Georgia Bulldogs Football: Arkansas Razorbacks to Know for Saturday
In one of the better football games of this third weekend of college football action, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Arkansas Razorbacks will come together for a hard-hitting clash in Athens, Georgia.
Sanford Stadium will be buzzing, full of loud and passionate Bulldogs fans eagerly awaiting their shot at Heisman Trophy candidate Ryan Mallet and the rest of the Arkansas team.
The Razorbacks will be bringing a better record into enemy territory. They've won their first two games quite handily, beating Louisiana Monroe and Tennessee Tech by a combined score of 75-10. The Bulldogs on the other hand, have played stiffer competition, but failed in their attempt to remain unbeaten.
Georgia tore apart Louisiana-Lafayette in its home opener, scoring 55 points to the measly seven of the Ragin' Cajuns. The Bulldogs' venture into Steve Spurrier's domain did not go as planned though. The Bulldogs failed to produce a single touchdown and fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks by an 11-point margin.
Last season, Georgia had the pleasure of visiting Arkansas and won an offensive shootout 52-41. One of the Bulldogs' receivers had seven catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Unfortunately for head coach Mark Richt, that player's name was A.J. Green and he is not going to be playing in Saturday's contest due to violations of an NCAA rule and the resulting four-game suspension.
Going farther back into the history of the two SEC schools, Arkansas has lost its last six showdowns with the foes from Athens. The last two times that Arkansas visited Sanford Stadium, the Razorbacks lost by a combined four points.
Read on to learn who the key players are going to be for the Arkansas squad.
Ryan Mallett
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Ryan Mallett is without a doubt the best player on this Arkansas team. And he may even be one of the best players in the country as many pundits include him in the list of Heisman candidates.
Mallett towers over many players on the field with his 6'7" frame, a huge advantage when throwing over the sizable lines in the SEC. While he isn't exactly a scrambling quarterback, he makes up for that with his incredible field vision and throwing ability.
Because of these skills, Mallett has been hailed with numerous preseason honors. He's listed as a preseason First-Team All-SEC quarterback and an All-American quarterback to boot.
The quarterback who transferred from Michigan has not disappointed in his first two games of the 2010 season. They were both games against weak competition, but he still produced. Mallet in those games threw for a total of 701 yards and seven touchdowns to just two interceptions.
If any player has a chance to single-handedly win this showdown for the Razorbacks, it will be Mallett. He, like he does against any team he faces, has the ability to pick apart the Georgia defense if he's having a good day.
Kniles Davis, Broderick Green, and Ronnie Wingo
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With Dennis Johnson out indefinitely after emergency surgery to repair a ruptured bowel, Kniles Davis, Broderick Green, and Ronnie Wingo look to take over in the Arkansas backfield.
Of the three, Green is the most experienced, but he is primarily a goal-line and short-yardage back. Green is a junior at Arkansas while the other two are sophomores.
The Razorbacks' backfield no doubt suffered tremendously with the loss of Johnson, but if these three combine to produce in the running game, then the loss could be minimized.
Wingo and Davis are going to be under the most pressure during the game as they will be the ones who will be looked to for the filling of Johnson's speedy shoes.
Joe Adams
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Of Arkansas' three best receivers, Joe Adams is the one known for his technique and consistent production.
He stands at a relatively small 5'11" and only weights 182 pounds, but he still manages to catch the football quite well.
The first game this season was what Arkansas fans hope to see repeated. Against Tennessee Tech, Adams hauled in six catches for 138 yards and two scores.
Against Louisiana Monroe, he only caught three passes. But Adams still managed to average over 25 yards per catch and amassed 76 yards receiving that game despite not getting his hands on the ball too often.
If the Mallet-to-Adams connection gets going, Georgia could find itself in a somewhat less than ideal position.
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Greg Childs
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Greg Childs is the biggest of Arkansas' talented trio of targets for Ryan Mallett.
The junior, an Arkansas native, is 6'3" and weighs 217 pounds. Yet he still possesses a great set of hands, a set that is quite proficient at catching the pigskin.
This season has already been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride for Childs.
In the first game of the year Childs got off to a slow start, catching just four balls for 26 yards. However he more than made up for his lack of production with an offensive explosion the following week. Against Louisiana Monroe, Childs hauled in 12 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
He hopes to have his success carry over into the third week of the season, but Georgia's cornerbacks will not let that be easy.
D.J. Williams
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As if Mallet didn't already have enough great targets. D.J. Williams is a great safety valve for the quarterback and is without a doubt one of the best tight ends in the entire FBS.
Williams, who fills out his 6'2" frame with 251 pounds of solid muscle, was honored through his inclusion as a preseason All American by several polls.
He hasn't quite lived up to the lofty expectations that come with that title.
In the first game of the season Williams caught five passes for 68 yards. His longest reception went for 19 yards. However, instead of pulling a Greg Childs and picking up his production in the second game, he did even worse.
Williams only caught three passes for 44 yards in the game against Louisiana Monroe.
A true feel-good story, Williams has overcome a childhood in which he witnessed many traumatic displays of domestic violence. He's a guy against whom it's hard to root.
But the Bulldogs will put all emotions aside and try their best to stop one of the nation's premier tight ends on Saturday.
Ramon Broadway
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The Arkansas defense, traditionally porous, isn't exactly brimming with superstars. However, Ramon Broadway talks like it is.
Before last season's clash, the outspoken cornerback talked about his upcoming matchup with A.J. Green, saying: "He definitely does a lot of things that a lot of veteran guys do. Bu he hasn’t done nothing else that I haven’t seen. I’ve been playing for the last season, so A.J., he’s going to be a good guy. But they’ve got to do a little bit more [than] the last two weeks to beat us.”
The results were not pretty for Broadway, who got burned by Green. The No. 1 wideout for the Bulldogs had seven catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Broadway on the other hand had nothing else to say.
He still didn't learn his lesson and recently took offense to a radio talk show saying that he should consider himself lucky to not be facing Green. Broadway disagreed and voiced his preferences, saying that he wished Green was playing.
Instead, Broadway will be matched up with Georgia receiver Kris Durham. This matchup will be a key one in determining the outcome of the game.
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