Chris Cole turned Oklahoma’s mistakes into points, and Georgia turned a tense SEC matchup into a rout.
No. 2 Georgia hammered the Sooners 41-13 on Saturday in Athens, with Cole scoring on an 85-yard fumble return and the Bulldogs cashing in on three first-half turnovers by John Mateer. By halftime, Oklahoma was staring at a 28-0 hole it never came close to climbing out of.
Mateer’s first half was a nightmare. He lost two fumbles, both recovered by Cole, and threw an interception as Oklahoma stumbled through the opening two quarters.
K.J. Bolden also picked off a Mateer pass in the second quarter, adding another punch to a defense that kept Oklahoma off balance from the start.
Georgia, meanwhile, got exactly the kind of start it wanted from Gunner Stockton. He opened by completing his first nine passes and helped set the tone with a 35-yard touchdown throw to Talyn Taylor. Stockton finished 14 of 25 for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but his early precision gave Georgia control before the game could settle in.
The Bulldogs also made the most of a day without top running back Nate Frazier, who was held out because of injured ribs. Chauncey Bowens stepped in and delivered two short touchdown runs, from 2 and 6 yards, while Dwight Phillips added a 54-yard touchdown burst early in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma’s fourth turnover was a fumble by tight end Rocky Beers in the third quarter, another mistake that helped Georgia keep the game out of reach. Even with the Bulldogs holding only a slim 306-296 edge in total yards, the turnover margin told the real story.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart saw room for frustration even in a 28-point win, especially after his team was tied with Oklahoma 13-13 in the second half.
“There was definitely a lull,” Smart said. “Good teams don’t have lulls.
… They didn’t stop us. We stopped ourselves.”
Added Smart when asked about the 28-0 halftime lead: “The scoreboard should never matter. We've got to play to our standard all the time.”
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables didn’t sugarcoat the mess his team made of the first half.
“To compete and win the game, obviously the number one priority is taking care of the football and certainly we failed miserably in doing that,” said Oklahoma coach Brent Venables. “... We've got to get out of our own way and give ourselves an opportunity without being careless with the football at the end of the day.”
Venables kept Mateer in the game despite the turnovers, though he said a quarterback change was “something we discussed.” Mateer still finished 25 of 34 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, including a 17-yard scoring throw to Beers in the third quarter and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Manny Choice late in the game. Oklahoma actually moved the ball better than the score suggested, outgaining Georgia 210-173 through three quarters.
Still, the Sooners spent too much of the afternoon reacting to the damage already done. They entered the day with one of the nation’s stingiest defenses, allowing just two touchdowns in three games and leading the SEC in pass defense and scoring defense at 7.7 points allowed per game. Georgia simply found ways to break them anyway.
The Bulldogs, who came in leading the nation at 59.3 points per game, were more measured against Oklahoma’s defense but still took advantage of every opening. They scored on an 11-play drive in the first quarter, capped by Stockton’s 30-yard completion to Taylor, and kept building from there.
The win pushed Georgia to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference, while Oklahoma fell to 2-2 and 0-1 in league play. Georgia improved to 32-4 in SEC home games and 59-5 overall in conference games under Smart.
The Bulldogs have scored more than 40 points in each of their first four games for the first time since 2018, and their 219 points through four games is their highest total since 1910, when they had 237. Georgia has outscored opponents 63-0 in the first quarter and 133-12 in the first half.
Oklahoma’s rough start to the season now includes a 17-10 loss to Michigan in Week 2 and an underwhelming 14-6 win over New Mexico the next week. The Sooners dropped out of the AP Top 25 last week.
Eli Bowen said the “message in the locker room” was that the defeat can’t define Oklahoma’s season.
“We know what we're capable of,” Bowen said. “This wasn't the best representation of our abilities.”
Oklahoma now turns to No. 1 Texas on Oct. 10 in Dallas. Georgia stays home to face Vanderbilt next Saturday.
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Oklahomas night against Georgia unraveled early, and John Mateers turnovers were at the center of it. The Sooners handed the Bulldogs extra chances in a first half that quickly turned hostile, with Georgia turning one mistake into an 85-yard fumble return by Chris Cole and later adding a 35-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Stockton to Talyn Taylor.
David Stones presence up front was at least a small bit of good news for Oklahoma after he entered the game as a gametime decision, but the Sooners still spent too much time reacting instead of dictating. The bigger concern now is obvious: when the offense keeps putting the defense in bad spots, the margin against a team like Georgia disappears fast, and Oklahoma was left staring at a costly trend it could not afford to let linger. [Read more 🡒]
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