Oklahoma arrives in Athens this week carrying an offense that has managed just 24 total points over its past two games, including a narrow escape against New Mexico in Week 3. The Sooners now face a Georgia team that has scored 178 points through three games, though those numbers came against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Arkansas — competition far less demanding than what Oklahoma’s defense can offer.
A year ago, quarterback John Mateer was drawing early Heisman Trophy buzz and had reinvigorated the Oklahoma program. That momentum has stalled, and the Sooners will likely need their defense to carry them if they hope to keep pace with the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton and the Bulldogs’ offense have yet to face a defense as stout as Oklahoma’s. Under head coach Brent Venables, the Sooners have built one of the sport’s elite defensive units. This season, Oklahoma is allowing just 3.5 yards per play and has surrendered only 23 total points across games against UTEP, Michigan and New Mexico.
Georgia represents a significantly tougher offensive test than any of those three opponents, but a strong defensive performance would hardly be new territory for Oklahoma, which has been a defensive powerhouse for years.
Given Mateer’s struggles finding accuracy and the strength of Oklahoma’s defense, the Sooners may try to slow the game down and turn it into a grinding, low-scoring affair rather than attempt to match Georgia score for score. Georgia, for its part, has shown no aversion to that kind of physical, low-scoring fight either.
Georgia is still expected to be the tougher team to handle overall, but there’s a real chance both defenses dominate Saturday’s matchup, keeping points scarce.
One betting analysis suggested wagering on the under 44.5 total points (-110, FanDuel) for the game.
