5 bowl records Georgia would love to break against Oklahoma
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Georgia Bulldogs have appeared in an impressive 52 bowl games, starting with the Orange Bowl in January 1942 and ending with the 2016 Liberty Bowl.
This year, they’ve qualified for the College Football Playoff and will take on No. 2 Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl semifinal on New Year’s Day.
Second-year head coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs will have their work cut out for them to stop Heisman Trophy-winning QB Baker Mayfield and the Sooners, but they’ve proven they can win big games this year.
However, some truly special performances will need to take place if they’re going to advance to the national championship game on Jan. 8. Therefore, a few Georgia bowl-game records might need to fall on Monday afternoon.
Here are five school bowl records that could fall in Pasadena:
Points scored: 45
The Bulldogs scored 45 points in their January 2013 Capital One Bowl game victory over Nebraska, another Big 12 foe.
The Huskers scored 31 points in that game, but with Mayfield running the show, Oklahoma has the potential to produce even more. Therefore, the Dawgs are going to need to have a great offensive effort.
Georgia’s season-high is 53, which came against Mizzou, but the Bulldogs have proven they can score in bunches often. In fact, they’ve scored 40 or more six times this season.
Smart hopes Mel Tucker’s defense won’t give up 40-plus points to the Sooners, but we know a shutout is probably out of the question, so OC Jim Chaney’s offense is going to have to score some points on New Year’s Day.
Most total yards: 589
The Bulldogs aren’t exactly facing an elite defense in Oklahoma, so they should be able to string together some big plays throughout the game.
During that same January 2013 Capital One Bowl game against Nebraska mentioned above, the Bulldogs went crazy offensively, putting up 589 yards. It will be hard for Georgia’s offense to match that in the Rose Bowl, but if they’re going to keep things competitive, they’ll need to move the ball when they have it.
Oklahoma’s offense is capable of scoring quickly, so the Bulldogs should have plenty of time offensively to put up some big yardage numbers.
Their season-high yardage total came against Mizzou, when they amassed an impressive 696 total yards, so they certainly have the firepower necessary to break that bowl yardage record.
Most individual rushing touchdowns: 3
On Jan. 1, 1998, Robert Edwards ran for three scores in the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin, setting the Georgia bowl record.
Nick Chubb already has his fair share of Bulldog bowl records (most yards, best average yards per carry and longest rush), but sending him out with one more big bowl performance would be a fitting end to his incredible career.
The Bulldogs figure to be in the red zone early and often against Oklahoma, so it’ll be interesting to see how much work Chubb and fellow senior Sony Michel get around the end zone.
Most team sacks: 8
This one is wishful thinking, but Mayfield has been sacked 21 times this year. That’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but he doesn’t always have the cleanest jersey after the game.
With guys like Roquan Smith, D’Andre Walker, Davin Bellamy, Lorenzo Carter and Trenton Thompson (who tied a Georgia record with three sacks in last year’s bowl game) getting after Mayfield, the Dawgs hope he’s in for a long afternoon.
Putting the Heisman winner on the ground will be an important part of Tucker’s game plan. He’d settle for half of this record.
Most tackles: 15
This likely will be star LB Roquan Smith’s last game in a Georgia uniform, so fans and teammates will want to see him go out in style.
Smith put together an impressive SEC Championship Game against Auburn, recording a season-high 13 total tackles.
However, Oklahoma will likely run more plays in the Rose Bowl than Auburn did in the conference title game, so Smith will have more opportunities. A huge game from him will go a long way toward helping the Bulldogs slow down Mayfield and the Sooners.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
