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AUSTIN, Texas — Georgia coach Kirby Smart had been waiting for his team to put together a complete performance.

It finally arrived in the No. 5 Bulldogs’ 30-15 upset of No. 1 Texas at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.

“Nobody gave us a chance,” Smart told ESPN. “Your own network doubted us, and then they tried to rob us with calls in this place. These guys are so resilient.”

Three weeks after Georgia fell behind by four touchdowns in the first half of a 41-34 loss at Alabama, the Bulldogs flipped the script and grabbed a 23-0 lead at halftime against Texas.

Georgia’s defense sacked Texas’ quarterbacks seven times and had 10 tackles for loss. The Longhorns finished with only 259 yards of offense, including 29 rushing. Texas went 2-for-14 on third down and 1-for-5 on fourth.

Georgia, playing at Texas for the first time since 1958, handed the Longhorns their first loss of the season. Texas was the last remaining unbeaten team in the SEC. According to ESPN Research, it’s the first time since 2007 that every SEC team lost before the end of October.

Georgia’s 15-point victory tied for the third-most lopsided road win against an AP No. 1 team all time and was the biggest since Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 31-16 in 1982.

In a city that prides itself on keeping things weird, a crazy sequence of events nearly helped the Longhorns get back in the game.

With Texas trailing 23-8 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck threw down the left sideline for wide receiver Arian Smith on third-and-10 from the Georgia 31. Longhorns safety Jahdae Barron stepped in front of Smith and intercepted the pass. He returned it 36 yards to the Georgia 9-yard line.

That’s when things got strange.

Initially, officials penalized Barron for pass interference, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs. Referee Matt Loeffler announced the call to the crowd and walked off the 15-yard penalty to the Georgia 44.

Texas fans booed the call while watching replays on the stadium’s jumbotron. Some fans threw debris into the north end zone, stopping play for a few minutes. While staff members and security cleaned up the bottles, officials conferred again and reversed the call.

When Loeffler told Smart about the reversal on the sideline, the Georgia coach told him, “You can’t do that! You can’t do that! … That’s bulls—!”

“Now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart said. “And that’s unfortunate because, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want, and that’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”

Smart said Loeffler suggested to him that the penalty was called on the wrong player — that it should have been offensive pass interference against Smith.

“It took him a long time to realize that,” Smart said.

In a statement released early Sunday morning, the SEC said officials “gathered to discuss the play, which is permitted to ensure the proper penalty is enforced.”

At that time, according to the league, “the calling official reported that he erred, and a foul should not have been called for defensive pass interference. Consequently, Texas was awarded the ball at the [Georgia] 9-yard line.”

“While the original evaluation and assessment of the penalty was not properly executed, it is unacceptable to have debris thrown on the field at any time,” the SEC statement said.

The league said it would review fan conduct related to its sportsmanship policies and procedures.

“I understand the frustration,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We were all frustrated in the moment, but all of us, the Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better than that.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said officials didn’t explain to him why the call was reversed.

“I understand the frustration,” Sarkisian said. “We were all frustrated in the moment, but all of us, the Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better than that.”

Barron told reporters that the delay in cleaning up the bottles on the field “most likely” helped in officials changing the call.

“It was crazy,” Barron said. “I thought it was a bad call, so it was good that it changed.”

Despite Smart’s protest, Texas took over at the Bulldogs’ 9. Following a first-down sack, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw a 17-yard touchdown to Jaydon Blue over the middle. The point-after kick made it 23-15. Suddenly, the Longhorns had life after doing very little in the first half.

But Georgia’s offense answered with a long touchdown drive of its own. A 43-yard pass on a flea-flicker play to tight end Oscar Delp moved the Bulldogs to the UT 25. On first-and-goal, Beck ran for 5 yards to the 1. After two straight stops, Georgia tailback Trevor Etienne ran into the end zone on fourth-and-goal, pushing its lead to 30-15 with 12:04 to play.

Etienne finished with 87 yards on 19 rushes with three touchdowns.

