It isn't easy to make sense of how Arkansas plays Alabama off its feet, and one week later gets blown up by Georgia in the opening half.
Yes, the Razorbacks had a much-improved second half, and it wasn't until Brandon Allen's second interception -- and that was tipped -- led to Georgia's sixth touchdown that most of the loud crowd of 54,959 could no longer resist the lure of the golf course.
The score was respectable in the end -- Georgia 45, Arkansas 32 -- but there were some obvious differences in the Dogs and Hogs, starting with speed.
Georgia had it in abundance. On both sides of the ball and on the sidelines. There seemed to be no drop-off when the Bulldogs made a substitution.
They led 38-6 at the half even though they had the ball for only 10:17.
It took the Bulldogs 1:28 to answer Arkansas' opening touchdown drive. Georgia went 74 yards for its touchdown, needing only five plays to take a 7-6 lead. Not only did they never trail after that, it wasn't really close.
Saturday was the first time since Oct. 19 of last year, when they lost 52-0 to Alabama, that the Razorbacks didn't appear to make progress in the first half.
Since that day the Hogs have inched forward, especially in the first half of games, and after last week's 14-13 loss to one of the most prominent programs in the country, it appeared that the mourning period was over and the Razorbacks were back.
National and local media boldly predicted that the Hogs were going to end their streak of SEC losses that started after beating Kentucky in 2012.
There was plenty of Kool-Aid for everyone. The bandwagon was huge. Jump on and take a ride to Hog Heaven.
Second-tier bowls would be lining up and begging the Razorbacks to take the biggest offensive line in the country to their city.
But Georgia is improving, too, and every week it seems to be proving that its 38-35 loss to South Carolina was a fluke.
It was 38-6 at the half Saturday.
Arkansas didn't have an answer for Georgia's linebackers, and by intermission the Razorbacks already had lost two of four fumbles, had three huge penalties, including two personal fouls, and had given up three sacks.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were scoring a touchdown at a rate of about every two minutes thanks in part to freshman Dominick Sanders' 54-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 2:08 to play in the first half.
You can't spot a disciplined, veteran team like Georgia a 38-6 lead in the first half and expect to win.
The Razorbacks didn't give up and scored their first fourth-quarter points against an SEC opponent this season. In fact, they scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and with 5:05 to play, the score was 45-32. That's how it ended.
Arkansas made second-half adjustments to get Allen more time and keep him from eating so much artificial turf. They mostly found a way to slow freshman running back Nick Chubb, who had 130 yards in the first half and two touchdowns.
Georgia was better. It had the speed, the discipline and the experience to step into a very hostile environment -- War Memorial Stadium was rocking -- and get a victory.
Both teams were well-coached, but before Arkansas could get to halftime, the Bulldogs had exploited every weakness the Hogs have. That included a lack of depth, which is why Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema recently said he is a recruiting class away from being competitive every week.
In the end, the Hogs made progress, but this time they stumbled early and couldn't recover. So there will not be any more Kool-Aid or bold predictions for a while.
After all, it was 38-6 at the half.
Sports on 10/19/2014