Arkansas vs Georgia Odds, Lines and Prediction
- Eighth-ranked Arkansas visits #2 Georgia in a battle of 4-0 teams
- The Razorbacks upset 7th-ranked Texas A&M last week; the Bulldogs demolished Vanderbilt
- Read below for odds, analysis and a betting prediction
It’s been a good run, but for the Arkansas Razorbacks, they’re about to find out if they’re ready for primetime.
That’s because the upstarts of the SEC — now ranked eighth in the nation — travel to Georgia Saturday for a date with the second-ranked Bulldogs in a battle of 4-0 unbeatens.
Even after taking apart then 7th-ranked Texas A&M in Week 4, Arkansas is a hefty 18.5-point road underdog.
It’s a 12pm kickoff from Sanford Stadium in Athens, and the ESPN Gameday crew will be on hand to give the game the proper hype it deserves.
Arkansas vs Georgia Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| [8] Arkansas Razorbacks | +700 | +18.5 (-110) | O 48.5 (-110) |
| [2] Georgia Bulldogs | -1125 | -18.5 (-110) | U 48.5 (-110) |
Odds as of Sept. 29th at DraftKings
Weather is expected to be a balmy 85 degrees with mostly clear skies.
Hog Wild
There’s a reason the Razorbacks are now a top-10 team in the nation. They’ve dispatched the competition that’s come their way, including a thumping of the Texas Longhorns (15th at the time) in Week 2 and last week’s quality 20-10 win over the Aggies.
TREYLON BURKS IS GONE💨💨💨#CFB
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 25, 2021
The Razorbacks were solid from the jump, building a 17-0 lead and puncturing a stout A&M defense like no team had so far this season. KJ Jefferson threw for two deep TD’s, the first passing scores allowed by the Aggies all season, highlighted by an 85-yard strike to Treylon Burks.
Trelon Smith taking ankles 🤭
(via @RazorbackFB) pic.twitter.com/E34CmshFlw
— FanSided (@FanSided) September 25, 2021
Arkansas also continued to grind on the ground, piling up 49 carries for 197 yards, a healthy 4.0 yards per carry average. Trelon Smith carried 17 times for 82 yards to lead the team, but no less than six players had a run between 12 and 19 yards in the game.
Jefferson was a little dinged up with a knee injury that forced him out of the game, but he did return late to close it out. He should be good to go Saturday.
Bully ‘Dawgs
After a tough 10-3 opening-week win over Clemson, Georgia has flexed the past three weeks. In their last three wins, they’ve churned out over 1,500 yards of offense while outscoring the opposition 158-20.
They butchered Vandebilt in Week 3, running up 35 points in less than 12 minutes of play in a 62-0 thrashing. Quarterback JT Daniels guided five touchdown drives, throwing two scores himself, and giving way to Stetson Bennett after a tidy quarter of play.
Relive the best moments of 𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆 𝙁𝙊𝙐𝙍 ‼️#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/IyCK6uB5v1
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 28, 2021
Combined, Daniels and Stetson are completing close to 75% of their passes and 11 TD’s.
They’re loaded with skill across the board. Tight end Brock Bowers is their go-to receiver with 18 catches, 272 yards and four TD’s. Their running back group of Zamir White, James Cook and Kendall Milton are all averaging better than five yards a carry, combining for 449 yards and four scores.
What D Will Dictate?
These are two of the premier defenses in the country, and they stack up pretty well. Georgia is first in total yards in the SEC, allowing just 185 yards a game, but the Razorbacks are not far behind in third, surrendering just 267. The Bulldogs are tops in pass defense, surrendering just 115 yards a game. Arkansas is third at 144.
Why is Georgia’s front-seven so good? Because they have 245-lb linebackers that run like #7 @QuayWalker_. 😳#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/lt8BeEZK8y
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) September 28, 2021
We’ll see if Arkansas’ run defense holds up: they’re ninth in the SEC, allowing 123 yards a game. Georgia is again tops, holding opponents to 69 yards a game.
Georgia has allowed a paltry 5.8 points per game, holding three opponents to seven points or less, and a high of 13 to South Carolina. Arkansas is third, surrendering 14.5 points a game.
What’s the Best Bet?
There are two ways Arkansas stays within range: if they win the turnover battle — Georgia has turned it over seven times in the young season, while the Razorbacks have just two turnovers on the year. The other is if head coach Sam Pittman, a former O-line coach at Georgia, has the secret sauce to create holes in the run game against a scary-good defense.
Pick a stat, any stat 🔥🔥🔥#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/mOzI6lWT3q
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 26, 2021
However, this edition of the Bulldogs have some big goals on the horizon, and they’re built to compete for a national championship. Expect them to get out early and force Arkansas to abandon the run game. As good as Jefferson is at QB, the Razorbacks aren’t built to get into shootouts.
Still, this isn’t a top-10 fraud of a team, so that line scares me.
Pick: OVER 48.5 points (-110)
Having worked in and around sports since 1997, Eric is truly a knowledgeable expert. The two-time journalism grad specializes in all things NBA and NFL. From TSN.ca to CTV's Olympic Broadcast Consortium, Eric's work has appeared in local and national publications alike.
