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Baker Mayfield living up to the hype, Georgia’s defense yet to show up
By Cody McClure
Published:
Everyone knew Baker Mayfield was good, but they probably didn’t anticipate Georgia being down 31-17 at halftime.
Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 4,340 yards and 41 touchdowns this season, so it’s not that people were surprised he was having some success against Georgia in the Rose Bowl.
But did anyone expect Georgia’s defense to just not show up?
Mayfield and the Oklahoma offense ran like a well-oiled machine for most of the first half in Monday’s College Football Playoff Rose Bowl semifinal against the Bulldogs.
The Sooners put up 360 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes — with 202 passing yards and 158 rushing yards.
While Mayfield only accounted for 200 passing yards and one of the Sooners’ passing touchdowns, he directed things with smooth efficiency. Oh, and he had a receiving touchdown to end the half.
Georgia came into the game ranked No. 4 in the nation in terms of total defense. The ‘Dawgs were allowing just 270.9 yards per game. UGA also ranked third in the country, allowing just 13.2 points per game.
The fact that Oklahoma put up 31 points and 360 yards in just one half is a bit alarming.
We’ll see what kind of halftime adjustments Kirby Smart has for Oklahoma and its lethal Heisman winner.
It’s going to be tough for the ‘Dawgs to come back, Oklahoma will go into halftime of the Rose Bowl with a 89.2% chance of winning per ESPN Stats & Info.
Cody McClure is an SEC Football Writer for Saturday Down South. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also co-hosts a midday sports radio show for FOX Sports. Cody previously worked for Athlon Sports.
