ATHENS — At last healthy, the Georgia offensive line put forth its best game of the season.

Georgia rolled up 567 yards of offense with 303 of those coming on the ground. Both were season highs in a 41-21 win over Mississippi State.

“I mean, 300 yards on the ground isn’t too bad, I’d say,” offensive tackle Monroe Freeling said. “So I think we played probably our best game yet, and we’ve got to carry that forward coming against a tough opponent like Texas. Just getting better every day.”

Georgia knows it can’t just show up to Sanford Stadium and expect to dominate once again. The Bulldogs are going to have their hands full against a very talented Texas front.

The Longhorns ranked second in the country in rush defense and are tied for second in sacks with 34.0. Texas keeps teams behind schedule and then punishes them when put into obvious passing situations.

Texas’s defensive front is led by Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill, as the two make life miserable for opposing offenses.

“They’re tremendous,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “They’ve got great effort. They rush really hard. They’re leaders. They’ve got stars all over their defense. I mean, they’re very talented. When you watch that defense play, they play hard, they get after the quarterback, they disguise things well. Very disruptive. There’s a lot of challenges when it comes to dropping back, throwing the ball, and trying to run the ball.”

In two games last year against Texas, all five of Georgia’s touchdowns came on Trevor Etienne runs. Part of that can be attributed to Georgia inserting Gunner Stockton in at quarterback for an injured Carson Beck.

Georgia ran for 249 yards in the two games against the Longhorns last season. The Bulldogs are a much-improved rushing team this season, ranking 24th in rushing offense compared to 102nd in the country last season.

Georgia will be the best rushing attack Texas has faced to this point in the season. The Bulldogs spent all offseason prioritizing their rushing offense for games like this.

“We’ve got to play Georgia football,” tight end Oscar Delp said. “It starts with practice every day this week. You know, we’re a physical team. We’ve got to play physical. We’ve got to execute. Just everyone be on the same page, do our jobs, but it’s really just going to come down to physicality and strength.”

It isn’t a coincidence that Georgia’s offensive line is playing its best while also at its healthiest. After starting six different offensive line combinations in the first six games of the season, the Bulldogs have been able to roll with the same offensive line combination for the last three games. Freeling at left tackle, Micah Morris at left guard, Drew Bobo at center, Dontrell Glover at right guard and Earnest Greene at right tackle.

Juan Gaston rotates in at guard and tackle to help keep the offensive line fresh, making it so that no one player has to feel like so much of the game is on their shoulders.

Bobo did leave the game against Mississippi State after suffering a cut on his snapping hand but that won’t prevent him from playing on Saturday.

Collectively, Georgia’s offensive line will go a long way in determining the outcome on Saturday. If it can open running lanes and keep Stockton clean, the offense has enough talent to take advantage of a stout Texas defense.

“I love going out there and competing, so whenever you get a good opponent like that, you’ve just got to hone in your technique and get ready to play some ball,” Freeling said.