There are several factors that could decide Monday's national semifinal Rose Bowl showdown between No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Georgia.
Oklahoma (12-1) has the nation's top-rated offense, which has averaged an eye-popping 583.3 yards per game this season and is led by Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield at quarterback. Yet Georgia (12-1) can counter with its stingy defense that ranks fourth nationally, yielding just 270.9 yards per game, and the Bulldogs also have a top-10 rushing offense behind the senior tailback tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.
The next person who breaks down the Rose Bowl by beginning with Oklahoma's defense, however, will be the first.
"I mean, we're out here, too," Sooners sophomore linebacker Caleb Kelly said this week in a news conference. "The only time you pretty much do hear about our defense is how much we suck or how bad we're doing on the year and how we've got to improve on this and this and this and how we're holding the team back. We have a lot to prove.
"I'm just hoping we come together as a defense and continue playing well like we have the past couple games that we've been playing."
Oklahoma ended last season on a solid defensive note, defeating Auburn 35-19 in the Sugar Bowl, and the Sooners opened this season with impressive wins over UTEP, 56-7, Ohio State, 31-16, and Tulane, 56-14. Then the bottom dropped out defensively as Oklahoma escaped downtrodden Baylor 49-41 before its only loss, 38-31 at home to Iowa State.
The Sooners' wackiest game of the year took place Nov. 4 against rival Oklahoma State. Mayfield threw for 598 yards and five touchdowns for an offense that amassed 661 yards, but Cowboys counterpart Mason Rudolph threw for 448 yards and five scores of his own in Oklahoma's 62-52 win.
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State played to a 38-38 standoff through two quarters, and Sooners players believe their defense began to turn things back around in the second half, when they outscored the Cowboys 24-14.
"I think we were being too hard on ourselves," Kelly said. "We would go in the locker room, and we would be yelling at each other. Whenever we messed up, I felt like we would just be so hard on each other that we wouldn't be having fun. We wouldn't let plays come to us. We would be trying to make plays out of our positions and out of our jobs.
"We just needed to relax. Once we started doing that, everybody found out that once you do your job and your job only, then the whole team does their job."
The Sooners allowed 30 or more points for a fifth time Nov. 25, when they survived West Virginia's 251 rushing yards in a 59-31 victory. They responded with one of their top performances in the Big 12 championship game the following Saturday, when they whipped TCU 41-17.
Oklahoma ranks 58th nationally in total defense (having allowed an average of 384.8 yards per game), 41st in rushing defense (144.2) and 52nd in scoring defense (25.0), and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops knows the 1-2 punch of Chubb and Michel could be problematic.
"The pace of the game probably won't be what we're used to," Stoops said. "If they are able to control the clock and control the ball for 35 minutes and grind out 35 points, it's going to be tough, so we have to be able to come up with critical stops. Third down is going to be unique in this game.
"We want to give our offense enough opportunities to move the football."
Sooners senior defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo shared Big 12 defensive player of the year honors and believes he and his cohorts will "match up well against their offense." Oklahoma's defense certainly has been the overlooked aspect to this game, with Stoops repeatedly stressing the Bulldogs will be unlike any foe they've faced.
"We don't play anyone like this," Stoops said. "They will come at you with two tight ends and wanting to go downhill. They have done a great job up front and with the way they come off the football.
"They recognize who they are targeting, and they are hard to fool. It's going to be a challenge."
Odds and ends
Georgia held its third practice in the StubHub Center on Friday, working out for 90 minutes in shoulder pads and shorts. Mayfield, who reportedly has been battling an illness, missed Friday's media session but did participate in practice. Bulldogs redshirt sophomore safety J.R. Reed told reporters he was returning next season, while junior defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter said he was "thinking" toward returning.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.