Bulldogs roll past Arkansas in SEC opener

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The No. 2-ranked Georgia football team ran wild in its SEC opener against Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The Bulldogs piled up 254 rushing yards, and Chauncey Bowens scored three touchdowns on the ground in the 45-17 win.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton was efficient passing and explosive running, finishing the game 10 of 13 for 147 yards and a touchdown through the air, while also rushing for a career-high 97 yards, highlighted by a career-long 62-yard run in the second quarter. Nate Frazier rushed for 75 yards on 14 carries and scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season, while Bowens had 39 yards and three scores on 11 attempts. The Bulldogs finished with 464 yards of offense and averaged 7.4 yards per play.

The Georgia defense held Arkansas to 300 yards of offense, much of that coming after the Bulldogs had a big lead. Georgia also held the Razorbacks to 17 yards rushing on 20 attempts. Seven Bulldogs had at least four tackles, led by six each from Demello Jones and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye. Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) also had three sacks, including two by linebacker Raylen Wilson, and six tackles for loss.

Arkansas (1-2, 0-1) got the ball to start the game and drove to the Bulldog 38-yard line. On fourth-and-5, the Bulldogs’ Khalil Barnes broke up a pass to get the turnover on downs. Georgia made the most of the good field position, driving 62 yards on five plays for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 6:53 left in the first quarter. Stockton hit Lawson Luckie for a 33-yard gain to the Arkansas 21 on third down, and Frazier later scored on a 5-yard run.

With the help of a pair of Arkansas pass interference penalties on third downs inside the Razorback 20, Georgia took a 14-0 lead on Bowens’ 2-yard touchdown run with 8:45 to go in the first half. The 10-play drive included a 22-yard run by Stockton and a 19-yarder from Frazier.

After giving up a 37-yard pass play on the ensuing drive, Georgia’s defense clamped down and forced another punt. Quintavious Johnson got a 5-yard tackle for loss on a pass play, and Justin Williams followed that with a sack for a loss of 7 on third down. The Bulldogs began their next drive at the UGA 7, and after a couple of short runs, Stockton took off for a 62-yard gain to the Arkansas 11. Two plays later, Bowens ran the ball in from the 5 for a 21-0 lead with 36 seconds left in the half.

Arkansas kicked a 41-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 21-3. At the break, Georgia had a 227-146 advantage in total offense, including 164 yards rushing to the Hogs’ 11. Through three games, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 105-12 in the first half.

Georgia got the ball to start the third quarter and continued to run the ball effectively. Frazier began the drive with a 12-yard rush, followed by a 25-yarder from Stockton. The quarterback later had a 13-yard run as well. The Bulldogs ultimately had to settle for a 38-yard Peyton Woodring field goal, his first of the season, pushing their lead to 24-3 with 9:02 remaining in the period.

The Bulldog defense got the ball right back thanks to a Wilson strip and sack that was recovered by Jordan Hall at the Arkansas 32. Bowens began the drive with a 6-yard run and ended it with a 1-yard touchdown, his third score of the game, making it 31-3 with 3:35 left in the third. Stockton connected with Sacovie White-Helton three times on the drive, for 3, 11 and 5 yards.

Georgia’s Maurice Hayes blocked Gavin Rush’s punt on Arkansas’ next drive, and the Bulldogs took over at the Razorback 49. Georgia wasn’t able to capitalize on the block, however. The Bulldogs did find the end zone again on their next drive. With 12:42 left in the game, Stockton hit Craig Dandridge Jr. for a 61-yard touchdown up the left side, making it 38-3.

Arkansas’ Sutton Smith scored on a 5-yard run with 8:30 remaining, cutting the Bulldog lead to 38-10. Ryan Puglisi took over at quarterback for Georgia after that, and led the Bulldogs to their sixth touchdown of the game. He found Luckie for 24 yards on third-and-7 at the Razorback 26, and then hit Luckie in the back of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown and a 45-10 lead with 2:31 to play.

The Razorbacks got into the end zone with 40 seconds left on a 2-yard pass from KJ Jackson to Ty Lockwood, making the final score 45-17.

The win was Georgia’s 30th in a row on the road against unranked opponents and 51st straight against unranked teams overall. Up next for the Bulldogs is No. 24 Oklahoma next week at Sanford Stadium.

POST-GAME NOTES

*Successful SEC Opener: With a 45-17 win today over Arkansas, the Bulldogs improved to 11-0 in SEC openers plus 11-0 in their first SEC road game in the Kirby Smart era.

*With the latest victory, the Bulldogs lead the overall series with Arkansas 13-4 including 6-0 in Fayetteville/Little Rock.

*This year, second-ranked Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) has beaten Tennessee State 63-3, Western Kentucky 70-20 and Arkansas 45-17.

*Record Scoring Output Continues: After building a 21-3 lead in the first half, Georgia has outscored its three opponents this season 56-0 in the first quarter and 105-12 in the first half. In the second half this season, the Bulldogs are outscoring their foes 73-28.

*Defensive Review: UA finished with 300 yards on 62 plays and scored 14 of the 17 points in the 4th quarter.

