College Football Playoff Preview: Rose Bowl

The Oklahoma Sooners will take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl — the first game of the College Football Playoff.

In  what will be a great game to start the College Football Playoff, the Oklahoma Sooners will face off with the the Georgia Bulldogs in Pasadena at the prestigious Rose Bowl.

Matchup: #2 Oklahoma (12-1 Overall, 8-1 Big 12) vs. #3 Georgia (12-1 Overall, 8-1 SEC) 

Time: 5:00 pm ET

TV: ESPN

Location: Rose Bowl; Pasadena, California

The Rose Bowl will present a bit of a strange scenario this year, as it has become a playoff game and is featuring a Big 12 team, and a SEC team. However, while it may take viewers a while to get used to not seeing the traditional Big Ten versus Pac-12 matchup, they should be in for a treat.

Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma are led by Heisman quarterback Baker Mayfield, who played an integral role in the Sooners top-ranked offense in 2017.

Oklahoma averaged 583.3 yards of total offense this season, behind 333.8 passing yards per game from Mayfield.

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Another huge part of this Sooners offense is Mark Andrews, one of the nation’s top tight ends. Andrews caught 58 passes for 906 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

True freshman quarterback Jake Fromm leads Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs into Pasadena. While Fromm had a pretty good freshman campaign with 15 touchdowns and only four interceptions, it is Georgia’s three-headed monster at the running back position that carries the offense.

Nick Chubb, a senior, Sony Michel, a senior, and D’Andre Swift, a freshman, combined for 29 rushing touchdowns this year for the Bulldogs.

Although Georgia has some weapons on offense, all the attention will be focused on the defense, led by linebacker Roquan Smith. Smith is projected to be a first round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft according to walterfootball.com.

The Bulldogs’ defense is the fourth-ranked team in the FBS in terms of total defense, according to ncaa.com.

Furthermore, Georgia allows the second-least passing yards per game in the FBS, something that will be crucial in order to stop Baker Mayfield.

Oklahoma’s defense isn’t even comparable to Georgia’s. The Sooners are ranked 59th in total defense in the FBS, according to ncaa.com.

The huge disparity in defensive play can explain why Georgia is 2.5 point favorites over Oklahoma at the moment. Great defense usually beats great offense.

Will the defensive team get the better on New Year’s Day? We will find out soon enough.