TARGETING! Texas’ Bevo lowers his horns, launches at UGA’s Uga

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A pregame encounter turned dangerous when the mammoth steer lowered his helmet and went after the smaller bulldog.

Texas and Georgia have two of college sports’ most famous and beloved live mascots. UT has Bevo, a big longhorn steer, and UGA has Uga, a cute but tenacious bulldog.

The Longhorns and Dawgs are playing in the Sugar Bowl this year. In the name of sportsmanship, the steer and the dog were to have a pregame meeting. That plan was scuttled when Bevo, who is many times bigger than Uga, charged at the dog.

Some of the footage here gives you a better sense of the immense size difference at play here:

Bevo led with his horns. If he were a player, he’d have risked getting ejected for targeting against the comparatively tiny bulldog. But Uga’s handlers, blessedly, pulled him away.

It’s not clear where the bad blood between the mascots started. Uga hasn’t done anything to draw the ire of Longhorn Nation, as far as I know. And earlier in the week, there was no sign of discord whatsoever between the two content-looking travelers:

And here is an angle from higher up in the Superdome, where you can hear a Texas fan yelling “GET HIM BEVO! GET HIS ASS!” as the steer makes his move:

And you should listen to this version with the volume on. Trust me:

The Big 12 office hasn’t yet announced if it’ll impose discipline on Bevo for making this Horns Down gesture with his actual horns. Some other questions I have:

• What would they have done if Bevo had achieved his goal here and gored Uga? It could’ve easily been fatal. Would there have been a moment of silence before the game?
• Is Bevo’s pen made of tissue paper?
• How many Ugas would it take to bring down one Bevo?

We’ll update this post as more information emerges on their conflict.