The return of Uga vs. Bevo
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The Longhorns mascot, Bevo, left, and the Georgia mascot, Uga, on right. Photos are very much not to scale. Photos: Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images and Perry McIntyre/ISI Photos/Getty Images
This Saturday's matchup between the No. 1 Longhorns and No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs will carry some football frisson.
Why it matters: National eyes will be on Austin as Texas Memorial Stadium hosts the sort of blockbuster matchup that UT officials, fans and boosters were angling for with a leap to the Southeastern Conference.
- The game pits two Heisman Trophy favorites at quarterback — the Longhorns' Quinn Ewers and Georgia's Carson Beck — and it will be a test of just how good Texas' top-ranked defense really is.
Between the lines: It's also a mascot grudge match.
Flashback: The last time Georgia played Texas, in the 2019 Sugar Bowl, Bevo appeared to try to gore Uga.
- The Longhorns defeated the Bulldogs in that New Year's Day game 28-21.
The intrigue: The current Uga, Uga XI, is not actually the same dog who was chased by Bevo.
- Uga X died in January at the age of 10, having presided over two national championships.
- To be fair, that's two more than Bevo XV, the Longhorn-in-chief since 2016, has cheered.
What they're saying: Neither Uga nor Bevo can speak, so we didn't bother asking them for an interview.
What's next: The game airs at 6:30pm on ABC.
- Or you can go in person. Tickets on the secondary market for the sold-out game started at about $390 as of Wednesday afternoon.