After trailing 23-0, Texas finally got on the scoreboard after it recovered Georgia’s onside kick attempt to start the second half. Ewers, who was benched to end the half, started the third quarter. Following a pass-interference penalty against Bulldogs safety KJ Bolden in the end zone, Ewers threw a 2-yard touchdown and the ensuing two-point pass to Isaiah Bond to cut Georgia’s lead to 23-8.

Beck threw two interceptions early-the second coming on a tipped pass to Barron at the UT 5 with 3:34 left in the period.

Georgia’s defense didn’t allow the Longhorns to get much of anything going, however, after surrendering two first two downs on Texas’ opening possession.

After Beck’s second interception, Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette blitzed from Ewers’ blind side on third-and-6 from the Texas 27. Everette’s jarring tackle caused Ewers to fumble, and Everette recovered the ball at the UT 13.

Four plays later, Etienne scored a 1-yard touchdown on a toss sweep to left for a 7-0 lead with six seconds left. Texas’ offense went three-and-out on each of its next three possessions. On third-and-7 from the UT 11, Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker dropped Ewers for a 9-yard sack.

Georgia took over at the Texas 28 and kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 10-0 advantage with 10:46 left in the first half.

It would only get worse for the Longhorns. On the next series, Everette intercepted Ewers’ pass to Matthew Golden at the Texas 34. That set up Etienne’s 15-yard touchdown run up the middle, giving the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead with 8:30 to go in the half.

Georgia made it 20-0 on Peyton Woodring’s 48-yard field goal with 4:43 remaining.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian benched Ewers and replaced him with redshirt freshman Arch Manning on the next possession.

Ewers was only 6 for 12 for 17 yards with one interception in the half. He was sacked three times and lost a fumble. The Longhorns had just 15 yards on 23 plays when Manning came into the game.

Manning, the nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, didn’t do much better. Texas punted on his first drive, then he was sacked by linebacker Damon Wilson and fumbled on the second. Walker recovered the ball at the Texas 30.

Woodring kicked a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the half to put Georgia ahead 23-0.

Walker, a junior from Salisbury, North Carolina, had seven tackles and three sacks in the first half. He is the first player to do it in a game against a No. 1-ranked AP team in the past 20 years, according to ESPN Research.

Smart collected his 100th victory in 117 games as his alma mater’s coach, which ranks fifth-fastest to 100 wins with Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne and Chris Petersen, who did it at Boise State and Washington.

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Jones, ex-Huskers star and NFL RB, dies at 54

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Jones, ex-Huskers star and NFL RB, dies at 54

OMAHA, Neb. — Calvin Jones, who rushed for more than 3,000 yards in three seasons at Nebraska and was with the Green Bay Packers when they won the Super Bowl after the 1996 season, has died. He was 54.

Police said Jones’ body was found in the basement of a house in north Omaha on Wednesday night. Police have not confirmed a cause of death pending an autopsy.

A friend of Jones, Jo Dusatko, told the Omaha World-Herald that carbon monoxide poisoning was suspected. She said the furnace in the home was not working and that Jones was using a generator in the basement.

Jones was a high school All-American at Central High School before he went to Nebraska, where he rushed for 3,166 yards and 40 touchdowns and was an All-Big Eight pick in 1992-93.

Jones and Derek Brown formed the tandem called the “We-Backs,” a nod to the Cornhuskers’ I-back position, with Jones the backup to Brown in 1991. Jones’ breakout that season came when he ran 27 times for a Big Eight freshman-record 294 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in a 59-23 victory over Kansas. His rushing total against the Jayhawks ranks No. 2 on the Nebraska single-game rushing chart.

Jones declared for the NFL draft in 1994 and was a third-round selection of the Raiders. He appeared in 15 games over two seasons with the Raiders and had a total of 27 carries for 112 yards and two catches for 6 yards. He appeared in one game for the Packers in 1996 but had no carries.

