Cox throws for 375 yards, 5 TDs as Georgia scores shootout win over Arkansas

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Georgia Survives Arkansas, 52-41

WERE YOU THERE?

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories! I was there »

Top 25 Overview

It was over when... With about 5 minutes left to play, Caleb King ran Georgia to the Arkansas 11. The Dawgs settled for a field goal and took a two-possession lead. Gameball goes to... Joe Cox, who threw for five touchdowns and is in a four-way tie for most TDs thrown in Georgia history. He went 18-of-26 for 375 yards. Stat of the game... 14. The Bulldogs were charged with 14 penalties for 93 total yards. Arkansas also saw a few flags -- 11 penalties for 100 yards. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	20	17
Total Yards	530	485
Passing	375	408
Rushing	155	77
Penalties	14-93	11-100
3rd Down Conversions	5-13	3-14
4th Down Conversions	1-1	1-2
Turnovers	3	1
Possession	31:52	28:08

Air/Ground Leaders
Georgia Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Cox 18/26 375 5 1	Arkansas Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Mallett 21/39 408 5 0
Georgia Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Samuel 16 104 1 80 King 11 59 0 19	Arkansas Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Smith 8 59 0 23 Johnson 6 16 0 6
Georgia Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Green 7 137 2 29 Moore 6 91 0 23	Arkansas Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Childs 5 140 2 40 Wright 4 108 1 48

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				UGA	ARK
	TD	12:23	Joe Adams 18 Yd Pass From Ryan Mallett (Alex Tejada Kick)	0	7
	TD	09:56	Aron White 21 Yd Pass From Joe Cox (Blair Walsh Kick)	7	7
	TD	09:37	Jarius Wright 48 Yd Pass From Ryan Mallett (Alex Tejada Kick)	7	14
	FG	02:26	Blair Walsh 35 Yd	10	14
	TD	00:13	Greg Childs 30 Yd Pass From Ryan Mallett (Alex Tejada Kick)	10	21
SECOND QUARTER				UGA	ARK
	TD	10:56	Richard Samuel 80 Yd Run (Blair Walsh Kick)	17	21
	TD	01:51	A.J. Green 25 Yd Pass From Joe Cox (Blair Walsh Kick)	24	21
	FG	00:00	Blair Walsh 37 Yd	27	21
THIRD QUARTER				UGA	ARK
	TD	09:37	Greg Childs 40 Yd Pass From Ryan Mallett (Alex Tejada Kick)	27	28
	TD	07:51	Tavarres King 50 Yd Pass From Joe Cox (Blair Walsh Kick)	34	28
	TD	05:15	D.J. Williams 2 Yd Pass From Ryan Mallett (Alex Tejada Kick)	34	35
	TD	04:34	Orson Charles 44 Yd Pass From Joe Cox (Joe Cox Pass To A.J. Green For Two-Point Conversion)	42	35
	FG	01:20	Alex Tejada 23 Yd	42	38
FOURTH QUARTER				UGA	ARK
	TD	10:46	A.J. Green 28 Yd Pass From Joe Cox (Blair Walsh Kick)	49	38
	FG	07:21	Alex Tejada 23 Yd	49	41
	FG	02:10	Blair Walsh 31 Yd	52	41

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- In his third game as Matthew Stafford's successor, Joe Cox joined him in the Georgia record book.

Cox threw five touchdown passes, tying a school mark and leading the No. 23 Bulldogs to a wild 52-41 victory over Arkansas on Saturday night. Georgia turned the ball over three times in the first half but moved the ball pretty much at will after that.

Fast Facts

• Georgia improved to 25-4 in SEC road games under Mark Richt.

• The Bulldogs and Razorbacks combined for more than 1,000 yards and 93 points.

• Georgia quarterback Joe Cox tied a school record with five touchdown passes to go along with his 375 passing yards.

• In his SEC debut Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett broke a school record with five touchdown passes of his own.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Stafford, the No. 1 pick in this year's NFL draft, is one of three other Georgia players to throw five touchdown passes in a game.

"It's pretty cool," Cox said. "It's definitely not something I expected to happen. We didn't know it was going to be a shootout like that, but if a team wants to make it a shootout, we've got to find a way to answer."

Cox was 18 of 26 for 375 yards with an interception. It was the second straight high-scoring win for Georgia, which edged South Carolina 41-37 last weekend.

Ryan Mallett set two school records for Arkansas, throwing for 408 yards and five touchdowns. The Razorbacks (1-1, 0-1) led 35-34 in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs' struggling defense held Arkansas to two short field goals the rest of the way.

"Especially in games like that, when we know we're moving the ball and we can score points, when the defense holds them to a field goal that's a win for us," Cox said. "Those stops are huge."

The teams fell short of the Southeastern Conference record of 104 points in a non-overtime game, set when South Carolina beat Mississippi State 65-39 in 1995. The lead changed hands four times in the third quarter alone.

After Mallett's 2-yard touchdown toss to D.J. Williams put Arkansas up 35-34, Georgia needed only two plays to take the lead for good when Cox threw a 44-yard scoring pass to Orson Charles. After that, the Bulldogs (2-1, 2-0) lined up to go for 2. A penalty pushed the ball back, but with the Arkansas defense offering no resistance, Georgia went for 2 anyway from the 8-yard line.

Cox found A.J. Green open in the corner of the end zone for a 42-35 lead.

Green put the Bulldogs ahead 49-38 with a 28-yard touchdown catch with 10:46 left in the game. He finished with seven catches for 137 yards.

Georgia improved to 25-4 under coach Mark Richt in SEC opponents' stadiums, although the Bulldogs looked shaky early, losing two fumbles and an interception.

"We've got to do a lot of things better," Richt said. "We really need to stop turning the ball over and putting our defense in a bad spot."

Arkansas led 21-10 in the second quarter and had just intercepted Cox near midfield when the Razorbacks suddenly lost their discipline. Razorbacks linebacker Jerry Franklin was called for two personal fouls and ejected, and Arkansas was called for an illegal block on the next play that wiped out a big gain.

"It's a shootout," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "In a shootout, you have to make every play count."

As Georgia was starting its next drive, the Razorbacks were hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Bulldogs then backed themselves up with a penalty of their own, but Richard Samuel found a gaping hole for an 80-yard touchdown run that turned the game around.

The Bulldogs gained 201 yards in the quarter and took the lead on a 25-yard pass from Cox to Green one play after Georgia converted on fourth down. The Bulldogs led 27-21 at halftime.

Greg Childs opened the scoring in the third quarter with a 40-yard touchdown catch for Arkansas. Cox answered with a 50-yard scoring strike to Tavarres King to put Georgia ahead 34-28.

Mallett threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter. His 18-yard TD pass to Joe Adams opened the scoring. After Cox answered with a 21-yard scoring pass to Aron White, the Razorbacks ran a reverse on the ensuing kickoff and Cobi Hamilton returned it to the Georgia 48. Mallett found Jarius Wright for a touchdown on the next play.

Childs made it 21-10 with the catch of the night, a full-extension dive to haul in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Mallett.

"They are playmakers and they showed that time and time again tonight," Mallett said. "They made great plays when I got the ball anywhere near them."

Childs caught five passes for 140 yards, and Wright added four receptions for 108 yards.

The teams committed 25 penalties for 193 yards.