FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After watching Arkansas be blown out by No. 2 Georgia 45-17 inside CommunityAmerica Razorback Stadium on Saturday, there was one thing missing and that was physicality.
Bulldogs defensive line coach Tray Scott even had his linemen doing group drills during a timeout because he felt his team wasn’t being challenged enough, according to head coach Kirby Smart.
Georgia was playing an SEC opponent, albeit an Arkansas team picked No. 16 in the preseason media poll, yet Scott apparently didn’t believe his defensive line was getting enough good-on-good work. The ABC broadcast crew noted how unusual it was to see those drills taking place during an actual game.
“That’s a, a belief he has of, you know, we’re not getting enough work,” Smart said after the game. “They’re not, [Arkansas] was not running the ball. They’re not being physical enough. They’re not, they’re not… We need to get work, so he gets work between snaps and between huddle breaks to make sure we’re getting enough to earn in their NIL every day.
Smart acknowledged Georgia’s defensive front wasn’t getting the physical work Scott wanted because Arkansas had largely abandoned the running game. The Razorbacks finished with just 17 rushing yards and, at one point in the second half, had only one net yard on the ground.
This was a surprise to no one as the Razorbacks have struggled to sustain anything on the ground with what was expected to be a solid group with Memphis transfer Sutton Smith, Michigan transfer Jasper Parker and two holdovers in Braylen Russell and Cam Settles.
Arkansas’ offensive line struggled to consistently win one-on-one battles, with Georgia recording six tackles for loss and three sacks. Smart knows his talented defensive front can load the gaps up against almost any team in the country and have success.
However, he did credit Arkansas and its ability to find success in the passing game. Between KJ Jackson and AJ Hill, the quarterbacks completed 28-of-41 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown through the air.
Jackson completed three passes of 22 or more yards on Saturday while Hill completed one to Chris Marshall for 37 in the second quarter.
“Because they threw it every down,” Smart said. “They threw for 280, so that’s what you do, you know? And plus, rushing yards takes out sacks. So it’s misleading when you look at it that way. But teams are going to struggle to run the ball against us. They’re going to have to throw it, and they threw it well.”
Saturday marked Arkansas’ worst rushing performance since losing to LSU 24-17 during the 2018 season. The worst rushing effort in a single game in Razorback football history came in a 56-7 loss to Florida in 1997 when the rushing attack was held to minus-56 yards on the ground with only 19 of those yards lost by sack.
Sometimes max effort doesn’t equal top-notch physicality, and that’s something Scott didn’t feel his defensive line was getting enough of.
“Yeah, the ability to sustain blocks because there were some things that were there that we’ve got to be able to sustain a block right where we may have hats for hats and numbers lining up,” Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield said. “Man, we just got tackled for a no-yard gain because a guy got beat on a one-on-one. Again, I always go back out front. You’ve got to continue improving fundamentals.
“You’ve got to continue to look and say, ‘Okay, is there something that we can do to find ways to get the running backs in better spacing? Are there other creative ways we got to do that?’ So with the offensive line, you’ve got to continue to go back, and you’re not going to reinvent the wheel up front because they show some things that are capable of doing.”
Arkansas has one more week to work out the kinks of its run game when Tulsa comes to Razorback Stadium looking to record its second victory over a Power Four program this month. With an eight-game stretch of SEC games following Week 4, there is no amount of effort that will compensate for an offense that can’t consistently win at the line of scrimmage.
And Saturday was the most glaring example yet that Arkansas isn’t particularly close to the middle of the pack in SEC roster talent, despite athletic director Hunter Yurachek’s assessment this time last year.
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