Afternoon kick? Night game? No matter the start time, Texas vs. Georgia will be part of a tremendous scene

The Third Saturday in October holds a special place on the Southeastern Conference calendar. The longtime home of the rivalry matchup between Tennessee and Alabama was typically bestowed with Game of the Week honors by CBS, who broadcasted the SEC’s top games on a weekly basis for nearly the entirety of the 21st Century.

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The matchup between the Vols and the Tide has company this year, and may even have to cede the primetime spotlight to a blockbuster contest featuring the burnt orange newcomer to the league. On the same day in 2024, October 19 to be exact, Texas is scheduled to host the Georgia Bulldogs in a matchup that could feature two undefeated teams and at the very minimum will consist of two SEC Championship contenders.

That’s not all that’s taking place in Texas’ capital city. The Circuit of the Americas will host the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix on Sunday October 20 and feature a weekend-closing concert by international recording superstar Eminem.

“My God, what a weekend in this town, huh?” ESPN’s Marty Smith said Sunday at Texas’ SEC Celebration. “That’s going to be an amazing weekend in this town. It wouldn’t surprise me if I might be getting pulled back and forth to different events given the magnitude of everything that’s here that weekend.”

Not only could Smith be in Austin as part of the ESPN family of networks’ production of the contest, he could make his way to COTA for a feature story or for reporting on the F1 race considering his history with motorsports. It’s the sign of a packed weekend, one that has hotel rooms going at premium prices, and could see Texas kick off between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Central or between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Central depending on what ESPN chooses.

Flex scheduling is a new development this year in the SEC and for Texas. The league (or in the case of the Michigan game, Fox) has already announced kick times for several Longhorns games…

• Aug. 31 – COLORADO STATE (2:30 p.m., ESPN)
• Sept. 7 – at Michigan (11 a.m., FOX)
• Sept. 14 – UTSA (6 p.m., ESPN)
• Sept. 21 – ULM (7 p.m., ESPN+/SEC Network+) – STREAMING
• Sept. 28 – MISSISSIPPI STATE (afternoon, network TBA) – KICKOFF BETWEEN 2:30-3:30 p.m. CT
• Oct. 12 – vs. Oklahoma (2:30 p.m., ABC or ESPN, Cotton Bowl – Dallas)
• Oct. 26 – at Vanderbilt (afternoon, network TBA) – KICKOFF BETWEEN 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. CT
• Nov. 9 – FLORIDA (11 a.m., ABC or ESPN)
• Nov. 16 – at Arkansas (11 a.m., ABC or ESPN)

But other games, including the Georgia game, are part of the SEC’s flex scheduling…

• Oct. 19 – GEORGIA (flex, network TBA) – KICKOFF BETWEEN 2:30-3:30 p.m. OR 5-7 p.m. CT
• Nov. 23 – KENTUCKY (flex, network TBA) – KICKOFF BETWEEN 2:30-3:30 p.m. OR 5-7 p.m. CT
• Nov. 30 – at Texas A&M (flex, network TBA) – KICKOFF BETWEEN 2:30-3:30 p.m. OR 5-7 p.m. CT

That means ESPN will choose what time the battle between the Longhorns and Bulldogs starts and which network it will be on. Around the SEC, Alabama at Tennessee is the only contest that comes close as far as stature. The secondary ticket market is a strong indication of this. On ESPN’s schedule website, details on the get-in-the-door price via Vivid Seats are posted alongside the matchups, game time, TV partner, and location. The highest price just for entry for October 19’s games is $330 for Wisconsin at Northwestern, an outlier due to the game being played at NU’s soccer/lacrosse facility because of ongoing construction at Ryan Field.

The next highest get-in-the-door price? Texas vs. Georgia at $298 followed by Alabama at Tennessee at $284. No other SEC game that weekend currently has nosebleeds costing over $100 on Vivid Seats. If the secondary market is saying anything, it’s screaming that Texas vs. Georgia is the place to be.

What ESPN will elect to do isn’t clear yet. Considering the two teams could enter with fewer than two combined defeats, the novelty factor, and the city of Austin being the epicenter of the sporting world that weekend, placing the contest at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in the primetime slot makes a considerable amount of sense.

“At that point, looking at Texas’ schedule, until you get to the OU game — Michigan is going to be a challenge,” Smith said. “They have a lot of talent even though they lost so much, Harbaugh’s gone. I still love the leadership that they have. Texas should win that game and certainly have an opportunity to be undefeated as they go into that game against OU. I really think it’s a favorable schedule in a lot of ways, certainly before the Dawgs come calling.”

There’s a lot of if in that statement, but if it all comes to be, the first meeting between UT and UGA since the 2019 Sugar Bowl could be a top-three matchup at worst and a No. 1 vs. No. 2 contest at best. If the latter, it would be the first such contest in Austin since No. 1 Ohio State traveled to the 40 Acres in 2006 to face No. 2 Texas. The Buckeyes left town with a 24-7 win.

An Oregon vs. Ohio State matchup the same day as the Red River Shootout one week prior on October 12 could have something to say about that. But no matter what the teams are ranked entering October 19 and no matter what time the game starts, Smith and the entire college football world knows the Longhorns have a chance to top the Bulldogs. Even so, it’ll be a tall task for Steve Sarkisian‘s program to upset Kirby Smart‘s team.

“On any given Saturday, boys,” Smith said. “You just don’t know in this league. If (the Longhorns) are healthy, it’s going to be a hell of a scene. Right now, I believe Georgia is the team everybody is chasing.

ESPN’s decision on what time the titanic matchup begins may not come for a couple months, as late as October 14. No matter if it’s a 2:30 p.m. start on ESPN or a 6:30 p.m. kick on ABC, Georgia coming to town as Austin hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors for football and Formula 1 will create an unprecedented environment not just in the city, but in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

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“They are coming on the road,” Smith said. “That atmosphere is going to be elite. It’s going to be as good as it gets. I imagine we’ll be here, and I can’t wait for that.”