Georgia Bulldogs Game Saturday: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Georgia Bulldogs odds and prediction for NCAA Week 5 game
Georgia football’s surprising Top 10 matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks is loaded with storyline and intrigue.
Former Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman now roams the sidelines as the head man for the Hogs, and he’s led a resurgence in Fayetteville.
ESPN’s College GameDay thought so much of the matchup that the preeminent college football pregame show announced it will be on-site in the Classic City Saturday to preview Dawgs-Hogs and the rest of the weekend’s college football slate.
📍 A T H E N S
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 26, 2021
We're headed to the Classic City for @RazorbackFB vs. @GeorgiaFootball 👏 pic.twitter.com/aXlh6GamBy
Georgia football heads into Saturday’s tilt fresh off a 62-0 shellacking of Vanderbilt in their first true road game of the season.
The Razorbacks also enter the game off of a big win, defeating No. 7 Texas A&M in the Southwest Classic 20-10 to move to 4-0 on the season and forcing their way into the AP Top 10 in the process.
It seems the TV networks did not expect the Hogs to top the Aggies in Dallas on Saturday, as the Georgia-Arkansas game ended up in the noon kickoff slot on ESPN when game times were selected by the networks last Monday.
Now the premier matchup of the weekend will take place in the least desirable TV slot of the day.
Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Georgia Bulldogs odds for Week 5:
Given the early kickoff time, and the tendency of college football fans to enjoy the tailgate for as long as possible before heading to the stadium for a noon kickoff, Georgia football coach Kirby Smart issued a challenge to Dawgs fans following the Vanderbilt game.
Smart wants Georgia fans to be “ELITE” for the Saturday matinee with the Hogs, encouraging fans to show up early, to be as loud as they’ve ever been, and to match the intensity of the Georgia football team.
Georgia enters the noon matchup with Arkansas as a 19.5 point favorite according to the latest odds from WynnBET. WynnBET currently lists even odds for both Georgia and Arkansas at -110 to start the week (bet $110 to win $100).
If you like betting totals, WynnBET currently lists the over/under for Dawgs-Hogs at 48.5 points. There are also currently even odds on the total, with both the over and the under sitting at -110 (bet $110 to win $100).
Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Georgia Bulldogs Prediction for Week 5:
Arkansas’s roster includes 19 redshirt seniors. 19! That doesn’t only equate to invaluable experience on their roster, that’s also 19 guys with five, and for some six, years in Arkansas’s strength and conditioning program to mature and develop.
What they’ve shown so far in 2021 is that they are stout at the point of attack on the offensive and defensive side of the football.
In head coach Sam Pittman, the Hogs boast a former offensive line coach with decades of experience recruiting and developing the hog mollies up front. That’s been evident through four games, as Arkansas is second in the SEC in rushing yards per game, averaging 261 yards on the ground per contest.
Defensive coordinator, and former Missouri head coach, Barry Odom has the Hogs playing fast and physical on defense as well. Arkansas only allows 14.5 points per game and opposing offenses only average 267 total yards per outing.
The Hogs are 4-0. They’ve got a home win and neutral site win over Texas and Texas A&M. They’re the No. 8 team in the country.
It’s important to lay all that out to emphasize that Arkansas is a damn good football team. Yet, the folks in the desert still installed Georgia as a 19.5-point favorite.
That’s because Georgia is an elite football team. They’re in Year 6 of Kirby Smart and his coaching staff recruiting their tails off and building a roster juggernaut with a two-deep full of studs on both sides of the football.
As good as Georgia has been so far this season, they’re primed to get even better this weekend, as West Virginia transfer Tykee Smith should return from injury on defense, while teenage mutant ninja tight end Darnell Washington should also make his 2021 debut, giving Todd Monken and JT Daniels yet another offensive weapon at their disposal.
What Sam Pittman has done at Arkansas in less than two full seasons is remarkable, and the Hogs are off to a special start. They just do not have the depth, or explosive talent on either side of the football to keep pace with Georgia for four quarters.
Plus, Arkansas’s offense is not built to play from behind. They need to run the football, and take a few deep shots when defenders creep down into the box to stop the run.
If Georgia comes out hot and gets on the board early like they have in their last three games, things could get out of hand. This Georgia football team is must-see TV each week, The defense looks impermeable and the offense continues to stretch the field and exploit opposing defenses. Even though the number seems big given the rankings, we like the Dawgs to cover and we’ll take the over as well.