Hogs Physically Whipped: Georgia Starts Fast, Steamrolls Arkansas, 37-0
It was supposed to be a game between two top teams with playoff implications.
No. 2 Georgia's 27-0 win over No. 8 Arkansas ended up being slightly more than a scrimmage with fans and a band.
The Bulldogs were that dominant from start to finish in a 34-0 win that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicates.
Maybe the biggest thing this week in Athens is dealing with any quarterback controversy. JT Daniels was a late scratch and Stetson Bennett stepped in without a missed step.
It helped Georgia's defense raise questions with Razorback fans about an offense that had everybody drooling before running into a ditch early and staying there.
If anybody had questions about a championship-level defense, well, they saw it Saturday afternoon.
The loss dropped the Hogs' record against Top 10 teams to 9-27-1 all time. It's worse on the road where they are 1-8-1. The only win was 1964 at Texas and the tie was against SMU in 1982.
Against the Bulldogs, though, it was never in doubt. Georgia was ready for the first half while Arkansas was still asleep.
How bad was it? In the third quarter, the Hogs' defense was flagged for three separate penalties on one play.
The result of that mess was a 21-0 lead for the Bulldogs before the Razorbacks had more than 1 single yard of total offense.
But now there may be a quarterback controversy in Athens if this continues into the second half.
The pregame announcement that JT Daniels wasn't starting at quarterback moved Stetson Bennett into the starting role and he immediately directed a 9-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 4:14 with Zamir White walking into the end zone up the middle from 3 yards out.
Georgia was just getting started.
After holding the Hogs to a quick three-and-out, Georgia showed the Razorbacks what a ground-and-pound offense looks like.
Arkansas looked like they did in the first half against Rice, committing two straight penalties, backing the offense up and going nowhere.
Then the Bulldogs go 56 yards in 10 plays with Kendall Milton getting the final yard behind a gigantic mass of humanity that was playing offensive line on the goal line.
Just when Hog fans didn't think it could get any worse, there's another blocked punt on Reid Bauer and this time it cost them a touchdown.
Dan Jackson blocked the punt coming through and White fell on it in the end zone for a 21-0 lead.
The Hogs finally got some offense, trickling down the field with a couple of key runs by KJ Jefferson, but stalled and freshman Cam Little missed his first field goal of the year, from 37 yards out.
The Bulldogs then drove 51 yards in 9 plays and had to settle for a 46-yard field goal by Jack Podlesny and it was 24-0.
Arkansas struggled for just 74 yards of total offense in the first quarter and a half. Penalties that are going to drive the coaching staff crazy helped kill any momentum.
The Bulldogs stopped a Hogs' drive, then controlled the clock to run out the first half.
Arkansas finished the half with just 78 yards of total offense and four first downs.
The Hogs got the ball first in the second half and did nothing with it, losing 10 yards in three plays and Reid Bauer shanked a punt out of bounds at the Arkansas 46.
The Bulldogs got a 30-yard field goal from Podlesny and it appeared they backed off the throttle.
The Hogs' defense lost interest and Georgia drove 93 yards in 11 plays, eating up 5:50 on the clock. White got the final 15 up the middle on a run where no one particularly cared to do any tackling and it was 34-0.
The Bulldogs added a 37-yard field goal from Podlesny with 3:46 to play for the final margin.
Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the AllHogs message board community today!
