Arkansas at Georgia

by Dyke Marler
(Atlanta, GA )

Georgia looked bad last week in their loss to South Carolina and must figure themselves out defensively this week. Ryan Mallett, Joe Adams, Ronnie Wingo, Jr., et. al. will attempt to leave Athens with their third win of the season.

Arkansas has faced two soft opponents to begin the season and traditionally does not play well on the road. WR Joe Adams is averaging 23 yards per catch and Greg Childs and Jarius Wright are excellent SEC wide receivers. All conference TE DJ Williams and TE Ben Cleveland (is it me or has this kid been at Arkansas since the mid 90's?) round out one of the nations top receiving corps. Starting RB Dennis Johnson is being held out due to a "bowel injury." Hey, Petrino said it. Ask him.

Georgia welcomes the return of Caleb King to the backfield this Saturday and is awaiting word from the NCAA on the availability of AJ Greene. A hearing is scheduled for this afternoon, by the NCAA, but there is certainly no timetable for his return. Branden Smith, who I believe to be the premier punt returner in the SEC, is questionable for the game.

The defense turned in five sacks against South Carolina but a word of caution to UGA fans-I know you're not as familiar with the SEC West but Stephen Garcia and Ryan Mallett are two entirely different animals. Kwame Geathers, a 300 plus pound run-stuffing nose guard, should have played against Marcus Lattimore and his 37 carries but did not. Frankly, he does not have a place in Saturday's game with Dennis Johnson on the sideline and if he sees extensive play this weekend it may be evidence that Georgia's defensive coaches are just blindly throwing darts.

For me it comes down to just a few things; Arkansas' #12 ranking is meaningless. Petrino vs. Bobo is a one sided competition. Will Aaron Murray be turned loose? (He has to be). If Georgia gets behind early, will they quit?

I will have to be convinced that Georgia is as bad as they looked last Saturday. Something special happens when the Dawgs are Between the Hedges and I look for their fans to will this team through.