Week 12 of college football brings several matchups carrying do-or-die stakes. For teams like Michigan and Notre Dame, a defeat would mean ending their CFP hopes, whereas for Oklahoma, defeating Alabama would be mandatory to maintain playoff contention. Not to mention, Iowa can give a 7-2 USC an upset, ending the Trojans’ season right away. But the most important upset carrying massive playoff implications in Week 12 is between two SEC bluebloods.

Former Ohio State wide receiver Joey Galloway appeared on Kirk Herbstreit’s November 11 podcast episode and picked Texas to beat the Georgia Bulldogs. “I’m going to say Texas… If they can run the football, then they have a shot at putting Georgia in a position where, okay, you better come to play in the second half. Georgia’s done it, but I think Texas is talented enough to do that,” said Galloway. He highlighted several reasons for picking Texas over Georgia.

For one, the former OSU 1993 Third-Team All-American highlighted the threat that Texas carries in its run game, especially in the contest the Longhorns played against Vanderbilt, where they extracted a narrow 34–31 victory. The run game didn’t, of course, dominate over Arch Manning’s 328 passing yards. But when Ryan Wingo opened the scoring with a pass reception and a 75-yard run, the team didn’t look back. By the time the third quarter ended, Texas led 34–10, and Vanderbilt couldn’t catch up. That game, along with a bye week in between, is the reason Galloway picked Texas.

“They played their best game against Vandy, and then they went into a bye week to get healthy. And so I think because we’ve seen Georgia not play four quarters, if Texas can get off to a fast start, if they can run the football, and once again just take the pressure off of their quarterback, (they can win),” said Galloway. Of course, beating Texas would be far tougher than Vanderbilt, and that’s why the big explosive plays that we saw against Vandy might not even be there.

Texas’s passing and rushing offenses have both been weak, since both are ranked 50th+ in the country. However, the defense is where Texas is performing well. The team is ranked 22nd in total defense and has one of the best D lines in the country. That places Texas 2nd nationally in rushing defense and has the second-most sacks (34) in the country. We saw that against Vanderbilt when Texas sacked Diego Pavia and forced a fumble early against Vanderbilt.

The Longhorns, then, surely can stop the 24th-ranked rushing offense of Georgia. Not to mention, the passing offense of UGA is weak, ranked 60th nationally. Now, another question looms in case Texas defeats Georgia: will the Longhorns finally make it to the playoffs then?

Is Texas Longhorns making an unprecedented comeback for a third consecutive playoff berth?

The Longhorns were ranked 11th in the CFP rankings after defeating Mississippi State in Week 10. But now, after defeating a 16th-ranked Vanderbilt, Texas will surely get a massive boost and will at least climb to the 9th spot, since BYU, after the Texas Tech defeat, will come lower than the 7th position. A Georgia defeat can easily propel the Longhorns anywhere near the top six. But the team still will have to win it against third-ranked Texas A&M on November 28.

Georgia legend David Pollack is also quite optimistic about the Longhorns’ CFP hopes. “Texas probably has the biggest room to grow and climb the most. Because one of the losses was at Ohio State. But when you have a chance to beat five on the road and beat three, you can start leaping up. I don’t see how they’re not in at 10. Because Texas plays Georgia and A&M so they got five and three (AP poll rankings) on their schedule. If they went out. They’re going to be in. And then others might not be,” said Pollack. The verdict?

The current focus for the Longhorns would still be the Georgia game. UGA is a slight favorite in the Week 12 matchup, as ESPN analytics have it with a 59.8% win probability. Not just that, Kirby Smart has a ferocious pass rush and a deafening home crowd. These dynamics favor Georgia on November 14 in Athens. However, Georgia still would come after a game against Mississippi State, while Texas had a bye week. Fatigue can play a major part as Texas can extract a narrow upset.