No. 2 Georgia. No. 8 Arkansas.

Yeah, no one saw that coming.

If you’d have told me before the season that the Arkansas Razorbacks would be ranked No. 8 in the polls after Week 4, I’d have thought you were crazy. Yet, all Sam Pittman has done in Year 2 in Fayetteville is lead the Razorbacks to a 4-0 start, with wins over a pair of ranked teams in Texas and Texas A&M.

I thought it’d take the former Georgia assistant a few years to reboot the program. But take Arkansas football under Chad Morris and Arkansas football under Pittman, and the differences are night and day.

To be fair to the Hogs, despite a No. 8 ranking, they’ll be an underdog between the hedges Saturday. They always were going to be, anyway. But if Georgia thinks it can simply show up in this one and breeze to victory, it’s mistaken.

Here are 4 concerns the Bulldogs should have as the Razorbacks come to town:

1. Stopping KJ Jefferson

If KJ Jefferson can’t hurt you with his arm, he’ll gladly do it with his legs.

The redshirt sophomore has recorded 230 yards on 32 carries while throwing for 844 yards in 4 games. What’s more, he has thrown just 2 interceptions in 78 pass attempts.

Texas A&M saw the damage he can do behind a sturdy offensive line. And he’s going to get better as the season goes on. He’ll easily pose the biggest test among the quarterbacks the Dawgs have faced thus far in the 2021 season. Will he be deserving of some Heisman love? Should the Hogs pull out the road win, his stock could certainly rise.

He has plenty of weapons, too, led by Treylon Burks.

2. Those wars in the trenches

Pittman is a long-time offensive line coach, so he’s well aware of the importance of winning games at the line of scrimmage.

And right now, the Razorbacks have bought into what he’s selling on both sides of the ball.

Sure, Isaiah Spiller had 12 carries for 95 yards for the Aggies on Saturday. Take away a 67-yard run, though, and that becomes 28 yards on 11 attempts. Devon Achane didn’t do much better as he accumulated just 24 yards on 5 carries. That’s 3.25 yards a carry outside of Spiller’s big run.

Arkansas is running the ball well, too, ranking 2nd behind Florida in the conference in rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns.

Georgia traditionally has been a team that thrives on stopping the run, and they’ll need to lean on Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and the rest of the defensive line to help lead the charge in that department once more. Conversely, the Dawgs’ offensive line will need to contend with the Hogs’ experienced defensive front and gain enough leverage to be able to run the ball effectively throughout the afternoon.

3. A talented secondary led by Jalen Catalon

Safety Jalen Catalon emerged as a star last season, earning All-SEC honors after totaling 3 interceptions, 4 passes defended and 99 tackles.

Simply put, if you’re looking to find anything in the middle of the field, good luck against the Texas native. He already has 2 interceptions through 4 games this season while ranking 3rd on the team with 30 tackles.

It’ll be interesting to see how often Catalon engages with Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, who is tied for 2nd in the SEC with 4 TD receptions.

Catalon will likely be playing on Sundays in 2022 unless he returns for one last go-around in Fayetteville, but he’s shaped himself into one of the top defensive backs in the country.

4. A hungry Razorbacks team with nothing to lose

Pittman will receive a warm welcome in his first game at Sanford Stadium since departing Georgia for the head coaching job at Arkansas. He clearly knows the in and outs of the program, personnel, strengths and possible weaknesses after serving under Kirby Smart for 4 seasons.

But business is business, and the pleasantries will end as soon as the ball is kicked off.

And I think that the Razorbacks will come out as loose as they’ve been all year as they know that they’ll have nothing to lose. No one expected them to be in this position. That doesn’t mean that they won’t be prepared: They’ve been down this road before this season.

All it takes is 1 or 2 early plays or missed opportunities for the Dawgs to concede momentum to the visitors. Arkansas will gladly pounce on any mistakes Smart’s team makes to put them in an early hole.

JT Daniels and company will probably win this one to improve to 5-0, but not without a fight from the Hogs.