Arkansas Razorbacks at Georgia Bulldogs Betting Preview
This would not have been a game that most College Football fans would have circled on the calendar as a site for ESPN’s College GameDay at the start of the season, but Kirk Herbstreit and the gang will be in Athens for this top ten matchup.
Georgia being where they are isn’t a surprise to many prognosticators, but Arkansas has taken the nation by surprise with their 4-0 start to the season.
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Arkansas Razorbacks Team Preview
Sam Pittmann’s team has already surpassed their win total from a year ago against the nation’s toughest strength of schedule.
The Hogs have staked a claim in the state of Texas, with three of their four wins against teams from the Lonestar state. Two of those wins came against top 15 opponents Texas and Texas A&M.
The Razorbacks gave the Longhorns their “welcome to the SEC” moment in Week 2 by dominating the game in the trenches. The Hogs defense has been a bright spot for the team under defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
The team flies to the football and is led by a trio of talented and aggressive linebackers, including Bumper Pool, the most appropriately named Arkansas football player of all time.
On the offensive side of the ball, Arkansas is led by quarterback KJ Jefferson who some have compared to a young Cam Newton. His dual-threat style of play has provided the Razorbacks with a powerful running attack, but his arm has provided enough playmaking to keep defenses honest.
Jefferson’s favorite target, Treylon Burks, has scores of over 80 yards in each of the last two games but left the game against Texas A&M with an injury and did not return.
Arkansas is 4-0 against the spread this season, including two outright wins as the underdogs. The Hogs have also hit the over on the total points betting line in three of the four games so far this season, with the game against the Aggies being the outlier.
Georgia Bulldogs Team Preview
The Dawgs opened the season with a statement win over Clemson in a matchup of top-five teams. Clemson has struggled through four games this season, but the Georgia performance can’t be overlooked.
The following three games have failed to test the Bulldogs at all, with an average margin of victory of over 40 points per game.
The defense is always the big positive when talking about Kirby Smart’s teams. The defensive line is suffocating this season, led by senior nose tackle Jordan Davis.
The unit ranks first in the country in scoring defense and total defense, allowing less than six points per game and less than 200 yards given up. For context, though, three of the offenses that Georgia has faced rank in the bottom 15 nationally in total offense.
As for the Bulldogs offense, JT Daniels came into the season as the “missing piece” to help lead Georgia over the hump to a national title. Daniels has had a fine start to the season but missed the game against UAB with a core injury. The Dawgs are still getting healthy as they work Daniels back as well as athletic tight end Darnell Washington.
Betting Preview
BetUS has the Bulldogs as 18.5-point favorites at home with total points betting line set at 49, while Bovada has the Dawgs favored by 18 with the over/under sitting at 48.5.
The Razorback’s health comes into play here as KJ Jefferson struggled through a leg injury in the fourth quarter against Texas A&M and Treylon Burks went to the locker room in the final period as well.
If Jefferson isn’t at full strength, the Arkansas offense could really struggle to gain any ground on the Georgia defense.
If Burks is out on top of that, there are just not many ways to see this offense having success. Expect the Dawgs to cover at home, and the under to hit as both defenses find ways to limit the opposing offenses.