*In the first half, Arkansas posted three points, tallying 146 yards of offense (11-rush, 135-pass) on 29 plays. UA scored on its final possession of the first half, settling for a 41-yard field goal with two seconds left, going 52 yards in six plays in 34 seconds.

*The leading tacklers today were junior Demello Jones and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye with six apiece.

*Senior linebacker Raylen Wilson (2 sacks, 1 forced fumble) and junior Justin Williams combined for three sacks.

*On Arkansas’ opening possession on a 4th-and 4 from the UGA38, senior Khalil Barnes had a pass break up to force a turnover on downs. UA had gained 37 yards on the drive with three first downs.

*In the first half, sophomore OLB Quintavious Johnson sniffed out a trick play, and it resulted in a TFL for five yards after UA had moved to the UGA 31 following a 37-yard completion. Then, a seven-yard sack by junior ILB Justin Williams, the first of his career, forced a punt.

*Offensive Review: Georgia tallied 45 points on 464 yards of offense in picking up its first SEC road win of the year.

*Georgia took the 2nd half kickoff and settled for a 38-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring to extend its lead to 24-3.

*On its 2nd possession of the 2nd half, it had a 4th-and-2 at the UA 24 and converted with an 11-yard completion to Sacovie White-Helton. The drive ended with Chauncey Bowens’ third TD of the day and a 31-3 advantage.

*In the first half, Georgia tallied 227 yards of offense on 30 plays, gaining 164 yards on the ground and 63 through the air.

*Fifth-year QB Gunner Stockton (10-13 for 147 yards, 1 TD plus career-high 97 rushing yards) led the Bulldogs to another victory. He finished the first half 5-for-6 for 63 yards including a 62-yard rush. In the second half, Stockton connected on a 61-yard TD strike to freshman Craig Dandridge Jr. for his first career score. Up 38-10, junior QB Ryan Puglisi played the final eight minutes of the contest led the team to a TD.

Georgia’s first possession of the game started at the UGA 38, and the Bulldogs went 62 yards in six plays in 3:45 for a 7-0 lead. On 3rd-and-2, Stockton hit senior TE Lawson Luckie (3 rec., 59 yards, 1 TD) for a 33-yard completion to the UA 21. Junior Nate Frazier capped the drive with a 5-yard TD. Luckie would add a two-yard TD catch in the 4th quarter.

*This season, Stockton directed 13 consecutive touchdown drives before Georgia was forced to punt on its second possession today.

*On the 3rd possession, a pair of pass interference penalties in the end zone extended the drive and led to a Chauncey Bowens 2-yard TD and a 14-0 lead with 8:45 left in the first half. It was a 10-play, 75-yard drive in 6:08, a season high for plays and time.

*In the first half, Georgia was 3-for4 in scoring drives, all TDs (not counting the 1-play drive with two seconds to run out the 1st half). The Bulldogs scored a TD on their first seven possessions against WKU after scoring on their first five in the season-opening win over TSU.

*The Bulldogs allowed their first three sacks of the season while the Georgia defense registered three sacks.

*The Running Game: Georgia tallied 254 rushing yards on 42 atttempts for a 6.0 average and four TDs.

*The Bulldogs finished the first half with 164 yards rushing on 24 attempts for a 6.8 average and three TDs.

*Junior Nate Frazier gained 75 yards on 14 carries. He had a five-yard TD in the first half to give him five scores on the year in his first 12 carries.

*Junior Chauncey Bowens finished with 11 carries for 39 yards and a career-high 3 TDs.

*Freshman WR Craig Dandridge Jr., had his first career rush and it covered six yards plus his first career receiving TD (61-yarder).

Fifth-year QB Gunner Stockton (7 rushes for career-high 97 yards) had the game’s longest rush with a career-long 62-yard scamper on 3rd-and-2 from the UGA 27.

*Special Teams Summary: Senior PK Peyton Woodring tallied nine points on six PATs plus a 38-yard FG, and he took care of the kickoffs. Today marked his first field goal of the season as he is now 60-for-68 in his career.

*Junior Drew Miller finished with a 40.0 average on one punt that landed inside the 20.

*In the second half, senior London Humphreys registered a blocked punt, the first by the Bulldogs since the 2025 SEC Championship Game against Alabama by Cole Speer.

*Points off Turnovers: Georgia scored 7 points of one turnover (Raylen Wilson caused it on a sack and recoverd by Jordan Hall at the UA32).The Bulldogs have scored 35 points off five turnovers and. Georgia is +3 in TO Margin this season.

*Captains, Coin Toss And For Starters: Georgia’s captains were Earnest Greene III, Lawson Luckie, Gabe Harris Jr. and Raylen Wilson.

*Georgia won the toss and elected to defer the football until the 2nd half. Junior Sacovie White-Helton (WR) made his first career start.

*Up Next: No. 2 Georgia (3-0) faces #24 Oklahoma in Athens on Sat., Sept. 26th at 3:30 pm ET (ABC/ESPN). OU hosts New Mexico tonight.

POST-GAME QUOTES

Coming soon.