What started in the preseason as a top-10, likely primetime showdown has turned into something much quieter: an unranked afternoon game in Athens. Oklahoma comes in battered by an early loss and an offense that has sputtered enough to leave fans wondering how things unraveled so fast.
The Sooners have already taken one hit from Michigan and needed a close win over New Mexico to steady themselves, but now they walk into a brutal stretch that begins Saturday at Sanford Stadium. It’s only the second meeting ever between these programs, with the first coming in the Rose Bowl after the 2017 season.
That one lives in the memory bank. This one should look a lot different.
A big reason is the man leading Oklahoma now. After Lincoln Riley left for the West, the Sooners pivoted hard and hired defensive-minded Brent Venables as head coach. Since then, the offense has never quite settled in, and the quarterback play has been a major part of the problem.
John Mateer was viewed as a Heisman candidate at this point last season, but he has fallen off sharply since last year’s wrist injury. He may have spent the offseason getting stronger, but the results suggest the more important work never came together.
After his Mateeoric rise, he now has his entire fanbase on edge and ready to move on to the next guy. We haven’t seen a Mateer crash and burn like this since the Chelyabinsk event in 2013.
Georgia’s defense will have a few different ways to make life miserable for him. Mateer has struggled when blitzed, often forcing throws under pressure.
He hasn’t been much better when defenses rush only a few and keep a spy on him, either. If he can’t get loose outside the pocket, he hasn’t shown he can consistently work through reads and find the open receiver.
When the pressure mounts, he leans on his biggest target, 6’5 Senior Tight End Rocky Beers. And yes, that is his real name.
That dependence won’t be a surprise to Kirby Smart and Georgia’s secondary. While the crowd may be ready to crush beers in the stands, KJ Bolden and the rest of the defensive backs will be looking to crush Beers any time he gets his hands on the ball.
How Georgia chooses to attack Mateer will be one of the more interesting parts of the afternoon. The Bulldogs can send pressure, collapse the pocket, and trust the rest of the defense to clean things up. Or they can sit back in zone, keep six or more defenders reading his eyes, and wait for a mistake.
Because Mateer struggled badly in his lone road start this season, Georgia may try to lean into the noise early and bring heat right away, hoping to rattle a quarterback whose confidence already looks fragile.
The bigger mystery for Georgia is its own offense. So far, it has been hard to pin down exactly what this group is. Whelmed might be the best word.
Against Arkansas last week, plenty of fans wanted to see a more explosive passing game - one that created space and got the ball to playmakers. Instead, Georgia did what Georgia often does: it leaned on the run, controlled the line of scrimmage, and kept hammering away.
Outside of a 61-yard strike to Craig Dandridge, the Dawgs kept running left, then right, then left again, then right again. Arkansas knew what was coming and still couldn’t stop it.
That worked fine in the moment, but it didn’t exactly answer the bigger questions. Fans wanted proof that the passing game could hold up against a conference opponent, especially with tougher defenses ahead.
Oklahoma might be the kind of team that tests that. The Sooners have the pieces to play elite defense, and their priority Saturday will be stopping the run. They could sell out to force Georgia into passing situations and make Stockton win with his arm.
Even with Oklahoma’s offensive problems, 25 points probably feels like enough for Georgia to win. The real question is how those points come together. If the usual approach of pounding the ball and making the other side suffer doesn’t work, who does Stockton turn to?
Veterans London Humphreys and Lawson Luckie are known quantities, but most of the pass-catchers will be taking on their first meaningful game for Georgia this weekend. And the offensive line’s pass protection was shaky last week, which could become a bigger issue against a sturdier Oklahoma front. Receivers don’t matter much if the quarterback doesn’t have time to get them the ball.
All signs point to a low-scoring, physical game - something in the neighborhood of a 20-10 rock fight between two defensive-minded head coaches who value toughness above everything else.
It may not carry the buzz or the stakes this matchup once promised, but Georgia will still hope for the same finish as the last time these programs met.
In Other News...
Georgia Gets An O-Line Boost Just In Time For Oklahoma
Georgias offensive line is getting a timely boost as the Bulldogs prepare for Oklahoma, with Drew Bobo finally set to play without the protective club on his left hand for the first time since suffering a hand injury in fall camp. The update matters for a front that has had to lean on depth and durability, and it comes with head coach Kirby Smart continuing to emphasize the kind of toughness Bobo has brought while working through the injury.
Bobo has talked about his own growth as a player and the mindset that comes with staying on the field even when he is not at full strength. For Georgia, that sort of grit is especially valuable this week, when every bit of stability up front can shape how the offense handles a high-level opponent. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Just Lost A Georgia Series Fans Really Wanted
One of the more anticipated nonconference matchups on Georgias future schedule is off the board, as the Bulldogs and Clemson have mutually agreed to cancel their planned home-and-home series for 2029, 2030, 2032 and 2033. It is the kind of scheduling change that has become increasingly common in a sport still adjusting to shifting playoff formats and a more crowded calendar, and both Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney sounded resigned to that reality rather than surprised by it.
For Georgia fans, the disappointment is less about losing a game and more about losing a series that carried real national appeal, especially with the recent history between the programs still fresh. The Bulldogs have managed to keep a challenging mix of nonconference opponents on the books in coming seasons, but this one had the feel of a showcase event, a chance to test themselves against a familiar SEC-adjacent rival and add another marquee date to the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Offense Faces A Real Depth Test Ahead Of Oklahoma
Georgias trip toward Oklahoma comes with a little more uncertainty on offense than the Bulldogs would like this late in the season. Running back Nate Frazier and wide receiver Isiah Canion were both listed as questionable on the SEC availability report after leaving the previous game against Arkansas, adding more weight to a unit that has already had to manage a handful of absences.
The timing matters because this is the kind of matchup where every available option can shape how Georgia wants to attack. With several other Bulldogs already listed out and Oklahoma also dealing with its own injury note on defensive tackle David Stone, the pregame picture has become one of matching depth as much as matching talent. [Read more 🡒]