PREDICTIONS! Hawgs vs Dawgs

PETE: The days of taking Arkansas football lightly are over. The Hogs have proven in only four games this season that they are legit, and they are not to be messed with. Nobody in the country wants to play the Razorbacks, I promise you that. However, Kirby Smart is a good football coach, and I am inclined to believe he will have his team prepared for battle. He has even asked the fans in Athens to come out and show out, eluding to the fact that this will be a huge game on Saturday.

I’m rolling with #2 Georgia in this game, but I am not making that prediction based off talent alone. The Hogs can beat teams with more talent based on effort and scheme, both defensively and offensively. The talent discrepancy is just ONE of the factors that plays into Georgia’s hands. Another factor that gives UGA the edge is that this will be the first TRUE road test for this Razorback team in 2021. Traveling as far as Athens and facing a crowd in an SEC stadium in an SEC city is a lot different than going to Dallas for the weekend.

In terms of on-the-field factors, UGA has a slight edge over Arkansas’ offense with their ferocious defense. Given, I don’t think that they’ve played an offensive line as put together as the Hogs, but they have looked like the best defense in the country in all four of their games to this point. Kendal Briles will likely have to get creative if the Razorbacks want to put up points. Offensively for Georgia, JT Daniels will be the best quarterback Arkansas has seen this year, and I don’t think it’s even close. That doesn’t mean my faith has dwindled on the Razorback defense, but I know they haven’t faced an experienced quarterback of Daniels’ caliber that will exploit even the smallest mistakes.

All of that said, I just believe that there are too many things working against Arkansas here. Could they win? Abso-freaking-lutely, they could win. You would have to be an idiot at this point to count the Hogs out. Don’t fret though, one loss on the record won’t be a step back by any stretch of the imagination, especially with the way this team believes in Pittman and each other. Now, Arkansas +18.5 is the lock of the century. Usually, I hate betting the spread, but you don’t give Pittman that many points to cover.

Final Score: Georgia 28, Arkansas 17

BEN: Can you believe we are in a game of this magnitude? It’s unbelievable.

Yet, here we are.

Georgia has recruited among the best for 5 years. Arkansas will be outmatched on skill, but can they win the heart and coaching battle? We all know Sam Pittman will have the guys ready to play.

I think the 11:00AM start is advantage for Arkansas. The fans won’t be as rowdy.

With that said, I still am picking Georgia.

FINAL: Georgia 21 Arkansas 10

DAN: 2021 has been a good year for Arkansas, hasn’t it? From the baseball team’s success and the Elite 8 run in March, to the incredible 4-0 start by the football team, it’s a good time to be a Razorback. Every challenge that has been put in front of the team has been met with ferocity and Arkansas pride. Georgia provides a much different challenge, though. Their team is littered with NFL talent across the board. Make no mistake about it, this will not be an easy challenge.

The game will be won or lost in the trenches. It’s a battle between the house that Sam Pittman is building and the house that Sam Pittman built. And I know it’s an unpopular pick, but is it simply a matter of Georgia being #2 in the country that makes people believe this will be a blowout? They were ranked similarly last year and Arkansas held the lead midway through the third quarter. Not to say this will be a blowout, but it will be close.

That said, I think that both offenses struggle mightily to get anything going both on the ground and through the air. I predict a low-scoring affair with Arkansas’ true freshman Cam Little splitting the uprights as time expires.

FINAL: Arkansas wins, 20-17.

JACOB: It pains me to have to do a pick this week. I don’t want to see this Cinderella story end just yet. Georgia is such a deeper overall. The Bulldogs play with an elite defense, an efficient offense that leads the country in net yards per play which means stopping them for negative plays is almost impossible. Plus, they have 100 five-star players on their defense making them almost unstoppable! I could go on and on and tell you all the things that scare me but the one thing they don’t have is the HEART OF A RAZORBACK!

Sam Pittman and his staff have instilled a confidence beyond anything we have seen in a very long time in Fayetteville. He has built something so great, laying a solid foundation for many years to come! Arkansas will FIGHT their way to win this game.

I believe Georgia will score a touchdown first at some point in the first half. Then, Cam Little hits two field goals before halftime to make it a one point game.

Second half adjustment won’t matter offensively as the two defenses play over their heads to stop each other. Arkansas gets something going late in the fourth quarter and Little sneaks a field goal by the left upright for a Razorbacks victory.

FINAL: Arkansas 9, Georgia 7