LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Razorbacks had their guts ripped out two games in a row, and appeared to have few in reserve during a disastrous second quarter onslaught from No. 10 Georgia on Saturday.
Georgia rattled off 38 consecutive first-half points after Arkansas scored on the game's opening drive, and the Bulldogs held on for a 45-32 victory before a crowd of 54,959 at War Memorial Stadium.
A ball-hawking defense and a mini-implosion by the Razorbacks worked in unison to give Georgia a 38-6 halftime lead.
"That first half we weren't ourselves and the only person responsible for that is me, I guarantee 100 percent," Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said.
Georgia freshman Nick Chubb rushed for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns and the Bulldogs turned 4 takeaways into 21 points to improve to 5-0 in road games against Arkansas.
Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) solidified its hold on the top spot in the SEC East. The Bulldogs also notched the first victory of the season against the SEC West by a nondivision team after the West's 26-0 start.
"Obviously the first half was about as good as you could ever hope a first half to go," said Georgia Coach Mark Richt, who has a 45-14 road record."
"We felt very in control," Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd said. "We felt like they were ready to tuck their tails."
The Razorbacks (3-4, 0-4) made a good accounting of themselves in back-to-back losses to No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 7 Alabama, but their 16th consecutive loss was sealed in the second quarter as Georgia reeled off 31 points with its defense and Chubb taking control.
"I know we didn't show up to play and once we got down -- too much -- it was too far for us to come back," Arkansas defensive end Trey Flowers said.
"You can't get down 38-6 ... at any point in the game," said Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen, who passed for a career-high 296 yards and 3 touchdowns, but also threw 2 interceptions and was sacked 3 times, one leading to a fumble and 54-yard touchdown return by Dominick Sanders in the fateful second period.
"Just totally uncharacteristic things with our offense," Allen said. "Turnovers. Just a lot of things that hurt us. Just killed us. It's tough to come back from stuff like that."
A series of undisciplined plays that proved costly in the second quarter were particularly concerning to Bielema.
Defensive back Tevin Mitchel drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty away from the ball after Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason threw incomplete on third-and-7 early in the second quarter. Chubb powered 43 yards off left tackle for a score two plays after the drive-sustaining penalty and Georgia led 17-6.
Receiver Demetrius Wilson was also flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, linebacker Braylon Mitchell was ejected for a targeting penalty on Mason, and the Razorbacks were also called for a chop block.
"We gave Georgia basically 20 points and you can't do that in the SEC against anybody," Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry said.
Arkansas outgained the Bulldogs 422-386 and dominated time of possession by almost 10 minutes, but it didn't register on the scoreboard. Georgia limited the SEC's top rushing offense to 126 yards, 152 yards less than the Razorbacks' average.
Arkansas took the opening kickoff, and following their pound-it blueprint, churned out a 13-play drive that took 7:51 off the clock and ended with a 1-yard run by Alex Collins.
But Ray Drew blocked John Henson's extra-point attempt, and Georgia answered swiftly, with Mason finding Chris Conley for 48 yards down the left sideline on the first snap. Three plays later, Mason sneaked over from the 1 and Georgia led 7-6.
The Bulldogs took a 10-6 lead early in the second period on Marshall Morgan's 37-yard field goal before things began to unravel for the Hogs.
Alex Collins dropped a pitch deep in Arkansas territory, and after Floyd recovered at the 7, Mason's slant found its mark to Michael Bennett on the next snap for a 31-6 Georgia lead.
The Razorbacks tried to restore order by driving to the Georgia 34, but the Bulldogs defense struck again. Jordan Jenkins charged around left end Dan Skipper and smashed into Allen from his blind side, causing a fumble that Sanders brought back for a touchdown to complete Georgia's 38-0 run.
Arkansas drove to the Georgia 20 in the final seconds of the half, but Damian Swann intercepted Allen in the end zone to finish off the second-quarter blitz.
The Razorbacks rallied in the second half, outscoring Georgia 26-7 as Allen threw touchdown passes to Keon Hatcher (8 yards), Hunter Henry (4 yards) and Kendrick Edwards (4 yards) and Collins rushed for his second touchdown.
"Georgia's a good football team, give them a lot of credit," Bielema said. "Anytime we started to get it a little bit close, they answered the score. Unfortunately too much in the end to overcome."
Sports on 10/19/2014