Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian heaped praise on Kirby Smart after the Longhorns fell to Georgia in the SEC Championship.

On Saturday, Georgia sealed a 22-19 victory over Texas at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Carson Beck went down injured but returned to hand the ball off to Trevor Etienne, who scored on a 4-yard burst in overtime to clinch the win.

The victory means 11-2 Georgia secured its third conference championship under ninth-year coach Smart and a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. Texas, who was looking to become the first team to win the SEC title in its debut season since the conference’s inaugural season in 1933, is ranked No. 5 and will host Clemson in the first round.

Texas entered the game as favorites having finished the regular season as the No. 1 team in the SEC and riding an impressive five-game win streak. But Georgia handed them their second loss of the year after defeating the Longhorns back in Week 8.

Following the game, Sarkisian outlined the impressive work Smart has done with the Bulldogs. He clearly has a lot of respect for Smart, despite coming up short against Georgia on two occasions this season.

“I have a ton of respect for their program and their team,” Sarkisian told reporters. “What Kirby has done here for 7-8 years now. We knew it was going to take 60 minutes. Didn’t know it would take 60 minutes, plus overtime, but we knew that’s what this game would take.”

Sarkisian and Smart share a similar background. The pair both spent time working under college football icon Nick Saban at Alabama, helping them understand how to build a culture within a program.

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Steve Sarkisian took over at Texas ahead of the 2021 college football season

Steve Sarkisian took over at Texas ahead of the 2021 college football season ( 

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Getty Images)

Sarkisian served as an offensive assistant and interim offensive coordinator with the Crimson Tide in 2016. After spending a couple of seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Sarkisian returned to Alabama as the offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020.

Meanwhile, Smart was the defensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide from 2008 to 2015 after spending one season as the team’s defensive backs coach and assistant head coach. He then took over at Georgia and has led the Bulldogs to two national championships.

No. 2 Georgia will enjoy a first-round bye before hosting the winner of No. 10 Indiana versus No. 7 Penn State. Texas hosts Clemson on Dec. 21.

This will be Texas’ second appearance in a playoff that has decided college football’s champion since 2014. Last year, Texas qualified for a four-team playoff but was eliminated by Washington in the semifinals, while Georgia is returning to the playoff for the first time since winning a second consecutive national title in 2022.