Joel Klatt predicts winner of Georgia at Texas

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt notes that every top five matchup to start the season has been an instant classic. Alabama’s late 41-34 win over the Georgia Bulldogs came down to Georgia’s final offensive play, which was a Carson Beck interception. Additionally, Oregon’s 32-31 win over Ohio State ended with Ohio State in game-winning field goal range as time expired.

No. 4 Georgia’s road trip to play the No. 1 Texas Longhorns should be another great game between two top College Football Playoff contenders. Georgia and Texas play at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 19. The Georgia-Texas game will be televised on ABC.

“Now they’re (Georgia football) going to face a team that’s better than that Alabama team,” said Klatt.

Klatt notes that he thinks that Texas is back. He thinks the Longhorns have an advantage in the offensive trenches against Georgia. However, he thinks Georgia will have a bit of mental edge.

“Georgia is going to play desperate, because a loss in this game puts them basically in no man’s land in terms of trying to reach the SEC championship game if they lose this week against Texas,” said Klatt. “I just don’t see a path for Kirby Smart to get back to Atlanta and play for an SEC championship game, which means (with a loss) that there’s not really a path to a first round bye and a top four seed in the College Football Playoff.”

Georgia could lose to Texas and still make the playoff, but the Bulldogs would have a much more challenging path to a national championship.

Klatt, who played quarterback at Colorado, thinks that the Georgia-Texas game will come down to which offensive line performs better. “I think that the team with the better offensive line wins the game,” said Klatt.

Klatt thinks Texas’ offensive line is superior and healthier than Georgia’s offensive line. He envisions Texas’ line being the reason why the Longhorns win.

Joel Klatt’s prediction: Texas 34, Georgia 31

Klatt has Georgia covering the 3 and 1/2 point spread against the Longhorns.