Greg McElroy explains why he's looking forward to Georgia at Texas in 2024

The new-look SEC provides interest for plenty of reasons but the 2024 schedule is at the forefront at the moment. Some old rivalries will be rekindled while some national brands are going to be facing off. Georgia and Texas are certainly two of those, meeting in Austin for what should be an incredible showdown.

ESPN’s Greg McElroy circled Georgia-Texas as one of the top five games he is looking forward to. Part of the reason is due to the atmosphere Austin put together when Alabama was in town this past fall. Even for an 11 a.m. kickoff in early Sept., the crowd surely came to play.

And then there is a certain quarterback who could be under center wearing No. 16 in a home burnt orange jersey.

“We saw Alabama go to Texas,” McElroy said. “Look at that scene. It was incredible. Now, you get what might be the No. 1 ranked team in the country traveling to Austin in what might be Arch Manning‘s first year as the starting quarterback. Arch Manning chose Texas over Georgia. A lot of tentacles when evaluating that game.”

Manning played high school football at New Orleans (LA) Isidore Newman, where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian was able to win Manning’s recruitment, with Alabama and Georgia thought to be the other finalist. Manning took plenty of visits to Athens and was in the running to land the latest star to come from the family. Instead, the Dawgs may be lining up against him in the fall of ’24.

Even if Manning is not the starting quarterback, the Texas crowd is going to be ready for Georgia. In recent seasons, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium has been at its best when non-Big 12 opponents are in town.

Alabama was the most recent example but the 2019 matchup against LSU was another lively crowd. Notre Dame in Austin produced an infamous game with Texas’ Tyrone Swoopes game-winning touchdown but undoubtedly a ruckus environment.

It’s hard to think about a game scheduled for over a year away. But somehow, there is already plenty to look forward to for Georgia-Texas. Now, all we can do is sit around and potentially wait for the highly-anticipated game.