It's time once again for another edition of Opposition Research, ahead of Saturday's game between No. 2 Georgia and No. 8 Arkansas (noon, ESPN).
Let's check in with Andrew Hutchinson of HawgBeat.com.
Obviously, an awesome start by Arkansas. What were your expectations of this team coming in, and what has surprised you the most about this year's squad?
Hutchinson: "Based on what I saw last year, I thought Arkansas needed to make a bowl game in order to show its continuing to progress under Sam Pittman. Personally, I picked the Hogs to go 6-6 and believed they'd finish with somewhere between 5 and 7 wins. It's safe to say they've completely blown my expectations out of the water, as I had them losing to Texas and Texas A&M.
"The biggest surprise so far has been just how effective the offense has been. I expected the offensive line to be better, and that side of the ball to be improved—but not as good as it's been. A lot of that has to do with KJ Jefferson, who I thought would have more growing pains than we've seen in his first year as the starter. He still has some accuracy issues to work out on short and intermediate throws, but he hits those plays just enough, and throws a pretty deep ball, in addition to being a threat to run. I also didn't expect Arkansas to have four legitimate running backs, with Dominique Johnson easily being the biggest surprise."
What's been Sam Pittman's biggest influence since he arrived?
Hutchinson: "It sounds like a cliché, but he has the team believing in itself. I don't believe that was the case under the previous regime. All the players have bought in and would run through a brick wall for Pittman. He's just so genuine, and the players know he cares about them. From a football standpoint, it helps that he hired a great staff, starting with Barry Odom and Kendal Briles as the defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively. Those two guys were MASSIVE upgrades over their predecessors."
Do you have an injury update?
Hutchinson: "The two biggest injuries to keep an eye on are Jefferson and wide receiver Treylon Burks. Both of them missed time in the Texas A&M game. Pittman told reporters Monday that, despite being sore, they should be good to go for the Georgia game. Jefferson is dealing with a bone bruise on his knee that he got when he crashed into the bench on the first play of the second half against Texas A&M. He missed about a quarter and returned for the final two drives after some numbing gel kicked in. Burks has been dealing with some sort of lower leg injury (foot? ankle?) since fall camp, and it looked like that was what was bothering him late in the last game. But I fully expect both of those guys to play.
"Last week, there were major question marks surrounding center Ricky Stromberg (knee) and right tackle Dalton Wagner (back), but both of them managed to start and play the entire game vs. Texas A&M. I'm guessing they'll be even closer to 100 percent when Saturday rolls around."
What will be Arkansas' biggest concern going into this contest, and in what areas do they feel they can have some success?
Hutchinson: "I think any team's biggest concern going into a game against Georgia is that defense. It's a scary unit, especially up front. Arkansas is confident in its offensive line, but will it be able to protect Jefferson and open up running lanes against the likes of Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Devonte Wyatt and company? It had some success against Texas A&M's talented defensive line, but Georgia's appears to be on another level.
"On the flip side, the Razorbacks really like the way their defense is playing right now. Specifically, Tre Williams is really getting after opposing quarterbacks, and John Ridgeway is causing problems in the middle of that defensive line, with linebackers Grant Morgan, Hayden Henry, and Bumper Pool playing at a high level. Also, outside of Isaiah Spiller's 67-yard touchdown run, the Razorbacks have bottled up two extremely talented running backs in Spiller and Bijan Robinson."
What do you expect to see happen Saturday afternoon?
Hutchinson: "Before the season, I picked Arkansas to lose this game 41-17. I didn't think there was any way the Hogs would be able to stay on the field against a team with such a dramatic talent advantage. However, it's become abundantly clear that I vastly underestimated this Arkansas team. Do I think they'll come down to Athens and leave with a win? No, I'm not ready to go there—although I wouldn't be completely shocked—but I do see the Razorbacks being competitive. The 18.5-point spread seems to be quite large. (For the gamblers out there: Arkansas is 11-3 against the spread under Pittman.) Georgia will probably end up winning by a couple of scores, but I see it pulling away late and winning by 14-17 points."
