FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas reached into its bag of tricks twice Saturday and failed both times.
Not only were the Razorbacks unsuccessful with their trick plays, but they went about as poorly as possible in their 37-10 loss to No. 4 Georgia.
Despite the outcome, head coach Sam Pittman said those types of things will remain in their arsenal moving forward.
“We’re going to call trick plays,” Pittman said. “We practiced them. We thought they were going to work, but they didn’t work.”
In an attempt to jump start a unit that had stalled in three straight series since scoring a touchdown midway through the first quarter, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles dialed up the first of those trick plays.
After converting a third down to give itself some breathing room deep in its own territory, Arkansas had a first-and-10 at the 14-yard line when it attempted a double reverse.
When the ball was pitched to T.J. Hammonds, though, he bobbled it and it hit the ground. It was actually loose for a little bit until it finally went out of the back of the end zone for a safety that pulled Georgia within 7-2.
The second came late in the third quarter when the Bulldogs were starting to pull away.
With a first down at midfield thanks to a great catch by Treylon Burks, the Razorbacks attempted a double pass that involved the star sophomore throwing the ball downfield. Despite his target being in double coverage, Burks forced the throw and preseason All-SEC safety Richard LeCounte came down with an interception.
That eventually led to another field goal that pushed Georgia’s lead to 34-10. Both plays came an inopportune times for the Razorbacks, but Pittman said he didn’t have an issue with when or how Briles called them.
“Our offensive coordinator felt like it was time to call them and that’s what he did, and they just didn’t work out,” Pittman said. “I don’t have a problem with how he called the game or when he called them.”
UGA’s QB Switch
Although it became clear in the week leading up to the game that redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis would start for the Bulldogs, most of the conversation centered on the health of USC transfer and former five-star recruit J.T. Daniels.
There was speculation that he might see the field at some point and Pittman even said Arkansas was preparing for both quarterbacks. Instead, former walk-on Stetson Bennett was the quarterback who was lights out off the bench for Georgia.
“We were struggling and we didn't have a lot of rhythm, (so I) felt like we needed to change things up,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “I thought he would give us some energy. … He is different than D’Wan. He has experience and he gave us a spark.”
In their first six possessions, the Bulldogs punted five times and Mathis threw an interception in the red zone. With him just 5 of 13 passing for nine yards, Bennett entered the game.
After some brief struggles at the beginning, including a turnover on downs and a lost fumble, Georgia’s offense settled in with him at quarterback and eventually scored three touchdowns.
