Arkansas (8) vs Georgia (2) will meet in between the hedges in Sanford Stadium this Saturday in a huge top ten matchup. Arkansas comes into this game hot off of a win, against then #7 ranked Texas A&M! Georgia is riding a 62-0 shutout over the Commodores of Vanderbilt. I expect this to be a low scoring game for both teams, with the Bulldogs holding on at home.
ARKANSAS OUTLOOK:
Offensively Arkansas looked phenomenal with KJ Jefferson last week! Kendal Briles did an excellent job of knowing when we needed a big play, and the offense executed very well. I believe Georgia will likely stop the run early to get us in 3rd and long situations, KJ will have to be nearly perfect to leave Athens with a victory.
The Hogs run game is the bread and butter of their offense which sets them up for the big passing plays. Arkansas is averaging 261 yards per game on the ground, but I’m thinking they will be limited to around 125 in this matchup. Briles will have to mix up the offense enough to have the Bulldogs on their heels all game. In addition, this is not a game where we can afford to turn the ball over. Arkansas didn’t have a turnover last week, however there were some botched handoffs and errant snaps that could’ve flipped the game on its head.
The biggest question going into this game for me is, how good is UGA’s offense? In the first UGA matchup of the year they took down Clemson 10-3 and the only touchdown was a pick six. Was that early woes, or did the Bulldogs play a decent defense? Since that game Georgia has outscored opponents 158-20, however those games were against UAB, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. The Hogs need to come into this game and mimic the game played against TAMU. I don’t expect Georgia to run all over us, however we haven’t played this complete of an offense all year. This is the biggest game the entire roster has ever played in for the Hogs. I don’t see the defense being at fault for a loss in this one, and I expect a dogfight much like last week.
THE NITTY-GRITTY:
Once again, I cannot emphasize enough that turnovers will either propel Arkansas to a huge upset, or doom them. Arkansas will have to play lights out on special teams, and the offense will have to constantly move the ball to pull off this monumental upset. The line on this game has Arkansas as 18.5 point underdogs, I do see Arkansas covering, but running out of gas and time on the brutal UGA defense.
PREDICTION: Arkansas: 20 Georgia: 24
Written by Devon Sexton (@pigsooienation)