AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian assessed one challenge of the SEC as the mental intensity necessary to compete at a high level each week, citing the then-No. 7 Missouri Tigers needing overtime to beat the perpetual conference cellar-dwelling Vanderbilt Commodores and the then-No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs edging past the Kentucky Wildcats 13-12 by scoring the game’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Saturday’s SEC opener put that reality into stark terms when the No. 1 Longhorns needed three second-half touchdowns to open up a close contest against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the No.