It was loud.
That’s the first thing anyone who was actually inside the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018, will tell you. Before the kickoff, before the Baker Mayfield antics, and long before the double-overtime heart attack, there was just this vibrating, physical wall of sound. You had the Georgia Bulldogs fans bringing that SEC "Grown Man Football" energy to Pasadena, and you had the Oklahoma Sooners fans convinced that their Heisman-winning quarterback was untouchable.
The 2018 Rose Bowl game wasn't just a College Football Playoff semifinal. It was a culture clash that turned into a track meet, then a defensive struggle, and finally, a Shakespearean tragedy for one side. It was the first overtime game in the history of the "Granddaddy of Them All," and frankly, we haven't seen anything like it since.
People forget how much was on the line. Kirby Smart was in his second year at Georgia, trying to prove that he could turn the Bulldogs into the "new Alabama." Meanwhile, Lincoln Riley was the young genius in his first year as a head coach, inheriting a Ferrari of an offense from Bob Stoops.
The Baker Mayfield Show and the First Half Blur
In the first half, it felt like Oklahoma was playing a different sport. Baker Mayfield was everywhere. He was catching touchdown passes on trick plays—shoutout to CeeDee Lamb for the toss—and he was carving up a Georgia defense that had been top-tier all season.
By the time the second quarter was winding down, Oklahoma led 31-14.
Honestly, it looked like a blowout. Georgia’s defense looked slow. The vaunted "Junkyard Dawgs" were being shredded by Riley’s spacing and Mayfield’s pinpoint accuracy. But then, a weird thing happened. Oklahoma tried a "squib kick" right before halftime. It was a bizarre tactical choice. It gave Georgia a short field, allowed Rodrigo Blankenship to nail a 55-yard field goal, and suddenly the score was 31-17.
That kick changed everything. It gave Georgia a pulse.
Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. That’s the story. Most teams have one elite running back; Georgia had two future NFL stars who genuinely liked each other. They started gashing the Sooners. It wasn't fancy. It was just violent, downhill running. Chubb finished with 145 yards. Michel finished with 181. Think about that. Two guys on the same team combined for over 300 yards in a playoff game.
Roquan Smith and the Defensive Pivot
While the running backs were doing the heavy lifting, Roquan Smith decided to take over the middle of the field. In the third quarter, Georgia’s defense finally woke up. They started hitting Mayfield. Hard.
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The momentum shift was terrifying if you were a Sooners fan. Georgia rattled off 24 unanswered points. Suddenly, the "invincible" Oklahoma offense was punting. The crowd in Pasadena, which is usually a bit more "wine and cheese" than a typical Saturday in Athens, Georgia, was losing its collective mind.
The stats from the 2018 Rose Bowl game are almost hilarious when you look at them now:
- Total yards: Georgia 527, Oklahoma 531.
- Sony Michel: 3 touchdowns.
- Baker Mayfield: 287 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, and 1 receiving TD.
The Drama of the Fourth Quarter and Overtime
You’d think a game with that much scoring would be sloppy, but it wasn't. It was high-level execution. When Oklahoma fell behind 38-31, they didn't fold. Mayfield led a drive to tie it. Then, a scoop-and-score touchdown by Oklahoma’s Steven Parker put the Sooners back on top 45-38 with less than seven minutes to go.
Most teams would quit.
Nick Chubb didn't. He took a direct snap on a "Wildcat" play and scampered 2 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 45 with 55 seconds left.
Then came the overtimes.
College football overtime is already stressful. Doing it in the Rose Bowl with a trip to the National Championship on the line? That’s a different level of anxiety. In the first overtime, both teams settled for field goals. 48-48.
In the second overtime, the Georgia defense made the play of the century. Lorenzo Carter, a guy who had been quiet much of the night, leaped into the air and blocked Austin Seibert’s field goal attempt. The thud of the ball hitting his hand was audible on the broadcast.
Then it was Sony Michel’s turn.
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On a 2nd-and-12, Michel took the handoff, hit the hole, and didn't stop until he reached the end zone. 54-48. Game over. The image of Michel sprinting toward the corner of the end zone while the Georgia bench erupted is burned into the memory of every college football fan.
Why This Game Changed College Football Forever
The 2018 Rose Bowl game was a turning point. It proved that the Big 12’s high-flying offense could actually hang with the SEC’s brutality, even if they ultimately lost. It also cemented Kirby Smart as the real deal.
But it also showed a flaw in the "Air Raid" philosophy of that era. When you need to milk the clock or get a tough yard against a defense that has finally adjusted, you have to be able to run the ball. Oklahoma had Rodney Anderson, who was actually incredible that night (201 yards), but they went away from him at crucial moments.
There's also the Baker Mayfield factor. He was the polarizing figure the sport needed. Whether you loved his flag-planting or hated his trash talk, you watched. He brought a "pro" feel to the college game that felt bigger than the jersey he was wearing.
What We Get Wrong About the 2018 Rose Bowl Game
People often remember this as a defensive failure. They say, "Nobody played any D."
That’s just wrong.
The defense in the second half was actually elite. Georgia’s adjustments to stop the crossing routes that Mayfield loved were masterful. They moved their safeties closer to the line and dared Mayfield to beat them deep, which he struggled to do once the pressure got home. It wasn't a lack of defense; it was an abundance of NFL-level offensive talent.
Look at the rosters. You had guys like Mark Andrews, Orlando Brown, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, and CeeDee Lamb on one side. On the other, you had Roquan Smith, Deandre Baker, and a backfield of Chubb and Michel. That’s a Sunday afternoon lineup playing on a Monday in January.
Common Misconceptions
- "Oklahoma choked." No, they didn't. They scored 48 points. They just ran into a Georgia team that found a second gear.
- "It was all Baker." Oklahoma’s offensive line was the real MVP for the first 30 minutes. They were moving Georgia’s front seven like they were a high school team.
- "The Rose Bowl is just a stadium." Ask any player from that game. The grass, the sunset over the San Gabriel Mountains, and the history of the site make players do things they don't do in a dome in Atlanta.
Lessons for Today’s Football Fans
If you’re looking back at the 2018 Rose Bowl game to understand how today's CFP works, there are a few things to take away.
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First, momentum is a physical thing. You could feel it shift after that squib kick. If you’re a coach, never give a momentum-based team a reason to believe right before the half.
Second, the "Running Back Committee" works. Georgia stayed fresh because they didn't overwork one guy. By the fourth quarter, Oklahoma’s linebackers were exhausted from chasing two different styles of elite runners.
Third, special teams are not "the third phase." They are the deciding phase. A blocked kick and a long field goal were the difference between a National Championship appearance and a flight back to Norman.
To truly appreciate what happened that day, you have to go back and watch the condensed replay. Look at the faces of the players in the second overtime. They weren't just tired; they were emotionally spent. It was the peak of the four-team playoff era.
If you want to dive deeper into the tactics, search for "Kirby Smart Rose Bowl adjustments." There are some incredible coaching clinics online that break down exactly how Georgia stopped the Lincoln Riley "Counter GT" play that was killing them in the first half.
Also, check out the "Mic'd Up" segments from that game. Hearing the trash talk between Baker Mayfield and the Georgia linebackers gives you a whole new level of respect for the intensity of that matchup.
The 2018 Rose Bowl game remains the gold standard. It had the stars, the stakes, the venue, and a finish that felt like it was written by a Hollywood screenwriter. It was the day the SEC and the Big 12 traded haymakers until only one man was left standing.
And that man was Sony Michel, sprinting into history.