Oklahoma heads to Athens on Saturday with one clear goal: snap its losing streak against Georgia and finally get a result that has eluded the Sooners since the two teams first met.
It’s a rare regular-season matchup between two programs that have only crossed paths once before. That lone meeting came in the 2017 College Football Playoff, when Georgia beat Oklahoma in the first round of the then-four team bracket in a Rose Bowl classic that still hangs over this series.
That game had everything. Oklahoma, coached by Lincoln Riley, raced to a 31-17 halftime lead, then watched the momentum slip away after the break. Georgia shut out the Sooners in the third quarter to erase the gap, then grabbed the lead in the fourth after a Baker Mayfield interception.
Mayfield answered with a six-play, 88-yard drive to pull Oklahoma even at 38. Then the defense delivered again, forcing a fumble that Steven Parker returned for a touchdown with just under seven minutes remaining.
Even that wasn’t enough to finish it off. Georgia tied the game again and pushed it to overtime.
The first overtime brought matching field goals. In the second, Austin Seibert’s kick was blocked, and Sony Michel finished the job for Georgia with a touchdown that sent the Bulldogs to the national championship game.
Mayfield completed 23 of 35 passes for 287 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and he also caught a touchdown pass. Rodney Anderson was a force on the ground for Oklahoma, running for 201 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. But Georgia’s backfield duo of Michel and Nick Chubb overwhelmed the Sooners, combining for 317 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Now, nearly nine years later, the rematch comes with a very different setting: Athens, SEC opponents, and a fresh chance for Oklahoma to write a better ending. The memory of that Rose Bowl still belongs to the Bulldogs, and Saturday gives the Sooners their first shot at changing that story.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Made A Venables Decision Fans May Regret Fast
Oklahoma moved to lock in Brent Venables well before the 2026 season, extending the football coachs contract through 2031 and giving him a significant salary increase. It was a clear sign the program still believes in the direction Venables is trying to build, even as the Sooners sit at 2-2 and try to steady themselves against a difficult schedule.
The timing is what makes the decision feel so loaded. If Oklahoma stumbles into a losing season, the contract becomes more than a vote of confidence - it turns into a financial commitment that would make any midstream reset far more complicated, and far more expensive, than it would have been before the extension. [Read more 🡒]
Porter Mosers Staff Just Added A Familiar Face And A Key Role
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For Oklahoma, the Greenman hire brings another basketball voice into the room, while Godwins return adds a familiar face with a direct connection to the program. Former Sooners players often bring a useful blend of institutional memory and practical support when they come back in off the floor, and Godwin steps into a role that can matter just as much behind the scenes. It is the kind of staff tweak that does not grab headlines for long, but can say plenty about how Moser wants the operation to function. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Fans May Not Like What This Bye Week Really Means
The bye week arrives with Oklahoma at 2-2 and searching for answers on an offense that has looked too uneven to trust. Brent Venables has been clear that the pieces are there for improvement, but the Sooners have not yet put it together, and the issues go well beyond a simple tweak in the playbook. Ben Arbuckle's plan against Georgia showed some signs of life, yet turnovers and shaky offensive line play kept it from turning into anything sustainable.
For Oklahoma, this pause is less about resting up and more about confronting the uncomfortable realities that have slowed the season. The quarterback room is still learning on the job, and the line has not consistently protected the passer or created room in the run game, which leaves the offense fighting uphill on nearly every series. A bye week can help clean up details, but it can only do so much when the larger problems are still sitting there in plain view. [Read more 🡒]
