THE WEEKEND: College football opening weekend filled with fireworks

A look at some of the best moments from the weekend in college football.

I recently joined the College Wire as a contributor for the Razorback Wire, and one of the main points that were stressed by my editors was to have fun. I contacted them to add some fun with a weekly column titled THE WEEKEND.

What’s THE WEEKEND? It’s self-explanatory. Weekends in the fall are all about football. Fridays and Saturdays are fun.

THE WEEKEND explores the amateur football landscape through my eyes as I dissect the best moments from high school football Friday and college football Saturday. Each Monday, you’ll get to consume my opinion on the biggest stories, my “Kendall’s 15” rankings, Heisman hopefuls, and many other fun topics from the football weekend. 

So let’s not waste much time and get into THE WEEKEND. 

What Arkansas media is saying about Georgia football ahead of Saturday’s season opener

See what the Arkansas media is saying about Georgia ahead of Saturday’s matchup. Details and analysis here!

It’s finally here. No. 4 Georgia is set to kickoff its 2020 season at Arkansas on Saturday at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network.

UGA coach Kirby Smart matched up against former offensive line coach Sam Pittman, who left the Bulldogs last year to take the head coach position in Fayetteville.

Georgia has not yet named a starting quarterback and Smart hinted to the possibility of UGA keeping that under wraps anyway, but we know that former Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks will be at signal caller for the Razorbacks.

Here is what the Arkansas football media is saying about the Bulldogs:

“Maybe Smart mentioning Mathis last means he’s going to start. Several Georgia media members have speculated Mathis will start Saturday.”

“Georgia’s expected starter Jamie Newman who transferred in as a grad transfer from Wake Forest was generally considered the most likely quarterback, but he opted out of the season. That left USC transfer JT Daniels and D’Wan Mathis as the likely candidates. A reporter speculated to Pittman that Mathis seemed to be the likely starter.

“Georgia did not rack up a bunch of sacks last season either, finishing 46th nationally with 31 total, nor did the Bulldogs did not make a lot of TFL (60th with 76). Given those numbers, the fact that UGA was second nationally in allowing just 2.6 yards per rush without a lot of those negative yardage plays is even more impressive. They also led the nation with only two rushing touchdowns allowed.

The Razorbacks, off consecutive 2-10 seasons, start last year’s true freshman starting guard at center and first-time starting redshirt freshmen guards. They’ll either start a third-year sophomore (injured last season) or last year’s incumbent at right tackle with the lone senior starter at left tackle.

Arkansas has more than a challenge Saturday. Georgia enters with the best defense in the nation and some serious talent on offense, featuring guys like George Pickens, Zamir White, James Cook, etc.

It will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs treat the quarterback position Saturday. Will we see one guy take over the game, or will we see each player get some reps, and who gets the starting nod and why?

Because of the questions surrounding J.T. Daniels’ knee, I suspect D’Wan Mathis will get the start and a majority of the reps, with Daniels and Stetson Bennett seeing a limited number of snaps. We may even see freshman Carson Beck get reps as well.