Georgia Football: What the Bulldogs Must Do to Slow the Arkansas Ground Attack

The Georgia Bulldogs offense has been excellent at running the ball, averaging 275 yards per game, which is second in the SEC. The one team that is doing better when running the ball than the Bulldogs is the team they will play on Saturday.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are averaging 278 yards per game. Like the Bulldogs, they have three quality backs that can produce at any given time. Alex Collins, Jonathan Williams and Korliss Marshall make up the three-headed monster for the Razorbacks and all three average at least 4.8 yards per carry.

How do the Bulldogs slow down or even stop the Arkansas ground attack?

One thing to note about the Bulldogs defense is they are the No. 2 rushing defense in the SEC, averaging 101 yards per contest. They only allowed one 100-yard rusher this year, and that was Jalen Hurd of Tennessee.

Name	Rushes	Yards	Touchdowns
Alex Collins	92	634	6
Johnathan Williams	86	569	9
Korliss Marshall	24	116	1

However, Arkansas is a team that relies heavily on the run, which is why this will be a difficult challenge for the Bulldogs. The front seven needs to generate pressure, which this team has been solid at this season.

It's not just sacks, but tackles for loss also play a factor in generating pressure. The Bulldogs' two outside linebackers, Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins, are good at making plays in the backfield. Both players have a combined six tackles for loss. Those two will be X-factors in making plays off the edge because Collins and Marshall are guys that can make plays outside the tackles.

As for Williams, he’s a power runner that is hard to bring down. He will be used when the Razorbacks want to run between the tackles.

This is where Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson come in.

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The top tacklers on the team, Herrera has 47 and Wilson has 41. Both rarely miss tackles and both are leaders on defense. They will need to do the same thing they have been doing all season, and that’s flying to the football and making sure their teammates knows their assignments at all times.

If Wilson and Herrera struggle in terms of making the right calls and making tackles, the Razorbacks will have no issues running the ball against the Bulldogs.

The defensive linemen also need to do their part and beat an offensive line that only has one senior.

The rotation includes Ray Drew, Mike Thornton, Toby Johnson, Sterling Bailey and Josh Dawson. The two players to watch are Johnson and Dawson, as both have combined for 2.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss.

The defensive line rotation will need to make sure they eat up space for the linebackers, stopping Collins, Marshall and Williams from getting to the second level.

Again, this will be the most difficult rushing offense the Bulldogs have faced this season.

Despite being fundamentally sound in run defense, the Razorbacks know what they are on offense and will pound the ball all game long. It’s vital for the Bulldogs to not let the Razorbacks run wild because they can’t afford to let them get going, especially in the early stages of the game

The Bulldogs made a statement when they shut out Missouri last week. They need to make another statement when they travel to Little Rock on Saturday.

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