Georgia · SECKirby Smart previews John Mateer before Oklahoma visits Georgia
The No. 2 Bulldogs are 3-0 and will host the 2-1 Sooners on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
SEP 22, 2026
No. 2 Georgia will host Oklahoma on Saturday, Sept. 26, after coach Kirby Smart previewed the challenge of facing quarterback John Mateer. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET.
The Bulldogs are 3-0 after wins over Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Arkansas. Oklahoma is 2-1.
A Georgia win strengthens the Bulldogs’ playoff path and their case for a No. 1 seed. An Oklahoma upset would immediately reshape the SEC race and damage that case.
Josh Pate’s preseason bracket has Georgia winning the national championship, making Oklahoma an early test of that projection. The test begins with Mateer.
01 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
Georgia’s three wins have produced a 178-40 aggregate score, while Oklahoma’s three games have produced a 75-23 aggregate. The more revealing comparison is where each résumé has been tested: Georgia’s first road date ended 45-17 at Arkansas, while Oklahoma’s trip to Michigan ended 17-10. That leaves Saturday as Georgia’s first chance to pair its dominant margins with a win over a team that went 10-3 and 6-2 in the SEC in 2025.
The calendar raises the cost of any weakness Oklahoma exposes. The Sept. 26 game begins a run through Vanderbilt on Oct. 3, Alabama on Oct. 10 and Auburn on Oct. 17, with Alabama the lone road date. Georgia went 7-1 in conference play last season; Oklahoma went 6-2.
02 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
How will Georgia defend Mateer on the opening possessions?
Smart has not specified the plan or the traits he considers most dangerous. The opening defensive series on Sept. 26 will provide the first concrete answer through Georgia’s personnel, alignment and response to Mateer’s decisions. That evidence carries beyond one game because Oklahoma is the first of four consecutive SEC opponents through Oct. 17, with Alabama the only road date in that run.
Can Oklahoma’s offense produce enough in Athens?
Oklahoma’s scoring has dropped from 51 against UTEP to 10 at Michigan and 14 against New Mexico. Georgia has allowed 40 points across three games, with no opponent reaching 21. The Sept. 26 first-half score will show whether the Sooners can break that pattern before Georgia reaches the Vanderbilt-Alabama-Auburn portion of its schedule and put the Bulldogs’ No. 1-seed case under scoreboard pressure.