OPINION Hog Calls

Few saw Hogs-Dawgs being key game

FAYETTEVILLE -- Had he August projected his Georgia Bulldogs' Game Five like he projected it Wednesday, Kirby Smart might have been laughed out of college football.

Smart's nationally No. 2 Bulldogs, 4-0 overall/ 2-0 in the SEC, host Arkansas today in Athens, Ga.

Consider in August Smart prepped his then nationally No. 5 Bulldogs opening against the then nationally No. 3 Clemson Tigers.

Dabo Swinney's 2-time national champion Tigers since 2015 annually reside in the 4-team College Football Playoff.

Consider Smart's Wednesday reply asked about his statistically nationally No. 1 defense facing Arkansas Saturday.

Previously Georgia stuffed Clemson, 10-3, Alabama-Birmingham, 56-7, South Carolina, 40-13 and Vanderbilt, 62-0.

"We're going to face better offenses than we have faced," Smart said. "We're going to play better people than we've played. So we're not really buying into all that hype. We've got to play better. Because we're facing a really good team and a really good offense Saturday."

Arkansas, the really good team with the really good offense better than Clemson? Who would have thunk it?

The rankings do. The Razorbacks, 4-0 and dominating then No. 15 Texas and 1-0 in the SEC off last week beating then No. 7 Texas A&M, 20-10, rank eighth nationally.

Clemson, 2-2, clings 25th to the AP Top 25.

It speaks volumes for what second-year Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman's regime has accomplished.

The Hogs, 0-8, 0-8 in the SEC for 2018 and '19 under the preceding Chad Morris regime, were deemed achieving a moral victory for last season's opening 37-10 loss to Georgia in Fayetteville.

Arkansas led 10-5 early in the third quarter. Pittman said that early underdog success instilled belief for a 3-7 plus close but no cigars competitive SEC season.

Arkansas' offense, sputtering early in this season's opener trailing, 17-7 before defeating Rice, 38-17, and quarterback, KJ Jefferson have improved immensely.

Smart's nose didn't Pinocchio sprout touting Arkansas' ability to pound on the ground then Jefferson suddenly unleashing deep passes to wideouts Treylon Burks and Tyson Morris.

"When you run the ball successfully you create one on one opportunities for (deep) shots," Smart said. "And they've done that well. That's probably the best throw KJ makes is the timing of the deep ball. And they've got some very good big, wideouts that create matchup issues."

Then consider defense is deemed Arkansas' top team strength.

Smart's concern isn't "Coachspeak."

Both teams defenses seem so strong to raise eyebrows about Las Vegas picking Georgia an 18 point favorite. Not that the Bulldogs' bevy of blue-chippers don't have the talent to put it on Arkansas or most anybody. They do.

Especially with Georgia's JT Daniels and backup Stetson Bennett both better than any quarterback that Arkansas has faced.

But this could be a defense dictated game that doesn't much exceed 18 total points.

Regardless, the matchup generates believable autumn comments from Kirby Smart that nobody would have believed in August.

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