Georgia begins their quest to win the SEC for the third year in a row on Saturday at Arkansas. The Razorbacks are extremely overmatched as Georgia is favored by over three touchdowns in this game, but that doesn't mean UGA can overlook them.
Upsets happen all the time and the most likely time for Georgia to be upset is when they play on the road in the SEC. So even though they are much better than Arkansas on paper there are still a few keys they need to focus on to ensure they win this game.
1. Take Arkansas out of the game early
One important key anytime Georgia is on the road is to take their opponent out of the game as early as possible. This doesn't mean they need to get up by multiple scores immediately, but they need to make a few big plays on both sides of the ball before Arkansas does.
The Arkansas fans will be into the game at the opening kickoff. They'll be loud and feeling as confident as they possibly can when the game begins, so the sooner Georgia can take them out of the game the better.
All it takes is a touchdown drive the first time Georgia's offense steps on the field to quiet the crowd, and if the defense takes the field first then a three and out will help dampen the mood in the stadium.
Georgia is a much better team than Arkansas. The longer Arkansas keeps this game close the more belief they will have and the louder the fans will be, so the sooner Georgia can squash their belief the better.
2. Keep the play calling as vanilla as possible
Georgia needs to keep their play calls as simple as possible throughout this game. This key has nothing to do with this game specifically, but it will help them in the future when their schedule gets more difficult.
Next week Georgia welcomes Oklahoma to Athens and after that they have Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Ole Miss soon after. Those games will be far more difficult than Arkansas, so Georgia needs whatever advantage they can get heading into those matchups. One way they can gain an advantage is by keeping as much of their playbook hidden as possible so when these teams scout them they can't learn as much.
Georgia should be able to beat Arkansas just like they were able to win their first two games of the season while calling simple plays on both sides of the ball, so if they can do that again they will help themselves out in the future.
3. Give us much rest to Georgia’s starters and key players as possible
The last key is to give Georgia's starters as much rest as possible. This was important for Georgia the last two weeks because the more rest their starters get the less likely a critical injury occurs. On top of that, the more playing time their backups get the more developed they will be in the future when Georgia needs them.
Georgia only played Gunner Stockton and other starters in the first half during their first two games this season. It's unlikely that they will be up enough where Georgia can take their best players out that early, but it should be their goal to get up by enough points where they can come out and let their backups play by the end of the third quarter.
Kickoff between Georgia and Arkansas is scheduled for 12:00 pm EST. On paper this may not seem like a big game but in college football every game matters as Georgia looks to win the conference for the third year in a row.
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