Steve Curtis - Oklahoma’s Defense Must Make Georgia Earn Its Way Down the Field

Steve Curtis | September 25th, 2026

Georgia hasn’t needed many difficult possessions through its first three games.

The Bulldogs have scored 178 points while overwhelming Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Arkansas. None has tested them the way Oklahoma’s defense can.

But those games have shown why Georgia has been so difficult to slow.

A run can become an explosive gain after a defender reaches the back. A play fake can pull a linebacker forward and leave Gunner Stockton an open throw behind him. A well-covered pass can become a scramble if the rush loses contain.

Oklahoma must take those easy gains away.

The first responsibility belongs to the defensive front.

Nate Frazier has been Georgia’s most dangerous runner, turning 24 carries into 202 yards and five touchdowns. More than half of his yardage has come after contact, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

That last detail matters more than the average.

Georgia doesn’t need to block every defender for Frazier to break a play open. If the first Sooner reaches him and fails to finish, a run Oklahoma appeared to contain can still change the possession.

Frazier was listed as questionable on Wednesday’s initial availability report. His status could change Thursday or Friday.

Oklahoma has to prepare as though he will play. If he doesn’t, Georgia still has other backs and a running game capable of attacking more than one area of the field. Chauncey Bowens has handled carries near the goal line, while Nick Peal and Dwight Phillips Jr. have given the Bulldogs other options.

None has shown Frazier’s ability to create an explosive run after contact.

His availability could change how much Oklahoma must fear a broken tackle. It won’t change the Sooners’ need to control the line of scrimmage.

Georgia has found its most productive rushing room outside the right end, but it has also run effectively behind the left guard. The Bulldogs can test Oklahoma’s edge, then attack inside when defenders widen to protect it.

Taylor Wein and Adepoju “PJ” Adebawore must hold their ground rather than race upfield for a sack that has not yet become available.

That will allow Jayden Jackson, Bishop Thomas and Oklahoma’s linebackers to meet Georgia’s backs before they reach open space.

David Stone’s status could make that assignment more difficult.

Stone was listed as questionable Wednesday after dislocating his knee cap earlier in the week. He played his best game of the season against New Mexico, helping Oklahoma control an opponent that wanted to establish the run.

If Stone cannot play, Jackson and the rest of the interior rotation will have to absorb more of Georgia’s blocking. Oklahoma can’t let an injury in the middle turn every run into a test of its linebackers in space.

Those linebackers must finish when the football reaches them.

Owen Heinecke gave Oklahoma everything it needed against New Mexico. He played every defensive snap and made eight tackles, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. His only two missed tackles came when he was isolated in space against the quarterback.

That performance was a step toward the consistency Oklahoma needs from him. Against Georgia, finishing those tackles will matter even more, especially if Frazier plays.

But, Georgia is more capable of making the first missed tackle decisive.

The Sooners can’t become so focused on the backs that they give Stockton the passing game Georgia wants.

Stockton has thrown nine touchdowns without an interception. He has been especially effective off play action, using Georgia’s rushing threat to open space behind defenders stepping toward the line of scrimmage.

The run fake presents Oklahoma with a difficult balance.

Heinecke, Kip Lewis and Reggie Powers III must react quickly enough to stop the backs, but they can’t leave the middle of the field open every time Stockton turns his back to the defense.

Lewis was listed as probable Wednesday. His return would give Oklahoma another option at linebacker after injuries limited the group against New Mexico.

Behind them, Peyton Bowen must keep Georgia’s receivers and tight ends from turning that hesitation into a touchdown.

Stockton has not needed to depend on one target. Craig Dandridge and Sacovie White-Helton have produced downfield, while Lawson Luckie and Elyiss Williams have given Georgia answers through the middle.

Oklahoma can’t treat this like Michigan, when taking away JJ Buchanan would’ve forced Bryce Underwood to find an option he hadn’t consistently used.

Stockton has already shown he will throw to several of them.

That makes the Sooners’ coverage responsibilities especially important with Michael Boganowski out. Bowen and the rest of the secondary must communicate through Georgia’s formations and remain in position after the play fake.

The pass rush still has a chance to affect Stockton.

Georgia’s line has protected him well against its first three opponents, but Oklahoma brings a more capable front. Wein, Adebawore and Jackson have all contributed to a defense that has generated 55 pressures and 12 sacks through three games.

The answer is not to send an extra rusher on every passing down.

Stockton has been at his best when opponents blitz. Removing a defender from coverage has repeatedly given him somewhere to throw, and he has delivered the football before the pressure could matter.

Oklahoma needs to make him hold it.

Venables can change the look Stockton sees before the snap, bring pressure from different places and still keep enough defenders behind the rush to close his first passing lane.

The objective is larger than recording a sack.

If Stockton has to move beyond his first read, Oklahoma’s front can test protection Georgia has rarely needed to sustain for long. If a defender then loses contain, Stockton can turn that successful coverage into a run.

That’s the final part of the assignment.

Keep him inside the pocket. Make him find another throw. Finish the tackle when he can’t.

Taken together, Oklahoma has a way to make this game look different from Georgia’s first three.

The Sooners’ defense can challenge the Bulldogs up front, contain their backs before a run becomes explosive and defend play action without giving Stockton an easy answer. They have the personnel to make Georgia put together longer, more difficult drives.

They’ll have to do it repeatedly.

One missed tackle, one lost rush lane or one defender drawn too far toward a run fake can undo an otherwise strong possession.

And the defense can’t be asked to play perfectly because Oklahoma’s offense can’t stay on the field.

If Ben Arbuckle gives the running backs a real chance, uses his tight ends to support the line and helps Mateer take manageable completions, the Sooners may be able to keep their defense rested and prevent Georgia from controlling the game through possession after possession.

Oklahoma’s defense has already carried the team once this season.

Against Georgia, it can give the Sooners a chance. The offense has to make that chance count.