Bulldogs' scheme, execution too much

ROB KEYS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas didn't make a lot of positive offensive plays Saturday against No. 25 Georgia. The Razorbacks didn't make a lot of excuses after the 38-7 loss, either.
"They just whipped us today, and that's tough to take," said quarterback Robby Hampton, who threw two interceptions and struggled to find open receivers for most of the game.
Hampton echoed what proved to be Arkansas' party line when asked about the Razorbacks' inability to get untracked. Instead of piling blame on himself or his teammates, Hampton credited Georgia for putting together a near-perfect defensive scheme that seemed to have an answer for everything Arkansas tried to do.
"I've got to get better at some things, but they just had a lot of our plays covered," Hampton said. "There's nothing we can say. They just came in ready to play and did a good job."
The first part of Georgia's defensive plan was to shut down an Arkansas ground game that lacked the punch of Cedric Cobbs and limit the Razorbacks' short passing game. The Bulldogs were successful at both, limiting the Razorbacks to a meager 80 yards (63 passing, 17 rushing) of total offense while building a 24-0 halftime lead.
"They took away the running game and the quick [passing] game early, and anytime they do that, you have to come back with something else," receivers coach Fitz Hill said. "It's like a chess match, and today we didn't make the proper adjustments."
Hill said Arkansas tried to counter with some deeper pass routes to stretch the Georgia defense, but the Bulldogs used three players to guard two Razorbacks receivers.
"Their defense is bend but don't break and don't give up the big play," Hill said. "We were in situations where they were able to overplay us a lot, with three on two, and that didn't allow our guys to get open [deep] like that. That happens sometimes.
"They did a great job, and I give all the credit to them."
Arkansas also had to juggle its offensive line when junior left tackle Shannon Money aggravated an ankle injury after the Razorbacks' second offensive play.
Senior transfer John Geitner initially came in and played left guard, with La'Zerius White moving into Money's spot. Redshirt freshman Mark Bokermann later took over at left tackle but struggled against Georgia senior defensive tackle Richard Seymour, a preseason All-America candidate.
"You've got Bokermann going against a senior that weighs [300] pounds," Coach Houston Nutt said. "Physically, it's unfair."
Center Josh Melton said Georgia's domination at the line of scrimmage was keyed largely by stunting along the defensive front and prevented Arkansas from establishing any semblance of offensive rhythm.
When that happens, Melton said, bad things usually follow.
"A ballgame is won in the trenches," Melton said. "When the trenches go, the team goes. You can look at that through the ages. That's just the way it is.
"If your [line] struggles, it's going to be a long day."

This article was published on Sunday, October 1, 2000

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