No. 1 Texas Longhorns gear up for No. 5 Georgia at home

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DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 12: Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. (78) celebrates a touchdown by Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) by tapping him on the top of his helmet during the Allstate Red River Rivalry SEC college football game between Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners on October 12, 2024, at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

AUSTIN, Texas - After dominating rival Oklahoma University on Saturday, the top-ranked Texas Longhorns are now turning their attention to this weekend's showdown with No. 5 Georgia.

With the golden hat firmly secured, the No. 1 Longhorns are now preparing for the gold standard of college football, Georgia.

"A very good football team. I have a ton of respect for coach (Kirby) Smart, and the job that he has done at Georgia. They have kind of somewhat been the standard of college football for the last 6, 7, 8 years. I think they have been to seven SEC Championship games, they have won three in a row. They are back-to-back national champs and are competing for a third," said head coach Steve Sarkisian.

MORE: Ewers returns as No. 1 Texas beats No. 18 Oklahoma 34-3 in 1st Red River Rivalry game as SEC members

Sure, the 5-1 Georgia Bulldogs have looked relatively human this season, but the program that has won two of the three previous national titles should be the Longhorns' toughest test yet, by far.

"You love those games. That, if you want, to call them a measuring stick," Sark said. "That is the fun part. It's like, OK, let's see if what we do on a regular basis is good enough."

Longhorns win big against OU

The Texas Longhorns defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 34-3 in Dallas!

Saturday's game will be the first top five showdown here at DKR since 2006. That's when No. 1 Ohio State beat Colt McCoy and the No. 2 Longhorns.

This time around, the Longhorns are the nation's top dog with Georgia coming in at No. 5.

Since both head coaches learned under Nick Saban, this one could feel like a mirror-image of SEC heavyweights going toe-to-toe.

MORE TEXAS LONGHORNS COVERAGE

"A ton of respect and I think that the premise of our programs is probably very similar. The way that we've built our teams, the style in which we try to play the game, and our belief in physicality and running the ball. Those things matter and our belief in special teams. A lot of things we do and how aggressive we are in recruiting are very similar in that way, so I respect that," said Sark.

"Hey! I love the challenge, and I'm sure Kirby feels the same way, that this is a heck of a challenge for both of us, and should be a great night for college football," Sark added.

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns will be hosting No. 5 Georgia at DKR on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m.