Thursday Dawg Bites

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What was circled preseason as a top-10, likely primetime matchup has slowly withered into another unranked afternoon game for the Dawgs. An early loss and significant offensive struggles have turned Boomer Sooner into a bit of a Bummer Summer, as fans can’t help but wonder what happened.

After a loss to Michigan and a close win against New Mexico, the reeling Sooners now dive into a brutal stretch of games, starting with their trip to Sanford Stadium this Saturday.

It is shocking that this is just the second meeting between these two historic programs, the first famously being the Rose Bowl following the 2017 season. As much as we would all love to relive that game again, it feels safe to say this matchup should look a little different than the last. When Lincoln Riley departed the landlocked state for the gold mines out West, the Sooners made a complete 180 in hiring defensive-minded Brent Venables as their Head Coach.

Since then, Oklahoma has struggled to find consistency on offense, especially at the QB position. John Mateer, who at this point last season was seen as a Heisman candidate, has regressed significantly since last year’s wrist injury. While he apparently spent the entire offseason in the weight room adding muscle, he seemingly forgot to work on the most important muscle there is, the one between the ears.

After his Mateeoric rise, he now has his entire fanbase on edge and ready to move on to the next guy. We haven’t seen a Mateer crash and burn like this since the Chelyabinsk event in 2013.

The most worrisome thing for Oklahoma is that it seems like there are several recipes to beating him. Like most QBs, Mateer struggles mightily when sped up by a blitz, as he’s been known to force a throw or two when hurried. But he also struggles when teams rush only a few defenders. As long as there’s a spy ensuring he doesn’t get out of the pocket to create with his legs, he hasn’t yet shown the ability to consistently read a defense and find the open man.

On important plays, Mateer tends to turn to his biggest target in 6’5 Senior Tight End by the name of Rocky Beers (yes that is his real name).

Though Mateer certainly isn’t the first person to turn to Beers in times of distress, this reliance is something Kirby and Co. are keenly aware of. While fans will be ready to crush beers in the stands, KJ Bolden and the other Georgia defensive backs will be looking to crush Beers any time he gets his hands on the ball.

How Kirby Smart and the Georgia defense decide to attack the Oklahoma offense will be interesting. Georgia certainly has the athletes to send everyone at Mateer, collapse the pocket, and clean up from outside. Or, they can sit back in zone coverage and have 6+ defenders reading his eyes, ready to pounce on an errant throw.

Since Mateer struggled heavily in his one road start this year, look for the defense to try and feed off the crowd noise early, sending blitzes and forcing Mateer into trouble to rattle his already shaky confidence.

While it’s easy to see that Oklahoma’s offense has underwhelmed so far, it’s hard to fully gauge Georgia’s offense. It’s probably best to say that it has, well, whelmed.

What fans wanted to see in last week’s game against Arkansas was a high-flying offense that got the ball to players in space and schemed guys open. What we got, instead, was something we should have all expected. Georgia imposed their will on the Hogs with a punishing run game, and never really stopped running the ball.

Aside from an explosive 61-yard pass to Craig Dandridge, the Dawgs ran left, ran right, ran left some more, and ran right some more. Arkansas knew what was coming and had no way to stop it. It worked, but it’s not what we wanted. Us fans wanted to see the passing attack succeed against a conference foe so we’d be more confident moving forward, in case we run into a team equipped to stop the run game.

Maybe Oklahoma will be that team. They have the ability to field an elite defense, coached by a title-winning defensive mind. Oklahoma’s main priority on defense will be to stop the run, and may sell out in order to force Georgia into passing downs.

Looking at Oklahoma’s offensive woes, one would think that getting to 25 points would be enough for Georgia to win this game. But how they choose to get there will be an interesting storyline. If the usual plan of “run the ball down their throats and make them suffer” doesn’t work, who will Stockton look to to make a play? Veterans London Humphreys and Lawson Luckie are known commodities, but the majority of pass-catchers will be playing in their first significant game for the Dawgs this weekend.

On top of that, Georgia’s offensive line struggled in pass protection last week, an issue that could be more glaring against a more stout Oklahoma defensive front. Pass catchers are only valuable if a QB has time to get them the ball.

This game this Saturday has all the makings of a 20-10 rock fight between two defensive-minded Head Coaches who preach physicality over everything.

While this game may not have the points or the significance of the last meeting between these programs, hopefully it has the same end result.

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