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Win city: Vegas gets CFP championship in 2027

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Win city: Vegas gets CFP championship in 2027

Las Vegas will host the College Football Playoff national championship game at Allegiant Stadium on Jan. 25, 2027, the CFP announced Friday.

“Las Vegas has shown the world they have amazing venues and boundless energy to host an event like the College Football Playoff National Championship in spectacular fashion,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said in a statement. “I can’t think of a better stage to crown the best team in college football in 2027.”

Las Vegas will become the third city in the Pacific time zone to host the CFP title game, joining the Bay Area (2019) and Los Angeles (2023). Miami will host the next national championship game on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium, a contest that will feature the winners of the Fiesta and Peach bowls, which will host the semifinals.

Sites have not been announced beyond 2027 in Las Vegas.

“Pairing the energy of Las Vegas with the College Football Playoff National Championship will make for a truly extraordinary event, both on and off the field,” said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “We appreciate the opportunity the CFP has provided us to welcome college football’s greatest athletes and biggest fans for an unmatched national championship experience in the city built for celebration.”

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Ohio St. RB Judkins leaving early for NFL draft

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Ohio St. RB Judkins leaving early for NFL draft

Ohio State star running back Quinshon Judkins is leaving school early and will declare for the NFL draft, he told ESPN.

His addition to the 2025 draft highlights another high-end tailback, as Judkins is projected to be a Top 50 pick, according to NFL scouts, and ranks as the No. 5 overall running back in the upcoming draft in Mel Kiper Jr.’s position rankings.

Judkins was at Ohio State for just one season and left as a national champion, and his decision comes off a dazzling three-touchdown performance in Ohio State’s victory over Notre Dame on Monday night. Judkins ran for 100 yards on 11 carries and scored two rushing touchdowns. He caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown.

“My time here at Ohio State was like no other,” Judkins told ESPN in a phone interview. “It was like no other place I’ve ever been. I enjoyed my time here so much. I’m ready to take the next step in my journey and prove I’m best running back in the draft class.”

On the season in Columbus, he ran for 1,060 yards, caught 22 passes for 161 yards and scored 16 touchdowns for the Buckeyes. Judkins split carries at Ohio State with senior tailback TreVeyon Henderson, who is Kiper’s No. 9 tailback prospect. Judkins said his time at Ohio State helped prepare him for this step, as he saw value being around so many NFL players and bonding together to win.

“My coaches helped so much take my game to next level and develop me into a better player,” he said. “It was a super beneficial mentality to have being a pro, it helped me so much in that aspect.

“Playing around the best players in the country. You get to compete against the best players. It helped me sharpen my tools.”

He came to Ohio State last year after two seasons at Ole Miss. In Oxford, he was a first-team All-SEC tailback in 2023 and set Ole Miss school records with 1,567 rushing yards and 16 rushing TDs in 2022.

Coming off three productive seasons, Judkins showcased his versatility. He finished his three-year career at OSU/Ole Miss with 4,227 yards from scrimmage and 50 touchdowns.

He’s also a threat out of the backfield in the pass game, as he has 59 catches in his career for 442 yards and five touchdowns.

Judkins’ most productive season in his career came in his true freshman season. He led the SEC in rushing attempts (274) and went on to average a career-high 5.7 yards per carry. In total, he had 1,699 yards from scrimmage. He also led the SEC in touchdowns with 17 in 2022.

“Whoever picks me is going to get a super passionate player,” he said. “A guy who makes plays on the field and can catch the ball, run the ball and pass protect. I can do so many things that have a huge impact on the game. Not only just that, but also a younger guy who can come in and have great leadership. My time at Ohio State, I’ve learned so much about that and being a great teammate as well.”

He stressed there was no better way to finish his career than with a championship.

“It’s an amazing feeling just leaving as a champions,” he said. “This is what me and my brothers and coaches set out to do to achieve that goal, and there’s no better feeling. It’s a feeling that’s also unreal to speak about, it’s something that will live forever and a memory me and my brothers will have forever.”

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