By Donny Karr (@donnykarr, @1788sports)

The old football adage, “defense wins championships” can hardly apply to the Oklahoma Sooners football team. It would be just as accurate to state that “Baker Mayfield wins championships.”

The Sooners dominated TCU last week to earn their third consecutive Big 12 title. Despite their success, Oklahoma has struggled on the defensive side of the ball in 2017. Many of the Sooners’ wins have come in high-scoring shootouts with lackluster teams such as Baylor, Kansas State, and Texas. The only blemish on Oklahoma’s record is an at-home loss to unranked Iowa State.

Oklahoma has shown the ability to win when it counts. The Sooners stunned Ohio State on the road, and beat a solid TCU squad twice to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff.

The Sooners are gearing up for their second playoff appearance. With many fans focused on how Mayfield and the Dawgs’ defense stack up against each other, we want to take a closer look at the Sooner defense.

By the Numbers

Oklahoma is ranked 57th nationally in overall defense. The team has given up astronomical numbers against lesser teams this year. It allowed 661 yards against Oklahoma State, and 523 yards against lowly Baylor.

The Sooners sit at 40th in the nation in rushing defense, giving up an average of 144 yards per game. These numbers have many analysts wondering if the Oklahoma defense will have the stopping power to effectively slow Georgia’s power rushing attack.

After carefully examining Oklahoma’s previous showings from this year, we at 1788 Sports have a few observations to point out and how they could affect the outcome of this highly anticipated game.

The Good News for Georgia

After watching many of Oklahoma’s games, there is one glaring disadvantage we noticed that seems to be a consistent problem for the Sooners this year—poor tackling.

Oklahoma’s defense tends to whiff on open-field tackles, and rack up their fair share of missed arm-tackles against ball carriers. The Sooners have shown poor tackling ability from the front to the secondary.

This is welcome news for Georgia fans as their stable of running backs has shown the ability to make defenders miss, as well as run through would-be tacklers.

Another trait that bodes well for Georgia is the Sooners apparent struggle against power rushing attacks. This characteristic is hard to measure, because Oklahoma has yet to face a team with the same smash mouth approach to running the football.

While other teams have found success on the ground against the Sooners, they haven’t faced an opponent like Georgia who thrive on the run game. This could be great news for the Dawgs, but the Sooners do have a defense loaded with talented athletes capable of performing at a high level.

The Bad News for Georgia

Don’t get too excited about this apparent mismatch, Dawg fans. There are some aspects to the Sooner defense that could be an unpleasant surprise for Georgia.

For one, Oklahoma’s defensive front seven are very, very quick. Those big guys in crimson and cream are much faster than they might appear, and have shown the ability to close gaps and offer ample pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Georgia’s offensive line has struggled some this season against quick defensive fronts. If the Sooners are able to close running gaps the same way Auburn did against the Bulldogs on November 11, Georgia’s first-ever playoff appearance could end in an embarrassing route.

Second, Oklahoma may not have impressive defensive numbers, but they do have the ability to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and force bad throws.

The Sooner defense sits at 88th nationally in pass yards allowed per game. Georgia’s freshman quarterback Jake Fromm has been criticized for his lack of effectiveness through the air, but that is largely due to the Dawgs’ overwhelming rushing attack.

Oklahoma Defensive Coordinator Mike Stoops has drawn up some very effective blitzing schemes this year. The Sooners will need their front seven to rattle Fromm if they want to have a chance at stopping the Bulldogs’ offensive drives.

Overall, it’s hard to tell just how Oklahoma’s defense will hold up when they face the Dawgs. We already know Mayfield will light up the scoreboard, but if the Sooners can’t keep Georgia’s offense off the field, the Dawgs could run away with a win in Pasadena.