AUSTIN, Texas – “You’re not going to run the SEC.”

Nick Saban’s SEC Championship prediction came true, but now Texas has a chance to do exactly what Saban said the Longhorns wouldn’t do – run the SEC.

The No. 2 Longhorns haven’t had back-to-back seasons as successful since Mack Brown, who led the team to a combined record of 25-2 in 2008-09.

Those two seasons only ended with a Big 12 championship, a Fiesta Bowl trophy, and heartbreak in the BCS National Championship Game against Alabama and the aforementioned Saban.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian can finish what he started last year — but first comes coming to terms with his team’s only loss this season.

Texas will face No. 5 Georgia in an exciting duel at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Bulldogs are playing for the title for the seventh time in nine seasons under coach Kirby Smart, who has won two national championships and established Georgia as the dynasty everyone else chases.

“Georgia and Kirby were the standard in college football,” Sarkisian said. “Georgia has the heart of a champion and it shows time and time again.”

Regardless of the result on Saturday, both teams will advance to the College Football Playoff. But there’s still a lot on the line as the winner secures both the coveted SEC championship and a trip straight to the Sugar Bowl for the national quarterfinals on New Year’s Day.

The loser will be saddled with an additional playoff game, with a first-round contest likely on Dec. 20 or 21.

“It’s an opportunity to rest and recover while others are playing against tough opponents,” Smart said. “It takes you away from it.”

Texas is desperate to make up for its only loss of the season, the ugly performance against Georgia when the Longhorns were ranked No. 1.

“We have to play a better version of football than we did the first time,” Sarkisian said. “We were atypical, inappropriate.”

It was the most lopsided home defeat by a No. 1 team in 42 years.

“They deserve to do our best,” Sarkisian said. “I know we will do our best.”

Both starting quarterbacks will be looking for better performances than in the first match.

Georgia won despite Carson Beck throwing three interceptions while Texas’ Quinn Ewers had two fumbles and a pick.

Also keep an eye on Texas backup Arch Manning, who came off the bench to score a touchdown on fourth down in last week’s win over Texas A&M. With Ewers still dealing with an ankle sprain, Manning could provide an interesting change of pace with both his arms and legs.

“He’s a really good athlete who can take off and run at any time, which is the hardest thing to defend,” Smart said. “I would much rather have a man who only runs than one who can do both.”

Trevor Etienne scored three touchdowns in the first meeting with Texas, but missed three straight games with a rib injury and was listed as questionable for Saturday.

Georgia was also without defensive lineman Christen Miller, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. Without Miller, the Bulldogs yielded a season-high 260 rushing yards in an eight-overtime win over Georgia Tech.

Texas could miss Outland Trophy finalist Kelvin Banks Jr., who was sidelined last week after just seven games with a leg injury.

Freshman Trevor Goosby will start at the crucial left tackle position if Banks can’t get to it – and will be in the firing line against a Georgia defense that harassed the Longhorns in October for seven sacks, two of which resulted in fumbles.

Texas only had 29 yards rushing in its last game against Georgia, but the Longhorns’ running game has been dominant of late.

Quintrevion Wisner has emerged as the best defender with 344 yards in the last two games, averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

“When you get 30-40 runs in multiple games, it shows a lot of commitment to the run,” Smart said. “They’re extremely physical, they’ve got really good backs, their offensive line is solid and the quarterback does a great job getting them into the right runs.”

While Mercedes-Benz Stadium is only about a 75-mile drive from the Georgia campus, making it a de facto home game for the Bulldogs, that hasn’t proven to be a major advantage in the fight for the SEC title.

The Bulldogs are just 2-4 in conference championship games played at the Benz, not to mention an overtime loss to Alabama in the national title game at the end of the 2017 season.

Going back to the years when the Georgia Dome hosted the SEC Championship, the Bulldogs are just 4-7 in Atlanta and the championship is on the line.

“We’re essentially playing an away game,” Sarkisian said. “But I expect there will be a fair amount of burnt orange.”