UGA Football: Georgia vs Oklahoma – Defense Leads Bulldogs Past Sooners

ATHENS, Ga. — In a game often controlled by the defenses, the No. 2-ranked Georgia football team forced four turnovers, returning one for a touchdown, and rolled to a 41-13 win over Oklahoma in front of a sellout crowd of 93.033 on Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium.

Georgia linebacker Chris Cole’s 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown was part of a 21-point second quarter for the Bulldogs, who led 28-0 at halftime. Cole finished with a pair of fumble recoveries, safety KJ Bolden had an interception, and safety Rasean Dinkins also had a fumble recovery. Georgia (4-0, 2-0 SEC) had a combined 137 return yards on the four takeaways.

Linebacker Raylen Wilson, who forced one of the fumbles, led the Bulldogs with 11 tackles, including a sack. Cole added eight tackles and a sack. A week after holding Arkansas to 17 rushing yards on 20 carries, Georgia held Oklahoma to 65 yards on 35 attempts.

Bulldog quarterback Gunner Stockton completed his first nine passes, one of them a 35-yarder for a touchdown, and finished the game 14 of 25 for 171 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Wideout Talyn Taylor had a big game receiving, catching four passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.

After both teams punted on their opening drives, Georgia drove 79 yards in 11 plays — converting a fourth-and-2 inside the Sooner 20-yard line — and took a 7-0 lead on Chauncey Bowens’ 2-yard touchdown run. Earlier in the drive, Stockton hit Taylor for a 30-yard gain to the Sooner 46 on third-and-7. Later, on fourth down at the 11, Stockton rolled right and found tight end Ethan Barbour for a 3-yard gain.

On first-and-goal at the 8, Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1) was called for pass interference in the end zone, giving Georgia a first down at the 2. Bowens, who ran for three scores last week at Arkansas, ran right and dove into the end zone to give the Bulldogs the lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter. Through four games, Georgia has outscored its opponents 63-0 in the opening quarter.

Georgia stuffed the Sooners on their next possession, and the Bulldog offense took over at their 46 after a 13-yard punt return by Sacovie White-Helton. A few plays later, Stockton fired a dart down the left hash mark to Taylor for a 35-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 14:20 left in the half. It was Stockton’s ninth completion in as many attempts, for 98 yards, to start the game.

The Sooner offense put some long pass plays together and drove inside the Georgia 20 on the ensuing possession. On third-and-goal at the 2, Sooner quarterback John Mateer rolled to his left and tried to throw or pump fake a throw — either way, the ball slipped out of his hand and Cole picked it up and returned the fumble 85 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead. It was the second career touchdown for Cole, who recovered a fumble and ran 28 yards for a score against UMass in 2024.

Georgia’s defense made another big play on Oklahoma’s next drive, with Bolden intercepting a Mateer pass and returning it 28 yards to the Georgia 47. It was the junior’s fourth career interception. The Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage of the turnover, going three-and-out. No worries, though, because the defense took the ball away yet again.

Facing a fourth-and-1 at their 43, the Sooners went for the first down. Mateer was quickly under pressure and scrambling to his right. Wilson, who pressured Mateer on his interception, this time stripped the quarterback and Cole again scooped up the loose ball. He returned it 23 yards to the Sooner 11. Two plays later, Bowens ran the ball in from the 6 for a 28-0 lead with 57 seconds to play in the half.

Oklahoma got the ball to start the second half and gained a yard on three plays before punting. The Sooners then made their first big defensive play, intercepting a Stockton pass at the UGA 35 on the ensuing possession. The Sooners got on the scoreboard with 10:26 left in the quarter on Mateer’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Rocky Beers. The Sooners opted for a 2-point attempt, and the Bulldogs’ Wilson and Elijah Griffin stuffed the rush, keeping the Georgia lead 28-6.

Georgia’s defense got its fourth turnover of the game midway through the third quarter, when Beers fumbled after an 8-yard catch and Rasean Dinkins recovered the ball at the Sooner 28. The Bulldogs ultimately had to settle for a 45-yard Peyton Woodring field goal, pushing the lead to 31-6 with 7:58 to go in the period.

The turnovers continued on Georgia’s next drive, when Bowens was stripped on a third-down rush and the Sooners recovered at the Georgia 37. The Bulldog defense got three big stops, including a sack by Josh Horton on second down, and then the Sooners missed a 54-yard field-goal attempt.

Georgia and Oklahoma, two of the nine college football programs with more than 900 all-time wins, were meeting for just the second time ever. Their first meeting, in the 2018 Rose Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup, was one of the greatest games ever played. The back-and-forth battle ended in the second overtime period, when Bulldog running back Sony Michel took a direct snap and ran the ball in for a 27-yard touchdown and a 54-48 win.

This game was nothing like that one, but the Bulldogs again came away with a win. The offenses dominated that Rose Bowl, with some key defensive stops thrown in, while Saturday’s game had the defenses, especially Georgia’s, making most of the big plays. Entering the fourth quarter, Georgia had just 173 yards of offense — a number made lower by the returns after turnovers — while Oklahoma had 210. At that point, Georgia was 2 of 9 on third down and the Sooners were 1 of 9.

In the fourth quarter, Georgia’s offense showed some explosiveness. After Bowens turned a screen pass into a 24-yard gain to the Bulldog 46, Dwight Phillips Jr. took a handoff to the right side and outran everyone for a 54-yard touchdown, the longest of his career. That pushed the lead to 38-6 with 12:33 remaining. Woodring’s extra point was his 201st in a row, setting a new Georgia and SEC record (and breaking Bulldog legend Rodrigo Blankenship’s old mark).

Later in the period, Stockton hit Taylor for a 41-yard completion to the Sooner 26. Woodring’s 49-yard field goal made it 41-6 with 8:13 remaining. Oklahoma scored on a 14-yard pass with 3:23 remaining to make it 41-13.

The Bulldogs are back between the hedges next week to take on Vanderbilt on Homecoming. Georgia is 61-20-2 all-time against the Commodores, including six straight wins.