Auburn, Arkansas face tests

Call it judgment week for Arkansas and Auburn.

The Razorbacks showed signs of promise two weeks ago in their season-opening 48-10 win against Missouri State. But Arkansas will find out how much it has progressed in its second season under coach Bobby Petrino on Saturday when the Hogs host Georgia.

“We’ll learn a lot more about our team, I can tell you that,” Petrino said. “Georgia already has had two great tests, against Oklahoma State and against South Carolina. We took care of our business to open the season. It will be a big test to match their speed.”

Georgia erupted for a pair of big plays, a 61-yard TD run on a reverse by Branden Smith and a 100-yard TD kickoff return from Brandon Boykin, in its 41-37 win over South Carolina. That’s why Petrino is so wary of Georgia’s speed.

“They have already seen that level of speed in two games, and we haven’t,” Petrino said. “We have to make sure to come out and be aggressive and match them early.”

Petrino has been pleased with the development of 6-foot-7, strong-armed sophomore starting quarterback Ryan Mallett, a transfer from Michigan who passed for 309 yards and a touchdown in Arkansas’ season-opening win.

“He’s a great student of the game,” Petrino said. “He’s down from 265 to 237 pounds so he’s really taken a responsibility to get in shape for the offense that we need to run.”

Auburn took care if its first Southeastern Conference test, beating Mississippi State 49-24 to open the season 2-0. But the Tigers will step out of conference to host West Virginia in a matchup of teams knocking at the door of the Top 25.

Auburn is looking to avenge a 34-17 loss at West Virginia last season.

“West Virginia has great athletes everywhere, offense, defense, special teams,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “This will be a game to show exactly how good we are and who we are. They are a team that’s loaded with talent and playing with a lot of confidence.”