Five things to know about Oklahoma, UGA’s playoff opponent

ajc.com

Georgia and Oklahoma will make for one of the most unique College Football Playoff games yet.

Oklahoma quarterback and potential Heisman winner Baker Mayfield will face arguably the nation’s best defense in Georgia.

Here are five things to know about the Sooners, who the Bulldogs will face in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

1. Heisman: Mayfield is the heavy favorite to win the Heisman trophy. He's thrown for 4,340 yards with 46 total touchdowns. Mayfield has played in the playoff before, losing to Clemson 37-17 in 2015.

2. Their flaw: The Sooners were giving up 5.69 yards per play (73rd in nation) before trouncing TCU 41-17 on Saturday. They allowed over 30 points per game in conference play, which includes the outlier of holding Kansas to three points.

3. Run defense: Oklahoma surrenders 144 rushing yards per game. Opponents have scored 19 times on the ground against them. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel should have a big workload for the Bulldogs.

4.  The offensive line: The talk mostly centers on weapons, but Oklahoma is winning games behind a dominant offensive line. Tackles Orlando Brown and Bobby Evans will hear their names called in the first round of the NFL draft at some point. The Sooners give Mayfield plenty of time to move around and find his targets.

5. Coaching: The Sooners finished 12-1 under first-year coach Lincoln Riley, who took the reins after Bob Stoops' abrupt resignation. Riley, a former Texas Tech quarterback, hasn't been a head coach prior to this season.