The buildup around Oklahoma’s trip to Georgia has lost a lot of its shine, but the game itself is still a brutal measuring stick for a Sooners team trying to steady its season.
What looked like one of the season’s headline matchups back in the offseason now arrives with Oklahoma’s offense under a cloud and Georgia rolling. The Sooners enter Saturday’s game at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, at 2-1, but that record has been overshadowed by how uneven they’ve looked on offense in the last two weeks against Michigan and New Mexico. Oklahoma has reached the red zone only once over its last two games and is averaging 12 points per game.
The defense, though, gives the Sooners a fighting chance to keep things respectable. Over the last two years, Oklahoma’s defense has grown into one of the best units in college football, and it will be asked to make Georgia work for every inch. The problem is that Georgia may have an even better defense this season, which puts even more pressure on an Oklahoma offense that has not found its footing.
Georgia, meanwhile, has spent the first three weeks looking every bit like the powerhouse it has become. The Bulldogs are 3-0, including a 45-17 road win at Arkansas this past weekend, and they’ve won those three games by an average margin of 46 points. They are the reigning SEC champions, have taken the conference title three of the last four years, and were picked as the favorite again in the SEC Preseason Media Poll.
This will be the second football meeting between the schools. The only previous matchup came in the 2017 College Football Playoff semifinal, when Georgia rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to beat Baker Mayfield and the No. 2-seeded Sooners 54-48 in overtime.
Georgia’s numbers this season are staggering. The Bulldogs lead the country in scoring offense at 59.3 points per game and rank fourth in total offense at 539 yards per game.
On defense, they’re just as imposing, sitting third nationally against the run at 45.7 yards per game and seventh in total defense at 211.3 yards per game. Oklahoma, by comparison, is ninth nationally in total defense at 215.3 yards per game.
The Bulldogs have also been fast starters. Through three games against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Arkansas, they outscored those opponents 56-0 in the first quarter.
Gunner Stockton has been the engine for the Georgia offense. The fifth-year quarterback owns a 15-3 record as a starter, has an NCAA-best 259.3 passing efficiency rating this season and has completed 84.4% of his passes, second-best in the FBS.
He has nine touchdown passes and only seven incompletions. Georgia has thrown 12 touchdown passes overall, spread across 11 different receivers.
On the ground, Nate Frazier is the leading weapon, though he is questionable, and he’s averaging 67.0 yards per game and 8.4 yards per carry.
Georgia has also been deadly in the red zone, converting 17 of 19 trips into touchdowns.
Oklahoma’s injury situation adds another layer of concern. The Sooners lost offensive tackle Michael Fasusi, wide receiver Trell Harris, linebackers Kip Lewis and Cole Sullivan, and safety Michael Boganowski for last week’s game against New Mexico.
Starting defensive tackle David Stone, one of Oklahoma’s best defenders, also suffered a dislocated knee in practice on Monday. In Wednesday’s initial availability report, Harris, Sullivan and Boganowski were listed as out for Georgia, Lewis was listed as probable, and Stone as questionable.
The Sooners were dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 this week, landing at a vote total that would have placed them 29th nationally. They remain 24th in the Coaches Poll, three spots lower than a week ago.
So far, the Oklahoma offense has been the drag on the team. Through three games, the Sooners rank last in the SEC in total offense at 329.7 yards per game, next to last in scoring offense at 25.0 and rushing offense at 110.3 yards per game.
Nationally, they rank 123rd out of 134 FBS teams in rushing and 115th in total offense. That kind of production is a tough sell in any league, and especially in the SEC.
Outside of Isaiah Sategna, the most productive Oklahoma offensive player has been tight end Rocky Beers. The Colorado State transfer has 10 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown, averaging 17.1 yards per catch.
One of the biggest battlegrounds Saturday figures to be third down. Georgia has converted 62.1% of its third-down chances this season, fourth-best in the nation, while Oklahoma ranks fifth nationally in stopping opponents on third down at 22%.
The home-field numbers are intimidating, too. Georgia is 58-5 at home under Kirby Smart. Under Smart, the Bulldogs are 113-12 when they score at least 20 points and 87-3 when they reach 30.
Oklahoma is 7-12 all-time against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 at the time of the game. The Sooners’ most recent such game came at No. 2 Ohio State in 2017, when they won 31-16.
As for Saturday, the challenge is obvious. Georgia has looked too sharp, too deep and too efficient, while Oklahoma’s offense has not given enough reason to believe it can keep up.
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The debate has become a familiar one among those watching the team closely, with host Juwan Lee, OU beat writer Mason Young and sports columnist Berry Tramel all weighing in on what the Sooners need most right now. However the answer is framed, the urgency is clear: Oklahoma is heading into league play with an offense that still has to prove it can settle in and deliver under the pressure that comes with the SEC. [Read more 🡒]