No. 12 Arkansas coughs up 14-point lead, prevails over Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. - Ryan Mallett threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns, including a 40-yard scoring pass to Greg Childs with 15 seconds remaining that gave No. 12 Arkansas a 31-24 victory over Georgia after it blew a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter Saturday.

The Razorbacks (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) won on the road for just the second time in nine tries under coach Bobby Petrino, whose team had heartbreaking losses at Florida and LSU last season.

Now it has that signature road victory - and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Next up: top-ranked Alabama in Fayetteville.

"Wow, what a game," Petrino said. "We stuttered in the fourth quarter and put our defense in a tough situation, but we got a good win."

The Bulldogs (1-2, 0-2) rallied from a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game on Washaun Ealey's 3-yard touchdown run with 3:55 remaining and seemed to have all the momentum.

Georgia got the ball back with a chance to win it, but Jake Bequette halted the drive at midfield with a ferocious sack of Aaron Murray, ripping off his helmet in the process. A poor punt by Drew Butler gave Arkansas the ball at its own 28 with 47 seconds left.

Plenty of time for Mallett, who completed three straight passes, the last of them to Childs, who was wide open along the sideline, cut inside to fake out safety Shawn Williams at the 25 and went the rest of the way untouched for the winning score.

All three of Mallett's touchdown passes came on badly blown coverages by the Bulldogs. He went 57 yards to Chris Gragg just 21/2 minutes into the game and hooked up with Ronnie Wingo Jr. on a 22-yard scoring play in the final seconds of the third quarter, giving Arkansas what seemed a comfortable lead heading to the final period.

Georgia played its third straight game without star receiver A.J. Green, who is suspended for four games.

- AP