Oklahoma's One Big Thing at Georgia is to Just Hang In There on Offense

The Sooners' defense can hope for a draw with the Georgia offense, so Saturday's showdown could come down to whether the offense can produce points.

Oklahoma Sooners offensive lineman Michael Fasusi | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

ATHENS, GA — Georgia’s offense is tremendous. Oklahoma’s defense has also played at that level. 

That’s a great matchup in Saturday’s SEC showdown between the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs (3-0) and the unranked Sooners (2-1), and it could end up a push when they clash in Sanford Stadium.

So the spotlight will be on Georgia’s outstanding defense against Oklahoma’s laboring offense.

If the Sooners can’t move the football and generate points, the OU defense won’t be able to sustain barrage after barrage and the game could become a blowout.

I asked Georgia coach Kirby Smart this week if,  when he watches film, he sees OU’s overall athletic talent and warns his staff of their gifts, or if he sees an offense that can’t run the ball and turns it over when it tries to pass and tells them where he wants to exploit the Sooners.  

“It's not my job to evaluate and criticize and talk about. I have to get our guys ready to play,” Smart said. “I think that's a hard job each week in our conference, because so many kids and teams live through perception of what's said. Whereas coaches, we're going off what's on tape. There's a lot of times those two don't match. 

“I know the (OU) players. We recruited almost every one of them. The quarterback has tremendous athleticism. I know the backs, the receivers, know the coaches. They've got a good team, and we've gotta prepare to play against those guys.”

That’s a patented answer, but it’s a smart way for Smart to complement whatever Sooners he once recruited (and no doubt keep the channels open via the transfer portal).

Like Gentry Williams.

Williams plays defense and not offense, but the theory doesn’t change: Williams was offered by Georgia before he chose OU and spent four years in Brent Venables’ defense.

Now he’s playing his final collegiate season in Athens and he’s contributing as a backup cornerback.

“Gentry's a great kid, man,” Smart said. “He is quiet. He works hard. He's a good tackler. He competes every day out there for us. He's made us a better team. Hoping that he can continue to work to carve out a role.”

(I requested an interview with Williams this week but Smart declined.)

The bottom line is that seven Georgia defenders drew preseason All-SEC accolades, while only two Oklahoma offensive players got votes. This is an issue of talen

One of those was wide receiver Isaiah Sategna. The other was offensive tackle Michael Fasusi — who played just 17 snaps in the season opener and hasn’t returned to the field yet this year due to a shoulder injury.

Fasusi has already been ruled out for Saturday’s game, and having him back at left tackle would have been an upgrade from Ryan Fodje, who would ideally be able to move back to right guard, which would have been an upgrade from Noah Best and Heath Ozaeta.

If OU’s offensive line ever gets back to full strength, the Sooner offense should be better, and better o-line play, even without Fasusi, might give Oklahoma a fighting chance against Georgia.

Or maybe against this mighty Bulldog defense and their 93,000 noisy friends, even a healthy two-deep will be simply overwhelmed.

---

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.