The Georgia Bulldogs and the Oklahoma Sooners have only met one time in their storied histories with the contest taking place on January 1, 2018. in the historic Rose Bowl. Georgia walked out of Pasadena, California, with a 54-48 double-overtime Rose Bowl victory over the Sooners in an all-time college football classic.
Even though this will not be the first contest between these two blue blood programs, this will be Oklahoma's first trip ever to Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. It will also be the first head-to-head coaching matchup between Kirby Smart and Brent Venables as head coaches.
Back in 2018, Smart was in his second year as the Bulldogs head man when facing off against the Sooners for the first time in program history. Oklahoma's
head coach at the time was current USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley.
However, Smart and Venables have had a few past battles while Venables was a defensive coordinator. The Bulldogs enter the matchup as the nation's No. 2 ranked team, while the Sooners sit at No. 24 in the country after a rocky 14-6 win against New Mexico.
The Georgia-Oklahoma game is scheduled for kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, Saturday, Sept. 26. in Athens, Georgia. Here is a quick memory lane moment in the classic Rose Bowl game between Georgia and Oklahoma.
2018: Georgia 54, Oklahoma 48
The Bulldogs and the Sooners entered this game with a mirror 12-1 record and both programs coming off of big conference championship wins. Georgia defeated Auburn in the SEC Championship game in a convincing 28-7 finish and Oklahoma routed TCU in the Big 12 Championship game 41-17. This contest would decide who would play for the national title and it did not disappoint.
In the first half, everything looked to be going Oklahoma's way as they sped up to a 31-14 score before a major momentum shift caused by the Bulldogs offensive front and star backs, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. The change of momentum came off an explosive 75-yard touchdown run by Michel and a steady dose of Nick Chubb. Both backs combined for 326 yards rushing.
After a back and forth game, once Georgia found their footing, it took overtime to settle this one. Several traded scores and defensive stands, both teams just looked for an inch of momentum over one another. Georgia's Lorenzo Carter found that slight advantage and blocked an Oklahoma field goal in the second overtime. Once the Bulldogs took the field offensively, it was Michel who called it a night after taking a direct snap in for a 27-yard game winning touchdown. After all, it is a game of inches.
The Bulldogs would go on to play for the 2018 college football national championship against the Alabama Crimson Tide. This matchup would also need overtime to decide a winner. However, it would be Alabama winning the 2018 national title. Georgia concluded their season with a 13-2 record.
What Kirby Smart said about Georgia's 2018 Rose Bowl win
"That was a long time ago," Smart said ahead of the 2026 Georgia-Oklahoma game. "I really was not thinking of that game coming in here today because the staffs were almost entirely different, even ours for the most part has changed. We have a couple of guys left over from that staff. They probably don't have any, or if they do, I don't know who they are in terms of overlap.
"It was that kind of game because of what it meant and what it led to, and where it was played. There were some great players in that game. Just look back at Baker (Mayfield), who's a good friend of mine now, and Nick (Chubb) and Sony (Michel). It was a great game."
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Looking back on Georgia football's Rose Bowl win vs. Oklahoma
