That’s a credit to those players of working at their craft and trying to improve and trying to get better, whether it’s understanding timing or making plays on the ball, or trusting his speed.”