Georgia and Oklahoma will meet Saturday at Sanford Stadium, as the No. 2 Bulldogs host the Sooners and their stout defense.
Ahead of that clash, which will be just the second meeting between these two teams, let’s remember the first.
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. The DawgNation team answered this question: What’s your favorite play from that memorable matchup?
These responses were included in the Sept. 25 installment of the DawgNation newsletter as a part of Feature Fridays. Each installment, the team will answer a prompt, spanning topics from football to tailgating to their favorite moments covering sports.
You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
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.’”
