Georgia is two wins from its first national championship since 1980.

Standing in the Dawgs way is Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, who leads the most explosive offense in America.

Who wins? That’s something we’ve been debating since the selection committee revealed the Playoff pairings.

Connor O’Gara, senior national columnist: Georgia. I’ve been saying all along that I’m not sure if Oklahoma can actually win the battle in the trenches against Georgia. I’m not convinced that the Sooners have seen anywhere near the rushing attack that the Dawgs will roll out. Georgia has the ability to dictate the tempo against Oklahoma, which few have been able to do. And while Baker Mayfield is extremely talented and capable of going off, I’m not sure he’s seen a defense quite as loaded as Georgia’s in his college career.

Having said that, Mayfield and that Oklahoma running game isn’t going to play dead in this one. I do think the Sooners will hit 30 points and give Georgia’s defense a test unlike any it’s seen all year. This feels like a game that Georgia leads throughout, but Oklahoma stays within striking distance the whole way. Give me the Dawgs in a one-score game that lives up to the billing. Georgia 35, Oklahoma 31.

Jon Cooper, director of operations: Oklahoma 38, Georgia 35. Georgia’s defense hasn’t seen anything like what Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma will give them. Likewise, Oklahoma’s offense hasn’t seen anything like UGA’s fast and physical defense. Perhaps Georgia is the better team, but the Sooners have the best player in the game in Mayfield. In these big games, it comes down to big players making difference-making plays, and Mayfield will do just that. The Bulldogs could easily hammer OU in this game, obviously, but right now, I’m going with my gut and Oklahoma.

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Jim Tomlin, bowl expert: Oklahoma 38, Georgia 31. Oklahoma has more weapons on offense than any team Georgia has had to deal with all season. All the talk is about Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield, but the Sooners can also move the ball on the ground with the 1-2 running back punch of Rodney Anderson (960 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing this season) and Trey Sermon (710 yards, 5 TDs).

Aside from Mayfield, Oklahoma had two more consensus All-Americans on offense — tight end Mark Andrews and offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. Combine that with two 900-yard receivers, and even a strong defense like Georgia’s simply can’t account for everybody.

The Bulldogs will also be without linebacker Natrez Patrick so the defense’s depth will be tested. Georgia will keep it close behind its own running back combo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, but the QB matchup — Mayfield against true freshman Jake Fromm — favors the Sooners by a fair margin.

Michael Bratton, news editor: I like Georgia big in this one. UGA wins it 38-20. The layoff between bowl gams typically hurts offenses significantly more than defenses and the Sooners will need to be firing on all cylinders to keep this one close. The fact that Baker Mayfield’s preparation may be slowed due to an illness isn’t coming to help matters. Look for Georgia to dominate both lines of scrimmage and advance to the title game. If the Dawgs get the ground game going early, this one could be a blowout.

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Adam Spencer, Georgia beat reporter: Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield has thrown at least two touchdown passes in 26 straight games, which is an incredible stat. The Heisman Trophy winner will be tough for the Bulldogs to stop, and it would be foolish to think the Sooners won’t be able to find any success offensively.

However, the matchup to watch is how Georgia’s offense fares against the Oklahoma defense. The Bulldogs have scored 35 or more points seven times this season, so they’re no slouches on that side of the ball, either. Meanwhile, the Sooners have given up at least 35 points four times.

A lot will depend on who gets out to the hotter start, because the team that gets the lead early will be able to dictate the pace of the game. I think that’s Georgia.

I believe people will be surprised by how well the Georgia offense plays on Monday. Oklahoma will score, but not enough. Georgia 38, Oklahoma 34.

Chris Wright, executive editor: Offense wins in the Playoff. Champions have averaged 38 points in their Playoff games. I think Oklahoma is the best team in the country with the most unstoppable offense in the country, but that’s with a healthy Baker Mayfield. He was anything but that last week. He’s the most important player in the game, maybe the Playoff.

His iffy status — not to play, he’ll do that, but to dominate — is like Kerryon Johnson all over again. Johnson was less than 100 percent and it dramatically impacted everything Auburn wanted to do — and was able to do — against Georgia in the SEC title game.

Oklahoma has so many weapons — nobody is talking nearly enough about matchup nightmare Mark Andrews, by the way — but Mayfield is the engine and the engineer.

We know what we’re going to get from Georgia. A steady dose of three dynamic running backs and the occasional play-action pass to an open receiver. I don’t know if that’s enough to win the national championship, but it’s enough to beat an Oklahoma team at less than 100 percent. Georgia 34, Oklahoma 27.

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