ESPN's Greg McElroy, Booger McFarland break down keys to Georgia-Texas matchup

Georgia and Texas are set to meet this weekend in a matchup that will essentially cement one as a massive early favorite to make the College Football Playoff, while perhaps putting the other on the outs.

Texas has opened as a 3.5-point favorite in the game, playing at home.

On the CFP Rankings Show on ESPN on Tuesday night, a handful of ESPN analysts batted around the game and outlined their expectations and keys to a victory for each.

“I think it’s pretty simple,” analyst Greg McElroy said. “It’s the SEC, so it’s line of scrimmage and then weapons, in that order. First thing you’ve got to assess is can Texas block ’em? Because we know that Georgia’s got elite skill — really, really good players on the perimeter of their defense that can create issues, like Jalon Walker. That’s the big question. I actually think Texas is going to fare pretty well right there. I love their O-line. I think they’ve got a lot of experience and a lot of talent up front protecting Quinn Ewers.

“Then I look on the outside and I wonder, if at this point, are the Longhorns capable of beating a secondary that’s been pretty average by Georgia’s standards. And I think the answer is yes.”

Texas is the favorite, after all.

That said, Georgia has already taken Alabama to the wire on the road. The Bulldogs won’t be intimidated by the environment, and they have the added motivation of already having a loss. They need this one desperately.

If there’s one thing that can get Georgia in it, McElroy explained it.

“So guys, I look at this matchup and I’m actually leaning pretty heavily in favor of Texas at the moment,” he said. “I think Georgia’s going to have to have a remarkably good performance from their quarterback and, frankly, I haven’t seen that from Carson Beck at this point in the season.”

Fellow analyst Booger McFarland concurred with the importance of quarterback play in the key SEC contest. While Texas has had excellent quarterback play from two different guys this season, Georgia has been a bit more up and down.

When he’s on, though, Carson Beck is as good as anyone in the country.

“For me I’m going to look at the quarterbacks,” McFarland said. “Leave it to you to look at the big guys and me go to the quarterbacks. But I want to see can Carson Beck show up in a big-time matchup. I think we both would agree Quinn Ewers is the better quarterback. He’s played the best so far. Carson Beck the first half against Alabama or Carson Beck the second half of Alabama? Which Carson Beck are we going to see? Because I think the line of scrimmage is going to go back and forth all night long.

“But which quarterback can make those key plays? Which quarterback can limit the turnovers? Which quarterback can show that they can command a team and make plays for for quarters I think is going to go a long way toward winning this game.”