Pittman proud of Hog defense despite second half collapse
Holding the Georgia offense to five points in the first half is a feat only two of their 2019 opponents could accomplish, but the 2020 Razorbacks did it to open the season.
It was a huge improvement after the Hogs finished ranked 124th in scoring defense last season but it was a tale of two halves on Saturday against the Bulldogs.
"They wore us down in the second half on the defensive line. But obviously we gave up the ball three times and had a blocked punt and interception for a touchdown that really turned the momentum of the game," Sam Pittman said post-game. "But I was really proud of our defense. Very proud of our defense. Proud of them at halftime and the entire game. Down toward the end of the game Georgia kicked a field goal. Then they stopped them and Georgia had to punt. Coach Odom had a great game plan and I thought our kids especially on the defensive side of the ball played well."
Without second-teamers defensive end Mataio Soli, cornerback Jarques McClellion, safety Myles Mason, Devin Bush and others, the Razorbacks stayed strong throughout the first half and delivered in key moments but the defense proved too shallow to keep it up for four quarters.
In the first half, Arkansas held Georgia's run game to 2.4 yards per carry and 3.6 yards per play overall. The Bulldogs did a pretty good job of shooting themselves in the foot with 11 penalties that cost them 98 yards on both sides of the ball but the defensive line brought pressure and frazzled their inexperienced quarterback Dwan Mathis.
The biggest improvement in the first half over last season was the Hogs' ability to get off the field on third down. Arkansas held the Dogs to 1 of 12 on third down and on Georgia's one drive in the red zone in the first half, Montaric Brown came up big with an interception.
Despite getting off the field on third down, the defense was still on the field for seven more minutes in the first half than the Arkansas offense and it clearly impacted their performance in the second half.
"We have about seven guys who we feel we can play in there (the defensive line)," Pittman said. "Obviously the ones are a one for a reason. But I think we tired down. We’ve got to be able to get into a little more often rotation so we can keep fresh guys on the field. Georgia’s offensive line averages about 325-330 across and I feel like they laid on us and wore us down a little bit."
The Razorbacks started the second half well on defense with a forced fumble by Jalen Catalon and recovery by true freshman Myles Slusher but a change up at quarterback and two turnovers by the Hogs offense put the defense in a hole they were too beat to get out of.
Georgia only committed one penalty in the second half, the result of a good chewing out at halftime, and they capitalized on Arkansas's mistakes. They completed 13 of 18 passes and broke off runs of 13, 20 and 11 yards in the third quarter. The defense was also less effective on third down, stopping the Bulldogs just three of eight times. And again, Arkansas's defense was on the field for five minutes longer than the offense.
When the spread was in jeopardy (and Mathis was back in the game), the Hogs were able to come up with multiple plays with loss of yardage to force a field goal from 38 yards out.
Georgia's overall offensive grade of 65.5 against Arkansas would've been their second lowest last season, only better than their performance against national champs LSU.