Rose Bowl 2018: Latest Odds, Prediction for Oklahoma vs. Georgia Playoff

The Rose Bowl might be the last thing on the minds of the Oklahoma players, especially quarterback Baker Mayfield's, with the Heisman Trophy presentation coming up Saturday night.

But once Mayfield leaves New York, the Sooners' full focus will be shifted to the national semifinal against the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs on New Year's Day.

The first matchup between the historic programs is laced with intriguing head-to-heads and should be one of the closest games of bowl season.

Oklahoma (-1.5) vs. Georgia (January 1, 2018, 5 p.m. ET) 

Unless something unexpected occurs in the Heisman voting, Mayfield will take the field in Pasadena, California, as the newest member of the Heisman fraternity.

The senior quarterback has earned every award he's taken home this season, and he will have a chance to cap the season off with a national championship if everything goes to plan.

Opposing Mayfield will be Butkus Award winner Roquan Smith, who has as many accolades as the Oklahoma quarterback, if not more.

In addition to capturing the Butkus Award, Smith was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and an All-American, as well as being a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Award.

David Goldman/Associated Press

"Unbelievable player; a guy who's always around the ball," Mayfield said of Smith, per Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald. "His stats show that, but then you watch the film and you really see how much of an impact he makes on the field. Teams have tried to game plan to make sure he's not a factor, but he always makes sure he is the factor."

Smith's best performances of the season came against Georgia's toughest competition. For example, he recorded 25 combined tackles in the Bulldogs' two games against Auburn. Since the start of November, Smith has had no fewer than nine tackles in every contest.

However, Mayfield rarely makes mistakes, as he threw just five interceptions on 369 attempted passes during the regular season.

With all the focus on Mayfield, running backs Rodney Anderson and Trey Sermon will be counted on to make big plays throughout the contest. The two tailbacks combined for 1,670 yards and 16 touchdowns during the Sooners' run to the Big 12 Championship.

Brett Deering/Getty Images

Anderson and Sermon may not be Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, but they will pack a punch at some point in the contest, which could occupy Smith more than he would like.

The matchup to watch on the other side of the ball pits the Georgia running back duo against the Oklahoma front seven. The Sooners defense ranks 40th in the nation in rushing yards conceded per game. It's not a stellar output, but it's also not one that indicates the unit is susceptible to giving up a massive amount of yards on the ground.

Oklahoma's defensive game plan should focus around Chubb and Michel, and it should force freshman quarterback Jake Fromm to step up in the pocket and convert on the big throws.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Fromm completed 63 percent of his passes, but he's thrown for more than 200 yards on just one occasion in his past six games.

What's worth watching is Fromm's numbers dip off in the second half—and the fourth quarter especially. He's only thrown for 310 fourth-quarter yards this season, and he has a 700-yard difference between his first- and second-half totals.

Those stats can be taken with a grain of salt because the Bulldogs haven't been involved in a ton of pressure-packed fourth quarters, but it is worth watching if the game is close over the final 15 minutes.

Prediction: Oklahoma 17, Georgia 14.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Odds obtained from OddsShark.com.