Two young coaches square off for a shot at the national title as Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma meets Kirby Smart’s Georgia in the Rose Bowl.
Despite their long histories as two of the blueblood programs of college football, Georgia and Oklahoma have never previously met on the gridiron. Their inaugural showdown will take place in the sport’s oldest bowl game. Meeting up at the Rose Bowl, the Sooners and Bulldogs will clash with a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line.
The game features plenty of intrigue in its own right. Two young head coaches have their teams on the cusp of a national championship. Lincoln Riley has piloted Oklahoma to the Big 12 title in his first season as a head coach. Kirby Smart needed two years to get Georgia to the pinnacle of the SEC and into the College Football Playoff.
The two teams do battle in the early semifinal on New Year’s Day. Georgia brings one of the strongest defenses in the country to Pasadena. Oklahoma brings one of the most potent offenses in the country to the Rose Bowl. Something will have to give in as the sun starts going down in California.
What might go down in this clash of Power Five conference champions with a combined 24-2 record between them? Keep reading for five bold predictions about what might transpire in this year’s Fiesta Bowl between the Sooners and the Bulldogs.