College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413@gmail.com.
Here’s everything you need to know for Saturday’s game, including the HawgBeat staff predictions…
Game Details
No. 8 Arkansas at No. 2 Georgia
Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. (capacity 92,746)
11 a.m. CT on ESPN
Vegas, Other Projections
Spread: Georgia, -16.5
O/U: 48.5
Moneyline: Arkansas +600 / Georgia -900
ESPN FPI: Georgia has 89.1% chance to win
SP+: Georgia 32, Arkansas 18
Staff Predictions
Andrew Hutchinson: Georgia 17, Arkansas 9
Last week, I picked Arkansas because I felt like it was a better team than Texas A&M. I have similar reasoning behind my pick this week, but in the reverse - Georgia is one of the best teams in the country.
The Bulldogs’ defense is legit, so moving the ball will be difficult for the Razorbacks. Luckily for Arkansas, it also has a legit defense. This will turn into a field position battle and Georgia has the ultimate weapon in punter Jake Camarda. Barring the game of his life, Reid Bauer for Arkansas isn’t as good, which will give the Bulldogs a slight advantage in field position.
What does that mean? Georgia will be able to move into field goal range more easily and will likely wear down Arkansas’ talented defense to the point where one of its many five-star running backs finds the end zone. This one will be low-scoring, especially if JT Daniels ends up not playing, so that will be the difference.
Alex Trader: Arkansas 23, Georgia 13
If I'm to believe what nearly every major media outlet has been telling me about this game, Arkansas may as well fire up the busses and hightail it on back home - but they'd also already have two other losses.
The Razorbacks have come out and done the unexpected thus far this season. In year two of the Sam Pittman era, the team looks to have completely removed itself from being the doormat of the SEC. On the other hand, this isn't the same big bad Georgia team we're used to either - they're significantly better...
I like to think that I've had a pretty decent read on this team this year, and that's why I've been trying to shake my gut feeling for the last week. Georgia has all the talent in the world to work with - heck, they even had an SEC coach with his hands up asking "what am I supposed to do?" just two weeks ago.
That feeling, however, has only gotten stronger throughout the week. I believe the Arkansas Razorbacks not only have the horses to compete and cover the now +16.5-point spread in Athens Saturday, but they're going to shock the world once again.
All sources are now seeming to point to Georgia coming into this one without their Heisman-caliber QB. As well as that, a secondary which has struggled to this point in the season will just so happen to run up against a top-five (maybe higher) receiver in the country in Treylon Burks.
This will likely be an ugly game, and if sports-betting was legal 'round these parts then I'd think the under (48.5) was a virtual lock - but that may be where the more tested team is able to find an advantage. Twice, Arkansas has entered the game as a significant underdog this year. And twice, people have walked away saying "hey, maybe this team is pretty good." We may not be staring down a 2019 LSU-type Cinderella story, but I can't help but think the pages are still being filled.
Mason Choate: Georgia 20, Arkansas 17
Georgia has played some really bad offenses this season, but that does not discredit the talent level of its defense. The Bulldogs also have not faced a legit defense outside of Clemson. Through the first four weeks of the season, Arkansas' defense has been significantly better than Clemson's.
There have been rumors about the quarterback position for Georgia during the late part of the week, but I really do not see a huge difference between JT Daniels and Stetson Bennett IV as far as running the Bulldog offense goes. At the end of the day, it is still an offense loaded with talent from top to bottom and they get a great player in Darnell Washington back. They will have success against Arkansas, and likely more success than the Razorback offense will have against the Georgia defense.
As most can agree, Georgia has been favored by too many points throughout the week. The odds makers are really underestimating the Razorback defense. I see this being a close battle all day, but the Bulldogs will prevail. At some point in the second half, Georgia will connect on a big play and take all of the momentum to hand the Hogs their first loss of the season.
