SEC announces Arkansas' 2 additional opponents for 2020
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Arkansas will have to wait a little longer for its finalized 2020 football schedule, but it now knows all of its opponents.
In addition to their eight originally scheduled conference opponents, the Razorbacks will also host Georgia and travel to Florida out of the SEC East, the conference announced Friday.
Those two opponents join a schedule that already includes Alabama, LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss coming to Reynolds Razorback Stadium and matchups with Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Auburn and Missouri on the road.
The dates for the 10-game, SEC-only slate will be announced next week.
New head coach Sam Pittman is very familiar with one of the new SEC East opponents, as he spent the last four seasons as Georgia’s offensive line coach. When hired at Arkansas, he also poached the Bulldogs’ special teams coordinator, Scott Fountain, and two of members of their strength staff - Jamil Walker and Ed Ellis.
Even with those connections, Arkansas will have its hands full against Georgia. Coming off their third straight SEC East title, the Bulldogs - who went 12-2 and were No. 4 in the final AP poll last year - are ranked No. 4 in the preseason coaches poll that came out Thursday.
The last matchup between the two schools was played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock during the 2014 season. Georgia led by 32 points at halftime and won 45-32 behind a 202-yard performance by Nick Chubb.
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 10-4, with half of Arkansas’ wins coming in bowl games before joining the SEC. Interestingly, Arkansas’ other two wins came in Athens, Ga., in 1993 and 2010. One of its losses was in the 2002 SEC Championship Game.
The Razorbacks weren’t scheduled to play Georgia until next season, when they were set to travel to Athens, Ga.
When Arkansas and Florida last met on the gridiron, the Razorbacks snapped a nine-game losing streak in the series by upsetting the No. 10 Gators 31-10 behind a 148-yard performance from Rawleigh Williams III. That makes Florida - along with Tennessee - one of only two SEC teams Arkansas has a current winning streak against.
Prior to that, the Razorbacks hadn’t beaten Florida since joining the SEC, with their lone victory coming in the 1982 Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston. The nine losses in between included a pair of SEC Championship Games.
The last time Florida hosted Arkansas at The Swamp in Gainesville, Fla., was 2013. The No. 18 Gators won that matchup 30-10.
Coming off an 11-2 season, the Gators are expected to compete for the SEC East title in 2020. Led by third-year head coach Dan Mullen, they checked in at No. 8 in the preseason coaches poll that came out Thursday.
It will be a revenge game of sorts for Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks, as he spent the last four years at Florida before becoming a graduate transfer and landing in Fayetteville. He suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3 and his replacement, Kyle Trask, is the Gators’ starter now.
The Razorbacks weren’t scheduled to play Florida again until going to Gainesville during the 2023 season.