ATHENS, Ga. – He’d admirably rehashed a tough day. But then, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray was asked about tomorrow, and the expression changed.

Kris Durham had 101 receiving yards during Saturday's defeat to Arkansas. (Photo by UGA Sports Communications)

“It’s going to be hard," Murray said, "especially with such a close game like this where we had a chance to win it. But we’ve got another SEC game next week. We can’t let this ruin our season. It’s only game three. We can easily turn this thing around and start winning some games.

“Or it can really get bad pretty fast.”

Only a quarter of the way through its regular season, Georgia is where it has never been under Mark Richt. Saturday’s 31-24 loss to No. 12 Arkansas, despite a stirring late comeback, went down as a defeat when Ryan Mallett found Greg Childs for a 40-yard touchdown to break a tie with only 15 seconds remaining.

A memorable victory at Sanford Stadium for the Razorbacks (3-0, 1-0 SEC) was gut-wrenching for the Bulldogs (1-2, 0-2). They’ll held to Mississippi State next week as the first team in Richt's decade in charge to drop its first two SEC games, all but stumbling out of the Eastern Division race as soon as it began.

Richt didn’t beat up his team for the loss, instead focusing on a 14-point comeback when the deficit reached 24-10 late in the third quarter.

“If there’s a mistake here and there, I could live with those things a lot better than I could live with those things a lot better than I could live with a team that doesn’t have the heart to fight back,” Richt said. “They showed that, so I was proud of them in that regard. We’re going to stick together. We’re going to fight. We’re going to get better. And we’ll win as we go.”

Georgia’s defense, which allowed a 182-yard rusher a week ago at South Carolina, managed to hold Arkansas to 53 yards on 23 attempts. But the damage was caused this time by Hogs quarterback Ryan Mallett, who shredded the Bulldogs for 380 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-33 passing. All three scoring tosses were at least 20 yards, including the game-winner.

Taking advantage of what UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham deemed a “busted coverage,” Childs got loose on the sideline, rolling past safety Shawn Williams – who replaced Jakar Hamilton in mid-game – for a touchdown to break Georgia hearts in the dying moments.

“That was the main theme of the game: We’re playing well to a certain point, and then you give up a big play,” Grantham said. “That kind of negates everything you’ve done until then. … We attacked blockers better up front. I thought we were more physical up front. And I thought ‘We’re playing good.’ Then we’d give up an explosive play.”

UGA cornerback Vance Cuff said the final play involved a miscommunication in the secondary that allowed Childs loose for the reception.

“I can honestly say that it was a good call by Coach Grantham,” Cuff said. “That play was made for that route concept. It was just miscommunication in the secondary. That’s why he was so open. It was a call where the backside safety, he had half of the field. I honestly think he probably didn’t get the signal.

“I don’t know. We run those calls all the time. We just gave it up on that one.”

Mallett has already topped 1,000 yards this season as Arkansas heads into next weekend’s high-profile visit from top-ranked Alabama. His 57-yard throw to a wide-open Chris Gregg started the scoring Saturday. Though the Razorbacks never trailed, they allowed the Bulldogs to climb back into the contest behind 253 passing yards from Murray and 87 rushing yards by Washaun Ealey.

Of Murray’s 15 completions, Kris Durham snagged five for 101 yards and Tavarres King caught four for 91 yards, breaking tackles for an extra-effort touchdown that cut the gap to 24-17 midway through the fourth quarter.

When Ealey crossed the goal line on a 3-yard run at the 3:55 mark, Georgia had hope where little had existed for much of the afternoon.

“Our guys fought hard and played,” UGA offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “We just didn’t make enough plays. We had opportunities to make those plays, and we didn’t, which was disappointing. The effort was good. The effort when we got down to keep fighting and keep playing, I thought was valiant. It just wasn’t enough.”

Georgia’s defense got the football back for its offense with 2:18 remaining and the score tied. But two of Arkansas’ six sacks forced a punt, allowing Mallett one final chance.

The 6-foot-7 Michigan transfer responded immediately, completing three consecutive passes to account for all 73 yards of a final touchdown drive that lasted only 32 seconds.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Mallett said. “It’s something I’ve never experienced in my life, being part of a last-second win like that. It was probably one of the greatest moments I’ve had since I’ve been playing football.”

Sanford Stadium fell quiet except for a small contingent of Razorbacks fans, who could finally celebrate when Murray’s final heave into the end zone fell into a crowd and just out of the reach of Georgia’s Marlon Brown.

So that was it. Another UGA loss was followed by more questions about a young season that may be starting to get away from these Bulldogs.

“There will be moments for everybody over this weekend where we’ll be in pain mentally about it,” Richt said. “But the best medicine that we have is gathering back up on Monday, watching the film, getting rid of that taste and beginning to prepare for a new opponent. As coaches, we don’t have a whole lot of time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to get back to work, and we’ve got to get these guys prepared and knowing that we’ve got a plan and we’re going to continue to do what we do.

“There’s nothing else we can do.”