NEW ORLEANS – Georgia might have fancied itself a playoff team, despite its loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship. Earlier this week on Twitter, some players offered their opinion that the College Football Playoff selection committee made a mistake by leaving the Bulldogs out of the four-team party.

Perhaps they should have kept those thoughts to themselves.

Tuesday night at the Sugar Bowl, it was No. 15 Texas who played like a team with something to prove, as the Longhorns jumped out to a 21-point lead before finishing off a 28-21 win.

"I think, in the world of social media it's easy to say things. But 15, 20 years ago you didn't know what kids were thinking, because they didn't have the ability to tweet it out or show it. Now, their thoughts change every ten seconds," head coach Kirby Smart said. "So, just because they tweet something emotional during that time, that doesn't matter. It gives the other team motivation. But our team was motivated to play Texas. Texas outplayed us, out-competed us. They out-coached us. They out-physicaled [sic] us. They did a lot of things better than us, and I think you give Tom [Herman] a lot of credit."

The Bulldogs barely had a chance, though their collective effort certainly didn’t help their cause. Georgia only had 174 total yards heading into the fourth quarter, and finished with just 237 for the game.

It was a tough night for quarterback Jake Fromm, who struggled with his efficiency. He completed an uncharacteristic 20 of 34 passes for 212 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for Georgia, which rushed for a season-low 72 yards.

However, it wasn’t just the offense’s fault. As valiantly as Georgia’s defense played, the Bulldogs had one of their worst tackling games, while mistakes in the punting game and silly penalties only added to what was an overall miserable effort on the evening.

Georgia certainly didn’t have an answer for Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who scored all three touchdowns on runs 2, 9, and 1 yard and threw a two-point conversion to Collin Johnson following a fourth-quarter score to make it 28-7.

"As crazy as this might sound, I think we’re still the better team, but the better team doesn’t always win. It’s the team that plays the best, so credit to them," tight end Isaac Nauta said. "They played their tails off, and they beat us."

The Bulldogs tried to rally. On Georgia’s next possession, Fromm and company finally discovered some rhythm, driving 67 yards for a touchdown on a 4-yard pass to Mecole Hardman with just over 10 minutes to play.

However, Georgia could only get as close as seven after Fromm hit D'Andre Swift with a 5-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left. However, the game wasn't really that close.

Smart hopes the loss will be a lesson his team won't soon forget.

"I hope they learn you'd better show up to play every game, because the teams you're playing at the end of the year are all capable of topping you. We've played in some really incredible venues with the SEC championship and then the Allstate Sugar Bowl. And there's a lot of young players out there who are growing and getting better," Smart said. "Now we've got to raise that standard, and we've got to learn from the fact that when you go to play a game 30 days later, you've got to be at your best. We didn't play our best game tonight, but you've got to give Texas a lot of credit, because they made it that way."

Those who suggested the Bulldogs would start out uninspired to start the game were proven correct, as the Longhorns outplayed a sluggish Georgia squad that appeared to be suffering from a collective post-New Year’s hangover.

Everything that could have gone wrong for the Bulldogs appeared to do just that as Texas jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead.

Texas’ first touchdown came on its opening drive, a 10-play, 75-yard effort that resulted in a 2-yard run by Ehlinger before a 37-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker pushed the margin to 10-0. Dicker’s field goal followed a mistake by Bulldog punter Jake Camarda, whose knee touched the ground prior to getting off his kick, allowing the Longhorns to start at the 27.

Missed tackles did the Bulldogs no favors, either.

With a third-and-7 at the Bulldog 9-yard line, it appeared Georgia had Ehlinger sacked for a loss, only to see the sophomore wriggle free and scramble into the end zone.

Trailing 17-7, Georgia finally found some rhythm on offense, driving 75 yards on 12 plays with Fromm throwing to a wide-open Brian Herrien for a 17-yard touchdown.

"They were very physical up front. That's one obstacle you have to climb over. And the next thing, they were slanting this way and that way, shooting multiple gaps," Fromm said. "And we just had a tough time trying to figure out which way they were moving and trying to cut guys out of gaps. It was tough."

Texas would tack on another field goal by Decker before Georgia took the kickoff and appeared to be heading for another score, getting to the Texas 31 before a third-down blitz sacked Fromm, pushing Georgia out of field goal range to send the Bulldogs into the locker room down 20-7.

However, the final horn did not come before another crucial Georgia mistake. Tyler Simmons was flagged for a personal foul during a Texas punt that came on the final play of the first half. The 15-yard penalty was assessed on the third-quarter kickoff, which Georgia was set to receive.

"I thought the energy level was really good at the start of the game. Guys were fired up. We sold playing to a standard and making a statement," Smart said. "We didn't do that. We were going to play [to have] each other's back. And the guys we wanted to go out there and play for were the guys that are seniors."