5 things to know before Georgia-Arkansas

“Make no mistake about it, this is not the same Arkansas we played last year,” Smart said.

Georgia enters Saturday’s contest as 18.5-point favorites, according to VegasInsider.com, but the Razorbacks want to play spoiler.

Here are five things to know entering Saturday’s game:

JT Daniels facing another ailment

After returning from his oblique injury against South Carolina, Georgia starting quarterback JT Daniels didn’t see much of an issue. He threw for 301 yards, three touchdowns at a 23-for-31 clip to validate his improved health.

Daniels credited the Bulldogs’ training staff, led by the expertise of longtime sports medicine director Ron Courson. The training staff did numerous treatment sessions with numerous methods to ensure Daniels could return to play after missing the season’s second game against Alabama-Birmingham.

He followed his showing against the Gamecocks with a strong half of play against Vanderbilt. Daniels seemed healthy and threw for 129 yards and a lone completion for sitting out a majority of the game in a blowout win over the Commodores. His coach, however, said a different injury has arisen. It remains to be seen whether it would impact Daniels’ playing time against Arkansas, and the Bulldogs could turn to Stetson Bennett or Carson Beck for in-game reps if needed.

“He’s got a little bit of a lat issue that bothered him a bit this week and bothered him a bit last week,” Smart said during Wednesday’s SEC coaches’ teleconference. “He’s done a good job. He’s sharp, watches all of his tape, gets his reps and does a good job. We’re hoping he can stay that way.”

Big recruiting weekend

Georgia finds itself in the national spotlight on its home campus yet again. “College GameDay” will host its acclaimed show on the Bulldogs’ grounds for the first time since the Notre Dame thriller in 2019, and all eyes will be glued to the noon showdown with Arkansas.

Each time attention is drawn to Georgia’s program, Smart’s eyes must light up for one reason. He can center everything around recruiting.

“The fact that ‘GameDay’ is here helps with recruiting,” Smart said. “I think the way our fans handle it, the atmosphere they create, will help, whether it gives us more time at the end of the game, as opposed to guys being gone. We’ll probably have an opportunity to see them more afterwards.”

Georgia had a strong week on the recruiting trail after it landed four-star cornerback Kayin Lee. The Bulldogs host a star-studded list of prospects including five-star safety Kamari Wilson, a pair of Texas A&M pledges Bear Alexander (formerly a Georgia commit) and Deyon Bouie (a Bainbridge native) and others will be perched in the Sanford Stadium seats.

The challenges of Arkansas’ Treylon Burks

Georgia’s secondary has been quite solid despite all of the questions surrounding it. It might face its biggest test Saturday against the Razorbacks, because wide receiver Treylon Burks has put himself in the discussion amongst the SEC’s best pass catchers.

The Bulldogs fell victim to the deep ball against South Carolina — albeit on a couple of 1-on-1 situations — when Gamecocks’ receiver Josh Vann recorded 128 yards on three catches. Burks has posted similar numbers through his first four games: 373 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He has averaged 19.6 yards per reception and slightly more than 93 yards per game.

Last season, Burks recorded 102 yards and a touchdown against Georgia.

“You could put him everywhere. He’s in the backfield as a quarterback, he’s a receiver, he’s a slot receiver, a tight end, I mean, he does everything,” Smart said. “They find ways to get him the ball. He’s been fast, faster than you think he is. He gets out there on the edge and can go on. He’s really tough.”

No changes to running back rotation

Georgia takes pride in having four capable options at running back. The talent is to the level where there isn’t much of a drop-off regardless who records a rushing carry. Over four games, Georgia has used each of them to a nearly even workload.

As the Bulldogs’ have had a few struggles in run production, it begs the question: Would Georgia be better off having a featured ball carrier?

Smart has always split the load, but it has normally been a duo with the likes of D’Andre Swift, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel becoming stars. This season is a bit different as Georgia doesn’t have a running back in the top 100 in yards per game. Zamir White, the leading rusher, has averaged nine carries per game. The nation’s leaders have around 20-to-25 rushes per week, but Smart believes in his philosophy.

“I think it’s important to stay healthy, stay fresh, use the hot hand,” Smart said. “You’re not getting 20-25 carries because we’re able to share the load. I think that helps us from a turnover standpoint, a stamina standpoint, a health standpoint, a morale standpoint. By all means, if we have a back out there that’s making everybody miss, he’ll be in the game.”

Does a noon kickoff make any difference?

The last time Georgia took its home turf for a noon kickoff, it didn’t result in the program’s best memory. The Bulldogs lost to South Carolina in double overtime in a 2019 game in which they had four turnovers and numerous sloppy moments.

That afternoon sticks with many Georgia fans, but there’s reason to believe a concerning start time won’t have an effect on the team. Georgia opened play at noon Saturday, after all, and won 62-0 over Vanderbilt. Smart issued a challenge to nearly 93,000 fans attending the top-10 matchup with Arkansas and challenged them to be “loud” throughout the entire game.

‘College GameDay’ begins its show at Myers Quad, then moves the final hour of airtime inside the stadium. For a group that feeds off of the crowd’s energy, the Bulldogs are hopeful to have the home-field advantage. Otherwise, an early start might not be an issue.

“It really doesn’t change too much for us,” punter Jake Camarda said. “The only thing it changes is just that you have to wake up a little bit earlier, which isn’t really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.”