Much of the quarterback talk heading into the Rose Bowl surrounds the narrative of Heisman winner (Baker Mayfield) vs. true freshman (Jake Fromm). But, at least in terms of the matchup between the No. 2 Sooners and No. 3 Bulldogs, people would be best served looking at Fromm’s deep-ball aptitude instead.

That’s the aspect of Fromm’s game that will dictate Georgia’s offensive success against Oklahoma.

If there’s an element in which the Sooners are truly vulnerable, it’s in the secondary. The team’s defense is far from dominant, but Oklahoma features a respectable run defense (41st nationally) and a scoring defense that ranks in the top half of the Big 12. The secondary, though, is a huge problem.

Featuring a rotating door of defensive backs – the Sooners have started three true freshmen this season – Oklahoma’s been bombarded through the air. The Sooners are 86th nationally allowing 240.6 yards per game, but that doesn’t explain just how they’ve been attacked. To do that one need only look at chunk plays surrendered.

Oklahoma ranks 127th among 130 FBS teams in passes allowed of 30-plus yards, 125th in terms of passes of 40-plus yards and 121st in throws of 50-plus yards.

That’s a crippling statistic for a bend-but-don’t break unit like Oklahoma’s.

Unfortunately for the Sooners, there isn’t a better quarterback in the country at attacking that weakness than Fromm.

Per PFF College data, Fromm is the best deep ball thrower – defined as passes that travel 20-plus yards downfield – in the country. His passer rating on those attempts (135.4) is higher than even Mayfield’s (134.8), who is widely considered the most deadly bomb tosser in the FBS. Fromm’s completion rate on those attempts (59.1) is fourth nationally with Mayfield ranking first.

Fromm doesn’t have the same volume of these attempts as other quarterbacks – he’s thrown 44 compared to 67 for Mayfield – but it’s no less a staple of his game than Mayfield’s.

Georgia’s strength is its punishing run game, which usually means defenses funneling additional defenders into the box. When that happens, the Bulldogs often dial up play-action and go long as a change-of-pace to their punishing pace. Nearly 21 percent of Fromm’s attempts this season are of the 20-plus yard variety. That’s a higher rate than Mayfield (19.3) and many other top passers. On such attempts, Fromm has 10 touchdowns and hasn’t thrown an interception.

That could be a real issue for the Sooners, who have been plagued by an inability to prevent the big play all season.

If you need evidence of that just take a look at their closest matchups this year.

In a 38-31 loss to Iowa State on Oct. 7, the Cyclones put together seven scoring drives. All of them included at least one pass of 20-plus yards, and that came with Kyle Kempt making his first career start. In a 62-52 win over Oklahoma State on Nov. 4, the Cowboy offense manufactured eight scoring drives. Six of those included passes of 30-plus yards, including a pair of throws that went for 50-plus yards.

Iowa State had 449 yards of total offense against the Sooners and Oklahoma State put up 661 yards. But take away those chunk plays and the offensive total yardage for the Cyclones (162) and Cowboys (420) drop dramatically. It isn’t realistic to stop allowing those plays all together, but that shows the scope of the damage these big passes have caused Oklahoma.

Fromm will have his chances downfield Monday.

Georgia runs the ball on everyone and that’s not likely to stop. The Sooners will load the box, and Fromm’s eyes will shift downfield to his streaking receivers. How he handles those attempts, and how the Sooners adjust in defending them, could determine the outcome of this game.

One thing's for sure, there isn’t a worse matchup at quarterback for Oklahoma statistically.

He may be a freshman, but Fromm’s torched people all year by going long.