No. 2 Georgia handled Arkansas 45-17 on Saturday in a Southeastern Conference opener that ended with a 28-point gap on the scoreboard.
It could have been bigger and now the Razorbacks start 0-1 in SEC play, which fans around Fayetteville aren’t going to be too shocked to see.
After a lackluster opening-day win over North Alabama and a 41-10 loss at Utah, the Bulldogs could have been there. All of the Hogs’ points came after the Bulldogs put substitutes into the game.
Running back Chauncey Bowens led the Georgia attack by running for three touchdowns. He also carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards, so his scores made up a big share of the team’s 45 points.
The defense did its part too. Georgia held Arkansas to just 17 yards on the ground, a low total that gave the Hogs a tough climb on offense.
Quarterback Gunner Stockton didn’t need many throws to make his mark. He finished 10-of-13 for 147 yards and a touchdown.
That score came early in the fourth quarter. Stockton hit Craig Dandridge Jr. on a 61-yard pass, and the whole drive took just one play.
Nick Frazier scored Georgia’s first touchdown. He capped a six-play, 62-yard drive on the team’s opening possession.
Frazier ended the day with 75 yards on 14 carries. Georgia beats Arkansas on the ground by a wide margin, and his total alone was more than four times what the Razorbacks managed as a team.
Hogs struggle to run the ball
Arkansas found little room to run all afternoon. Seven players shared 20 carries and picked up 17 yards in all. That works out to less than one yard per carry.
Sutton Smith led the group with 17 yards on six carries. His total matched the team’s entire output on the ground.
It was the Hogs’ worst rushing day since they gained 16 yards against LSU in 2018.
Sacks made things harder. Quarterbacks KJ Jackson and AJ Hill lost a combined 16 yards rushing, mostly because of those sacks. Sacks count against rushing yardage in college football, which explains part of the low total.
Arkansas threw the ball for most of the game, but the passing attack rarely paid off in a big way.
Jackson played two drives before Hill took his place. The quarterback swaps kept coming, as Jackson was replaced twice and put back into the game twice.
Jackson finished 20 of 27 for 212 yards. Hill went 8 of 14 for 76 yards. Together, they completed 28 of 41 passes for 288 yards.
Late touchdowns and what’s next
Jackson returned for the last drive of the first half. He guided Arkansas into the Georgia red zone for the first time. Until then, the Hogs hadn’t gotten inside the 20-yard line.
An intentional grounding penalty pushed the Hogs back. Max Gilbert then kicked a 41-yard field goal just before halftime.
The Razorbacks got both of their touchdowns in the fourth quarter after the outcome was already clear.
Smith scored on a 5-yard run with 8 1/2 minutes left in the game.
Jackson then found Ty Lockwood on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds remaining. The score came just before the game ended.
Both teams will play at home next Saturday. Georgia hosts No. 24 Oklahoma, while Arkansas hosts Tulsa.
Georgia will try to carry its strong rushing numbers into a matchup with a ranked opponent. Arkansas will try to find more room on the ground when Tulsa comes to town.
