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Three reasons why Georgia Football will win; three reasons why Georgia Football will lose vs. Arkansas Razorbacks

Georgia Football is heading into the SEC opener in what most experts think will be a lopsided game in favor of Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs.
Georgia Football QB Gunner Stockton.
Georgia Football QB Gunner Stockton. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Georgia Football is heading into the SEC opener in what most experts think will be a lopsided game in favor of Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs. Arkansas has not looked good in its first two games, but Georgia has been smothering opponents.

Still, No. 2 Georgia (2-0) has to travel to face the Arkansas Razorbacks (1-1) in Fayetteville at Razorback Stadium. The game is being broadcast to a national audience on ABC with a Noon kickoff.

Each week, we’ll give you three reasons why Georgia Football will win and three reasons why the Georgia Football will lose. We will give you reasons even if the odds seem insurmountable either way.

Why Georgia Football Will Win

GUNNER STOCKTON IS SOMETHING ELSE

One way to start a season is by being very efficient. Stockton has taken that to the next level with his play so far in 2026. Stockton has more touchdowns (8) than incompletions (4) this season. With SEC play beginning this week the senior quarterback won’t have those sorts of numbers moving forward.

Still, Stockton is one of the major reasons Georgia has won since the SEC Championship Game in 2024.

Georgia Football QB Gunner Stockton rolls out and runs against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
Georgia Football QB Gunner Stockton rolls out and runs against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

GEORGIA FOOTBALL’S ELITE DEFENSE

Georgia’s defenders have been on a tear of late. The Dawgs’ No. 1 unit has allowed one or fewer touchdowns in all but one of its last seven games. Only Ole Miss, with star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, has scored multiple touchdowns against Georgia’s first-string defense. In fact, only the Rebels and Western Kentucky have scored multiple touchdowns against Georgia in full games since the Dawgs knocked out No. 10 Texas 35-10 in Athens last November.

KIRBY SMART’S RECORD AGAINST UNRANKED FOES

Smart has been at this for a while now, and 11 years into it one thing has been clear about his teams - they very rarely lose when they aren’t supposed to. Georgia is a whopping 75-3 against unranked teams. The last time Georgia lost to an unranked foe it was last decade.

Smart’s teams at Georgia have also been exceptionally good early in the season. All-time Georgia is 36-3 in September under Smart.

Georgia Football coach Kirby Smart against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
Georgia Football coach Kirby Smart against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Why Arkansas Will Win

THE WILD WILD WEST

Kirby Smart hasn’t had many things go against him while coaching at Georgia, but the old SEC West has been a thorn in his side. Road trips to LSU, Ole Miss (2), Alabama (2) and Auburn have produced losses at a higher volume per trip than going to Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky or even matchups with rivals Florida and Georgia Tech.

HOG WILD

Sometimes so much angst builds up in a program that it can bring teams together. Perhaps Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield can figure out a way for the Hogs to rally around one another and take on an us-against-the-world mindset going into this one.

No one thinks Arkansas will with this game, so that’s a legitimate talking point he can spew to his team and it be true.

Georgia Football RB Zamir White against No. 8 Arkansas in 2021.
Georgia Football RB Zamir White against No. 8 Arkansas in 2021. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

TURNOVERS?

Arkansas won’t be able to line up and beat these Bulldogs - they will need a little help. The Hogs got plenty of that as a four-touchdown in 2020 as the Dawgs turned the ball over several times, but Arkansas returned the favor, and Georgia left Fayetteville with a 27-point win having not played well.

If the Hogs want any chance to win this game they will have to force or get turnovers and capitalize on them. They will also have to not just win, but dominate special teams play. It is a big ask.

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Dean Legge
DEAN LEGGE

After two-plus decades of covering the Georgia Bulldogs and the SEC, Dean Legge is one of the definitive voices in Athens and beyond. Legge has authored two books - DAWGSTRUCTION and DOUBLE DAWGS - with each chronicling Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs' run to national titles in 2021 and 2022. Legge has been a Heisman Trophy voter since 2005 and a Biletnikoff Award voter since 2009. He’s covered SEC Championships, Peach Bowls, Orange Bowls, Sugar Bowls, the Rose Bowl Game, College Football Playoff National Championship Games, the NCAA Tournament, the College World Series as well as a slew of college football, basketball and baseball games. Legge graduated from Coker College in 1999 with a degree in Political Science. He played both tennis and basketball for the Cobras. After graduating, Legge completed his academic career at the University of Georgia where he earned a Master of Public Administration from the School of Public and International Affairs in 2001. In 2008, Legge was elected President of the Coker College Alumni Association. He served on the Board of Trustees at Coker from 2009 to 2017 and was a member of the Executive Committee, Student Services and Enrollment Committee and Athletic Committee in that time. Legge is a native of Tucker, Georgia.

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