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No. 2 Georgia opens SEC play with road test at Arkansas
Despite playing in high temperatures the past two weeks, No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs hasn't had to sweat much this season.
Coach Kirby Smart knows that a new season starts this week. The Bulldogs have throttled Tennessee State and Western Kentucky by a combined score of 133-23, but as Southeastern Conference play begins for Georgia (2-0) on Saturday afternoon against Arkansas Razorbacks (1-1) in Fayetteville, Smart is preparing his team for the first real resistance of the year.
"Playing on the road in the SEC, humility is always a week away," Smart said. "It's a tough environment regardless of where you play in the SEC. There are no bad environments; there are only raucous environments."
Smart is 10-0 at Georgia in SEC road openers, and the Bulldogs are a heavy favorite against what might be one of the conference's few weak links in the Razorbacks.
That information doesn't give the veteran head coach any solace.
Against a pair of outmatched opponents, Georgia has unloaded its bench for virtually the entire second half in both games, leaving plenty still to be proved by the Bulldogs.
"I'm just happy we've played hard and coached hard," Smart said. "I don't know that there's a measuring stick of on-field performance. You can't really measure that with the number of snaps they've had. I look at it as day-to-day interaction, work ethic and buy-in."
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton has appeared in 11 drives through two games and has led the offense to touchdowns on each of them. The senior is 28-for-32 for 436 passing yards and eight touchdowns, and junior running back Nate Frazier has four rushing touchdowns on 10 carries for 127 yards.
Arkansas enters its conference opener on the heels of the SEC's worst loss of the young season, as first-year coach Ryan Silverfield's team was dismantled 43-10 at then-No. 20 Utah on Saturday.
The Razorbacks have plenty to correct ahead of Saturday's game against Georgia.
"There should be hurt, there should be frustration, but the ability and the approach and the attitude we need is to get it fixed and get it fixed right now," Silverfield said. "Now it's putting the blinders on and putting 100% of our focus on Georgia. We're not going to walk around with a loser mentality with our heads draped down."
Quarterback KJ Jackson started Arkansas' season finale a year ago before impressing the new coaching staff to win the job over the summer as a junior. In his third career start last week, Jackson completed just 14 of 34 passes for 139 yards and was picked off for the second time this season.
While Silverfield knew there would be a learning curve for the first-year full-time starter, shortcomings will have to be fixed on the fly.
"I don't know why it's not translating. I've had to sit down with KJ and talk through it," Silverfield said of Jackson's rough play. "What you hope is every opportunity, every experience he gets on the field, he's going to continue to improve. The good news is that he's a smart, hard-working young man. I think we're going to see strides in the right direction.'
Arkansas, which has dropped 11 straight conference games, hasn't beaten Georgia since September 2010. The teams have met just three times since that Razorbacks' victory with the most recent contest being a 37-0 Georgia home win in 2021.
--Field Level Media
Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Field Level Media. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Field Level Media is strictly prohibited.
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 0 | 2 |
| Rushing | 0 | 0 |
| Passing | 0 | 2 |
| Penalty | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd Down Conv | 0-0 | 2-3 |
| 4th Down Conv | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Total Net Yards | 0 | 37 |
| Total Plays | 0 | 9 |
| Avg Gain | 0.0 | 4.1 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 0 | 19 |
| Rush Attempts | 0 | 4 |
| Avg Rush Yards | 0.0 | 4.8 |
| Yards Passing | 0 | 18 |
| Comp. - Att. | 0-0 | 3-5 |
| Yards Per Pass | 0.0 | 3.6 |
| Penalties - Yards | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Touchdowns | 0 | 0 |
| Rushing TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Passing TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Fumbles - Lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Int. Thrown | 0 | 0 |
| Punts - Avg | 0-0.0 | 0-0.0 |
| Return Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Punts - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Kickoffs - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Int. - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Safeties | 0 | 0 |
| Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
| Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
| Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
|
K. Jones
31 DB
|
K. Jones | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
G. Harris Jr.
0 LB
|
G. Harris Jr. | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
J. Williams
19 LB
|
J. Williams | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
| Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG |
| Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
| Punt Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
| Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|
K. Jackson
7 QB
|
K. Jackson | 3/5 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
|
K. Jackson
7 QB
|
K. Jackson | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
J. Watkins
13 WR
|
J. Watkins | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
S. Smith
5 RB
|
S. Smith | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
J. Parker
21 RB
|
J. Parker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
|
C. Marshall
6 WR
|
C. Marshall | 2 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
J. Watkins
13 WR
|
J. Watkins | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
T. Lockwood
85 TE
|
T. Lockwood | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
| Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
| Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG |
| Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
| Punt Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
| 1st | POSS | PLAYS | YDS | RESULT | |
| 15:00 | ARK 25 | 4:17 | 9 | 37 |
| Result | Play |
|---|---|
| No Gain | 3 & 5 - UGA 38 (10:55 - 1st) K.Jackson steps back to pass. Pass incomplete intended for T.Lockwood. PENALTY on ARK-ARK Ineligible Downfield Pass 5 yards declined. |
| +4 YD | 2 & 9 - UGA 42 (11:28 - 1st) S.Smith rushed for 4 yards. Tackled by K.Bolden at UGA 38. |
| +1 YD | 1 & 10 - UGA 43 (12:11 - 1st) J.Parker rushed for 1 yard. Tackled by J.Williams; G.Harris at UGA 42. |
| +4 YD | 3 & 4 - UGA 47 (13:05 - 1st) K.Jackson pass complete. Catch made by J.Watkins for 4 yards. Tackled by UGA at UGA 43. |
| +6 YD | 2 & 10 - ARK 47 (13:29 - 1st) J.Watkins rushed for 6 yards. Tackled by UGA at UGA 47. |
| No Gain | 1 & 10 - ARK 47 (13:32 - 1st) K.Jackson steps back to pass. Pass incomplete intended for C.Marshall. |
| +2 YD | 3 & 2 - ARK 45 (13:59 - 1st) K.Jackson pass complete. Catch made by T.Lockwood for 2 yards. Tackled by UGA at ARK 47. |
| +8 YD | 2 & 10 - ARK 37 (14:13 - 1st) K.Jackson rushed for 8 yards. Tackled by UGA at ARK 45. |
| +12 YD | 1 & 10 - ARK 25 (15:00 - 1st) K.Jackson pass complete. Catch made by C.Marshall for 12 yards. Tackled by K.Jones at ARK 37. |
| Kickoff | (15:00 - 1st) P.Woodring kicks 65 yards from UGA 35 to the ARK End Zone. Touchback. |