Georgia has spent the first three weeks looking like a team on a different plane, but Kirby Smart is still hunting flaws.
That was obvious after the Bulldogs rolled Arkansas 45-17 and moved to 3-0, 1-0 in the SEC. Smart refused to treat the game like a blowout, even with Georgia piling up points at a blistering rate and stretching its season scoring margin to 178-40.
"I don't know that I would call it a blowout. I mean, y'all might say that, but I don't look at SEC games that way," Smart said.
"I mean, they're trying to score the whole game. We're trying to stop them the whole game.
I don't even know what the score says. I couldn't tell you the score right now."
What bothered him most was the way the backups finished, allowing two touchdowns for the second straight week in a game Georgia had already controlled. Smart used his postgame time to point out the blemishes: two true freshmen on the offensive line, Gunner Stockton taking his first sacks of the season, a bad decision on first-and-goal at the 2-yard line and the defensive reserves closing the game.
"Tells me we can't play them," Smart said. "I mean, it's the only bottom line. I'm not gonna let it ruin my day like I did last time."
The numbers have still been outrageous. Georgia leads the nation in scoring at 59.3 points per game.
Stockton has been nearly flawless, and after three games he is one of two FBS quarterbacks with more touchdown passes, nine, than incompletions, seven. He’s completing 84.4% of his throws, the second-best mark in the country, and his passer rating of 259.3 leads the nation.
Still, Smart has spent the week turning the page toward a test that looks much more serious: Oklahoma.
For the first time this season, Georgia faces a defense that can back up the warnings. The Bulldogs are two-touchdown favorites, but the Sooners have given up just 7.7 points per game, tied for fourth nationally, and only 104.3 passing yards per game, which ranks third. No opponent has scored more than 17 points on Brent Venables’ defense.
"They know what you're doing as well as you know what you're doing," Smart said.
Venables has plenty of respect for Georgia, too, especially running back Nate Frazier. Frazier is expected to play Saturday despite being injured, and he has averaged 8.4 yards per carry with five touchdowns.
"Nate Frazier, man, he's a dude, a great player," Venables said. "Our guy's gonna have to bring it. He runs through people, through their soul, over and over and over."
The bigger issue for Oklahoma is its own offense, which has been a mess. The Sooners scored only 24 points over their last two games and come into this matchup averaging 25 points per game, tied for 99th nationally, with 329.7 yards per game, good for 115th.
That slide has pushed pressure onto offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer, who arrived together from Washington State before the 2025 season. The second year has not gone as planned either. On Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma fans booed the offense and chanted "Fire Arbuckle" during a 14-6 win over New Mexico.
Mateer added to the frustration afterward when he said he missed an open receiver downfield and only realized it when he heard the crowd’s reaction. Isaiah Sategna III scored on the 53-yard pass.
The ground game has been the biggest problem. Oklahoma tried to address it after struggling there a year ago, but the same issues have followed them into this season. The Sooners are averaging only 3.31 yards per carry, which ranks 128th nationally and is the second-worst mark among power conference teams.
Venables, who has succeeded in lifting Oklahoma’s defense since taking over in 2022, said he understands the criticism and has pushed for better results.
"The responsibility starts with me, the accountability starts with me. If they fall short, then I have fallen short."
Georgia’s defense presents another tough layer for the Sooners. The Bulldogs are allowing just 45.7 rushing yards per game, third nationally, and Mateer enters the game with 652 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. Without a running attack to lean on, Oklahoma is headed into Sanford Stadium with a short runway.
The matchup also comes with a familiar name attached. Georgia and Oklahoma last met nine years ago in a CFP semifinal that ended with the Bulldogs rallying from 17 points down to win 54-48 in double overtime.
This one does not project that way. The Sooners’ offense has not shown the punch to turn it into another track meet.
Georgia is now in the second of eight straight SEC games, and Smart’s message has not changed: every week is its own grind.
"Every week in the SEC is intense, tough, physical, line of scrimmage," he said. "That's not any disregard to Oklahoma.
They got a tremendous team, but we got eight of those in a row. So, I'm worried about us, and I'm worried about how we prepare, and I'm worried about what we can do to make our team better."
Stockton sounded very much in step with that approach.
"I think we've got a good football team," Stockton said Saturday. "You still got to attack each practice and each week. Any given Saturday, anybody can get popped."
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