The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 in SEC) started conference play with a dominant 45-17 road win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. The worries that their dominant form from the first two weeks were from playing against non-Power Four competition have been dispelled, at least for now.
To be fair, the Razorbacks are in Year 1 of a program rebuild. They lost 43-10 against the Utah Utes, and many fans were apathetic about this matchup against one of the top teams in the nation. New head coach Ryan Silverfield has a long way to go to rebuild the program.
Still, the Bulldogs will take it. They amassed a 21-3 lead by halftime and had a lead as high as 38-3 by the fourth quarter before Arkansas scored two touchdowns with the Bulldogs' backups in to reach
the final score of 45-17. Georgia will return home to face the No. 24 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, Sep. 26.
Run the ball!
If you like a game where the rushing offense is king, go look at the Georgia-Arkansas game. Georgia ran the ball 42 times, and it worked. They earned 254 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, which led them to victory more than the 210 yards through the air did.
Nate Frazier continued his touchdown streak, scoring the first touchdown for Georgia from five yards out. He finished the game with 75 total yards on 14 carries before he left with an injury. Chauncey Bowens was used more like a goal-line back, racking up 39 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. However, it was Gunner Stockton who led the way, with 97 yards on seven carries.
To be fair, Mike Bobo's offensive scheme revolves around a lot of end arounds and orbit motions where the wide receiver gets the ball behind the line of scrimmage, which is why guys like Landon Roldan and Criag Dandridge have rush attempts. Still, Georgia has always lived and died by the run in the Kirby Smart era, and it's nice to see that it's paying off this season.
Craig Dandrige is a dude!
Speaking of Craig Dandridge, he has established himself as a playmaker already as a freshman. He's had very little attempts to show off his skills due to Georgia being more of a run-first offense and the uncertain wide receiver pecking order right now.
He's made the most of his attempts, though, especially on one play. With 12:42 in the fourth quarter, on first and 10 at the Georgia 39, he flashed open in the middle of the field. Gunner Stockton found him, and he ran the rest of the way for a 61-yard touchdown.
He had 74 yards and that sick touchdown catch on three receptions, with an average of 24.7 yards per catch. He's averaged over 15 yards per catch in every single game, and he now has 166 receiving yards. He's earned praise throughout fall camp and in G-Day as one of the biggest impact freshman on the team, and he's making it pay off.
“Yeah, he works really hard," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Dandridge. "Craig is very smart and very intelligent. He’s savvy. He plays fast. He catches the ball and he runs after the catch. He made a great catch on a bubble pass that probably shouldn’t have caught. And then he caught the big over and broke a tackle. So we tell our guys all the time, if you catch the ball well and you break tackles, you’re gonna get touches."
Career game for Raylen Wilson
Wilson was expected to be one of the major contributors of Georgia's defense. He was asked to replace CJ Allen as the leader of the defense and come into his own as a blitzer.
If he becomes that, and maybe gets some All-SEC or All-American buzz, this game will be the game people look at as his ascension into elite status. Wilson had two tackles for loss and two sacks in this game.
He's been a sturdy tackler since he's been in a Georgia uniform, but he hasn't needed to step up in the pass rush as much. He had just 4.5 sacks in his career before the game against Arkansas. He has the talent and the scheming to lead the team in sacks, considering Glenn Schumann loves using linebackers in blitzes. Watch out for Raylen Wilson this season.
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Takeaways from Georgia football's 45-17 win over Arkansas
