Gamecocks come up short on the road against Arkansas
South Carolina couldn’t get it done in its first SEC road test of the season, losing 44-30 to Arkansas.
A one-two punch of KJ Jefferson and Raheim “Rocket” Sanders proved to be too much for South Carolina, early and throughout the game.
The Razorback run game was simply too much to handle for the Gamecocks. Arkansas ran for 295 yards and 4.5 yards per carry, while totaling five rushing touchdowns from four different players.
After going into the half down 21-9, South Carolina showed glimpses of a comeback attempt at the start of the second half when they forced Arkansas to punt the ball in its opening drive.
In the ensuing drive, Spencer Rattler found Juice Wells wide open down the field for a 62-yard touchdown and all of the sudden it appeared the Gamecocks were back in it.
Rattler had another inconsistent day under center but Wells was his most frequent target. Wells was targeted 10 times and caught eight passes for 185 yards.
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Clayton White’s defense capitalized on the momentum from the touchdown and created a fourth-down stop on the next drive.
When it appeared that South Carolina had regained all the momentum in a one-score game, the Gamecock offense was forced to punt and then gave up a crucial fumble in back-to-back drives.
Jefferson kept his foot on the gas and led Arkansas to touchdowns on back-to-back drives to increase the Razorback lead to 35-16 with 12 minutes left in the fourth.
In response, Rattler put together a solid drive that appeared to have the Gamecocks threatening to enter the Arkansas red zone. Unfortunately for South Carolina, the pass was picked off in the end zone, seemingly icing the game.
Rattler finished the day 23-for-38 with 371 passing yards, along with one interception and one touchdown pass.
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While Rattler and the South Carolina offense struggled at times, Arkansas seemed to never skip a beat.
Jefferson was locked in through the air, throwing for 162 yards and a touchdown on 18-for-21 passing. He was just as dominant on the ground, running for 67 yards and a touchdown.
His counterpart in Sanders was just as electric on the field. Sanders finished the game with two rushing touchdowns and 156 rushing yards. He carried the ball 24 times and averaged 6.5 yards per carry.
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In true South Carolina fashion, the Gamecocks found a way to stay in the game until the very end.
After the interception, Rattler came out and found Wells for a 64-yard pass that set up a one-yard touchdown rush from Juju McDowell. A successful two-point conversion closed the scoring gap again, putting South Carolina down 35-24 with just over six minutes left in the game.
In an attempt to get the ball back after the score, South Carolina attempted an onside kick but Arkansas linebacker Bumper Pool returned the ball to the nine-yard line. The big return set up another rushing touchdown for the Razorbacks, this time from AJ Green.
Arkansas’ linebacker tandem of Pool and Drew Sanders were an important key in keeping the South Carolina offense under wraps. The two combined for 18 tackles, three sacks and two pass break ups.
The Gamecocks were able to get on the scoreboard one more time before the end of the game, thanks to a one yard touchdown rush from Jaheim Bell.
After the game had already been iced, intentional grounding was called on Rattler in the end zone and Arkansas was granted a safety that pushed the score to 44-30.
