Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart knows the Bulldogs' game on Saturday, Sept. 26 (noon ET, televised on ESPN) against the Oklahoma Sooners will be Georgia's biggest test of the season. Georgia is 3-0 to start the year with a recent 45-17 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. Georgia plays an Oklahoma team that is coming off a 14-6 win over New Mexico.
Oklahoma's offense has not started the season well and the Sooners are 2-1 with a 17-10 loss to Michigan. Still, Oklahoma made the College Football Playoff last season and has more than enough talent to upset No. 2 Georgia.
The Sooners have an excellent defense led by head coach Brent Venables. Oklahoma is desperate to win, so that the Sooners don't suffer their second loss of the season. Georgia
is favored by two touchdowns, but based on how Kirby Smart is talking about the Sooners, he thinks they have a great team.
What Georgia coach Kirby Smart said about Oklahoma
On coach Venables
"A lot of respect for Coach Venables and the job he's done everywhere he's been," Smart said. "I have known him for a long time and have the utmost respect for him as a coach and a man and a person. We go way back. He's probably been one of the premier defensive coaches in all of college football for a long time. So they have a really good football team, and it's a great matchup."
On Venables' defense
"Very fundamentally sound, aggressive, attacking," Smart said. "They lead the country, or tops in the country every year in tackles for a loss and sacks. I don't think people give their coaches and their kids enough credit for how they play.
"They get off blocks. They strike you. They play with unbelievable pad level, and really an intensity that's unmatched in terms of the way they play. You see it on tape. He's always been that way. He did it at Clemson, and he's just a great defensive coach."
On Oklahoma wide receiver Isaac Satenga
"He's really explosive," Smart said on Satenga, who is an All-SEC second-team pick and Oklahoma's leading receiver. "That usually comes from speed. It comes from confidence. He can accelerate from point A to point B really fast. He's a great returner. He's got great hands.
'They find schemes, find ways to get him touches. He has to touch the ball to be explosive, and they've done a good job with that. You look at the history at what he's been able to do in the return game and being able to touch the ball. He is a very good playmaker."
On quarterback John Mateer
"Obviously his athleticism pops out at you," Smart notes. "He's hard to tackle. He breaks a lot of tackles. He's tough. You talk about the run game. He runs inside. He runs outside. He runs to pass. He scrambles to throw. He's made explosives with his legs.
"I think back to last year, his growth because we didn't play them. You saw his highlights and you saw the things he's done. He's become even more that way this year in terms of understanding our conference, when to run, when not to. He's done a good job of it."
On the Sooner's physicality
"It's not a different matchup than we have every week," Smart said. 'Every week in the SEC is intense, tough, physical, line of scrimmage. That's not any disregard to Oklahoma. They've got a tremendous team. But we've got eight of those in a row, so I'm worried about us."
Smart talks Oklahoma's recent struggles
"I know the players," Smart said after he noted that he isn't going to "evaluate and criticize" the Sooners. "We recruited almost every one of them. The quarterback has tremendous athleticism. I know the backs, the receivers, know the coaches. They've got a good team, and we've gotta prepare to play against those guys."
Oklahoma has scored just 24 points over the last two games.
On what causes Venables' defensive success
"Technique and fundamentals," Smart said. "They have great scheme. They have awesome scheme. They've got an answer for everything you do. But that ain't what does it for them. They strike people. They get off blocks. They attack the ball. They play downhill. They don't play passive. They have technique and fundamentals. You can see when people go to block them, they can strike and get off the block."
On All-SEC DL David Stone
"I've got much respect for him and all of them," Smart said. "To be honest with you, there's not a guy on their defense that comes in... and they rotate guys... that doesn't play with great pad level and great effort. When you turn on the tape, they run to the ball like they're in elite shape."
Note: Stone suffered a lower body injury on Monday and his status is in doubt for the game.
This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: What Georgia coach Kirby Smart said about Oklahoma football
