Morning, y’all — and happy Feature Friday!
From the subject line, you can probably guess where I’m headed with today’s feature. Georgia’s absolutely wild win against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day in 2018 is probably the best College Football Playoff game ever.
It had everything — a crazy comeback, heroic moments and a goose bump, walk-off finish. It’s also crazy to me that it marks the only time these two teams have previously met.
So, with the Sooners coming to town Saturday, what better way to kick things off than reliving the DawgNation team’s favorite plays from the Rose Bowl?
(As always, we’ll have some football news and our trivia question further down in the newsletter).
Kaylee Mansell: “My favorite play is Rodrigo Blankenship’s 55-yard field goal at halftime. Just when it looked like Oklahoma had all the momentum, Blankenship delivered a massive answer. Georgia recovered a squib kick after a late Sooners touchdown, and Blankenship connected from 55 yards as time expired to keep the Dawgs within striking distance.”
Connor Riley: “Nick Chubb’s touchdown run to start the second half: It gets forgotten sandwiched between Sony Michel’s heroics and Blankenship’s big field goal but Chubb ran through multiple defenders to score on Georgia’s first play of the second half. It was a quintessential Chubb run and pulled Georgia back within a touchdown.
“Short of Arian Smith’s touchdown against Ohio State (Smith’s 76-yard touchdown reception in the 2022 CFP semifinal and Georgia’s ensuing two-point conversion made it a three-point game in the fourth quarter), it’s one of the great ‘Game on’ moments of Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s tenure.)”
Jeff Sentell: “There’s the old adage about big-time players in big-time games. That was Roquan Smith in Pasadena. Smith had an amazing solo tackle on an end-around after pinballing off two would-be Oklahoma blockers. He had a game-best 11 tackles, but none was bigger than the solo stop he made on third-and-2 in the first overtime period.
“He stopped Oklahoma’s Jordan Smallwood on another end-around for a 1-yard gain. Oklahoma had to settle for a field goal and a 48-48 tie. That set up more theatrics, including another tackle for a loss on a quick pass for a 2-yard loss in the second overtime. The ‘Montezuma Missile’ looked like he was shot out of a cannon on that play.
“Oklahoma had six future NFL veterans on that offense. Mark Andrews. Hollywood Brown. Orlando Brown. CeeDee Lamb. Baker Mayfield. Trey Sermon. Those guys are all still in the NFL. Georgia’s defense, led by Smith, shut them down when it mattered. He’s the only Dawg from that defense who’s still active in the NFL.”
My favorite play is Lorenzo Carter’s blocked field goal. Tied 48-48 in double overtime, the 6-foot-6 Carter leapt and extended his arms to deny Oklahoma’s 27-yard field goal attempt. I remember watching that play and thinking: “They’re going to do it. They’ve got it now.” Of course, this play set up Georgia’s response, and we all know what that was …
Mike Griffith: “Tailback Sony Michel took a direct snap on a second-and-12 and, aided by downfield blocks from tight end Isaac Nauta on a linebacker and quarterback Jake Fromm in the open field against a cornerback, sprinted 27 yards around left end for the game-winning touchdown run in the second overtime that gave the Bulldogs a walk-off 54-48 win over Oklahoma. That was the oil painting moment for me.”
Cody Chaffins: “I am not picking a play, but a moment. My favorite moment was postgame. As a TV reporter following Michel’s touchdown, I ran onto the field to get postgame interviews. I found my fellow Chamblee High School alum, Georgia linebacker Davin Bellamy, and attempted to ask a couple of questions, but Bellamy wasn’t having it. Bellamy was more interested in making sure that Mayfield was informed that he should ‘humble yourself.’
“In all of the excitement I did eventually get that interview and many others as I was live on the Rose Bowl field during our newscasts. It wasn’t until a couple of hours later that I was informed that the moment between Bellamy and Mayfield (and myself as a bystander) had gone viral. Bellamy and I have laughed about that moment in years since, including an interview on ‘DawgNation Daily.’”
Trivia time
In that epic Rose Bowl matchup, who led the Bulldogs in rushing? BONUS: How many yards did he rush for?
How injuries to playmakers impact Georgia’s game plan vs. Oklahoma
It was not unreasonable this offseason to envision Nate Frazier as Georgia’s leading rusher and Isiah Canion as the team’s leading receiver.
But entering Saturday’s game against Oklahoma, the Bulldogs could be without both of those valuable weapons.
Frazier picked up a rib injury in the third quarter of Georgia’s win over Arkansas, while Canion is dealing with a right leg injury. Both are officially listed as questionable for Saturday’s game, per the SEC’s availability report.
Smart has stated that Frazier is expected to play. The Georgia coach said following the Arkansas game that both players could’ve returned to the field.
Georgia does have options it can turn to throughout the offense in the event it isn’t able to lean on Frazier and Canion the way it would like. Frazier has 202 rushing yards and five touchdowns in three games. Canion has three receptions for 28 yards.
Running back is the easiest position to project. Chauncey Bowens had three rushing touchdowns against Arkansas, while carrying the ball 11 times for 39 yards.
While Bowens hasn’t been the explosive runner Frazier has this season, he’s been a very effective weapon as a pass catcher. He’s caught six passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Bowens has carried the load for the Georgia offense before, such as when he ran for 119 yards on 12 carries against Alabama last season.
“I think he’s a violent runner,” Smart said. “He likes contact, he seeks contact. He got the beneficiary of some good blocking on a couple of those. He had a couple runs that I thought could have been even bigger. But he also bounced out on some and made some plays.”
Read Connor’s full story here.
The subplot to a 5-star DL’s weekend Georgia football visit
Georgia would love to go 2-for-2 this weekend against Oklahoma.
While beating the Sooners in the SEC opener is the clear priority, the Dawgs are also locked in a recruiting battle with the Sooners for 5-star defensive lineman Kellan Hall.
Hall, who is both very fond of and familiar with Georgia, is set to be the highest-rated recruiting visitor in town on Saturday. He plays for Christian Academy of Louisville in Kentucky and is rated the nation’s No. 1 defensive lineman and the No. 2 overall prospect for 2028 by both the 247Sports Composite and the Rivals Industry Ranking.
The oddsmakers have the Dawgs as almost a two-touchdown favorite Saturday.
That said, the odds on where Hall might eventually sign favor the Sooners. Hall was just in Norman last weekend to watch a tepid team take down New Mexico.
He’ll see the Sooners again Saturday in Athens.
“Both defensive lines have been playing extremely well,” Hall said. “So looking forward to seeing how both respond. Last week, OU played nonconference and had a close game, while UGA had its way with Arkansas. So looking forward to a great SEC matchup.
“I’ve been in close contact with Coach Smart and (Georgia defensive line coach) Tray Scott. I’m excited to see how they have been saying they will use me defensively up close after a preview of the game plan.”
It will be a prime opportunity for the Dawgs to close ground here. Sources suggest Hall has UGA near the top of his internal favorites, but behind at least Kentucky and Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder was in Athens for G-Day back in April. The Dawgs caught his attention very early in his process. What stood out to him about that spring game visit?
“Just up front,” Hall said. “They reload every year and they got a good amount of young guys in there. They have had some freshmen and some transfers come in and they are going to build them up.”
Read Jeff’s full story here.
Trivia answer
Michel with 181
