By Harry King
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas vs. Georgia is fraught with mixed signals and statistics of questionable value.
For starters, a once-beaten team that failed to score a touchdown last week is favored over the 12th-ranked team in the country.
Underdog and unbeaten Arkansas has scored 75 points in two games and allowed 10, totals that are skewed by the inferior competition.
An offensive line that is supposed to be the strength of Georgia was so inept that the Bulldogs barely averaged 2 yards per try rushing against South Carolina.
An offensive line that is supposed to be a strength of Arkansas allowed two sacks by Louisiana-Monroe and a pressure of Ryan Mallett that resulted in an interception.
The Georgia pass rushers that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier predicted would “storm the gates” didn’t do much to bother Spurrier’s quarterback.
The Georgia defense that was gashed by South Carolina’s very good running back is matched against an Arkansas team that has not been particularly effective running against Tennessee Tech and ULM — appetizers purchased to prepare the palate for meaningful football.
Some dismiss the Razorbacks’ 99 yards rushing against ULM, saying Bobby Petrino is holding back and the Arkansas coach contributed to that theory Wednesday night when he said on his radio show, “We’ve not been really exposing a whole lot of our offense.”
Nothing extra was needed for 2-0 and such a statement is no surprise since Georgia has been Arkansas’ focus for some time, including an entire week in August.
This week, Georgia coach Mark Richt said: “I don’t know how big a game can get, but this is big.” Everybody involved knows that.
Everybody also knows that Mallett is going to throw the ball 30 times or more and that his passing efficiency will go a long way toward determining the outcome.
Speculate until 11 a.m. today about this Georgia unit vs. that Arkansas unit, but one of the questions is the level of trust that Richt and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo have in redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray.
For the record, Richt says the way Murray has handled things “gives us more confidence to allow him to have more plays where the onus is on him to make a play or make a good decision and make a good throw.”
We’ll see.
We’ll also see whether the Arkansas defense has truly made progress from 2009.
Each time that Petrino praises the unit, he mentions that the athletes are playing fast because they know what they are doing. Will a big play or two by Murray or running back Caleb King erode that confidence and make the defenders tentative?
Even then, Arkansas can win if Mallett plays well. Putting that on one player is a load, but that’s the bent of the Razorbacks’ offense.
Mallett’s road woes have been well documented, but his 39 percent completion rate last year occurred against the best defenses in the SEC. Based only on last week, Georgia’s “D” does not appear to be among the elite.
All speculation is part fact-based guess and part from the gut and ignores turnovers and special teams — facets of the game that can turn a contest as fast as a 75-yard pass play.
There is every reason to believe that Arkansas will get Georgia’s best shot. If Mallett has time and his receivers cooperate, that won’t be enough.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
