AUSTIN, Texas – Georgia coach Kirby Smart had been waiting for his team to put on a complete performance this season.

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

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 took a 23-0 lead at the half against Texas behind their dominant defense.

The Bulldogs sacked Texas quarterbacks seven times and had 10 tackles for loss. The Longhorns finished with just 259 yards of offense, 29 of which was rushing. Texas went 2-for-14 on third down and 1-for-5 on fourth down.

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

Playing in a city that prides itself on keeping things weird, a crazy series of events almost helped the Longhorns get back into 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 receiver Arian Smith on third-and-10 from the Georgia 31. Longhorns safety Jahdae Barron stepped in front Smith and intercepted the pass. He returned it 36 ​​yards to the Georgia 9.

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

Texas fans booed the call as they watched replays on the jumbotron at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Some fans threw debris into the north end zone, halting play for a few minutes. As staff members and security cleared the bottles, officials conferred again and reversed the conversation.

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

Despite Smart’s protests, Texas took over the Bulldogs ‘9. After 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 play to a tight end. Oscar Delp moved the Bulldogs to the UT 25. On first and goal from the 6, Beck ran 5 yards to the 1. After two straight stops, Georgia tailback Trevor Etienne ran into the end zone on fourth down, pushing the lead to 30- 15 with 12:04 to play.

After trailing 23-0, Texas finally got on the scoreboard after recovering Georgia’s onside kick attempt to start the second half. Ewers, who was on the bench to end the half, started the third quarter. After a pass interference penalty against Bulldogs safety KJ Bolden in the end zone, Ewers threw a 2-yard touchdown and subsequent 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.

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

After Beck’s second interception, Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette fired 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 the 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 lead with 10:46 left in the first half.

Things would only get worse for the Longhorns. On the next series, Everette intercepted Ewers’ pass to Golden on the Texas 34. That set up Etienne’s 15-yard touchdown up the middle, giving the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead with 8:30 left 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 on the next possession with redshirt freshman Arch Manning.

Ewers was just 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 entered the game.

Manning, the cousin of former NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, didn’t fare much better. Texas punted on its first drive, then 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. According to ESPN Research, he is the first player to do so in a game against a No. 1 AP team in the last two decades.