Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

9/18/2010 at 3:48pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Greg Childs runs to the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown late in the Razorbacks' victory against Georgia on Saturday.

Arkansas 31, Georgia 24
Why Arkansas Won
Arkansas was able to grind out a fourth-quarter victory Saturday in Athens, Ga., after seeing them slip away last year. It’s something the entire off-season was devoted to. Credit the Razorbacks for finding a way to win on the road, something they’ve struggled to do under Bobby Petrino. Georgia tied the game with 3:55 left and was driving for a potential game-winner until the defense responded late.

Gamebreaker
Take your pick, here. Razorbacks wide receiver Greg Childs’ 40-yard touchdown provided the final points. Ryan Mallett was 3-for-3 for 73 yards and a touchdown on the final drive. Defensive end Jake Bequette set it all up with a crucial third-down sack on Georgia’s previous possession to get Arkansas the ball back with 54 seconds left.

Mallett Watch
As good as he was in the first two games, referring to Ryan Mallett as a "Heisman Trophy candidate" seemed like it needed to be delivered with a bit of caution. Seems legit now.

Mallett completed 21 of 33 passes (63.6 percent) for 380 yards and three touchdowns. And he did it on the road - where he struggled last year - plus engineered a game-winning drive.

Arkansas drove 73 yards on three plays in 39 seconds with Mallett leading the offense. He went 3-for-3 with passes to D.J. Williams (18 and 15) and Childs (40-yard touchdown). Arkansas didn't even have to burn a timeout on the rapid march.

Mallett is now sixth on the Arkansas career passing list after just 15 games with 4,705 yards. He passed Joe Ferguson (4,431), Quinn Grovey (4,496) and Bill Montgomery (4,590) on Saturday.

Dedication Game
Running back Dennis Johnson didn’t play Saturday. He wasn’t even in Georgia after undergoing surgery earlier in the week.

But Johnson played a crucial role for Arkansas. Teammates dedicated the game to Johnson and called him immediately after the game to lead their post-game celebration.

Feeling Pressured
Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray didn’t have an easy day. Arkansas defenders were often in the backfield and finished with six sacks, including one from Jake Bequette on the Bulldogs’ final drive.

Bequette, linebacker Jerry Franklin and defensive end DeMario Ambrose each had big third-down sacks. Another Georgia drive in the third quarter ended in pressure from an Arkansas defender, which forced Murray to throw incomplete.

Redemption
Franklin led the team with eight tackles. He recorded a sack and played a key role in the victory.

Perhaps that will make up for last year’s Georgia game. Franklin was ejected in the first half with Arkansas up 21-10. The Razorbacks lost 52-41 and struggled without Franklin on the field.

So Close
Bobby Petrino promised a punt return for a touchdown at some point this season. Arkansas nearly got it, but a block-in-the-back penalty negated what would have been a 62-yard Joe Adams return for a score.

Adams finished the day with only one return for 1 yard. He was plenty productive on offense, though. Adams led the team with six catches for 130 yards.

Quotable
“It was a good win for us. No question you can grow up after a game like that.”
— Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino on his postgame radio show.

Up Next Arkansas faces No. 1 Alabama in what could be a matchup of Top 10 teams. Currently, the Razorbacks are ranked No. 12 and they’ve moved up in the polls each week since the season began. At this writing, Alabama was rolling to an easy win over Duke.

Tagged: Greg Childs, Jake Bequette, Dennis Johnson, Ryan Mallett, Bobby Petrino, Southeastern Conference, Georgia Bulldogs, Arkansas Razorbacks