QUARTERBACKS South Carolina senior Blake Mitchell missed some receivers, but was on target enough to complete 27 of 52 attempts for 364 yards and 2 touchdowns without an interception. Arkansas junior Casey Dick was efficient, completing 8 of 10 passes for 82 yards, including a 35-yarder to Lucas Miller on a trick play. He also did a good job of changing plays at the line, Coach Houston Nutt said.
ADVANTAGE South Carolina RUNNING BACKS Arkansas junior tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones shredded the South Carolina defense for a combined 486 rushing yards, including an SEC- and schoolrecord 323 by McFadden. McFadden and Jones each went over 1, 000 yards for the second consecutive season, the first SEC duo to accomplish that feat. McFadden also threw a touchdown pass. Sophomore tailback Michael Smith added 32 yards on three carries taking handoffs from McFadden out of the WildHog, and fullback Peyton Hillis had 35 on five carries. Cory Boyd led the Gamecocks with 94 rushing yards — 14 more than McFadden on his 80-yard TD run to finish the night’s scoring.
ADVANTAGE Arkansas RECEIVERS South Carolina’s receivers found some seams in Arkansas’ coverages as Dion Lecorn had career highs of 8 catches for 109 yards and 1 touchdown, Kenny McKinley had 7 for 72 and Jared Cook had 4 for 55 and 1 touchdown. Arkansas ’ wideouts combined for just four catches, but three were for touchdowns to seniors Marcus Monk and Robert Johnson and sophomore Lucas Miller.
ADVANTAGE South Carolina OFFENSIVE LINE Arkansas’ offensive line opened the holes that led to a monster rushing game and didn’t allow a sack. South Carolina’s line protected Mitchell well much of the game but wasn’t dominant.
ADVANTAGE Arkansas DEFENSIVE LINE Arkansas junior tackle Ernest Mitchell had two tackles for losses, including a sack. Senior tackle Marcus Harrison plugged the middle with five tackles. South Carolina sophomore defensive end Darren Norwood had two tackles for 10 yards in losses.
ADVANTAGE Arkansas LINEBACKERS Arkansas sophomore outside linebacker Freddie Fairchild had five tackles, including a sack. Senior middle linebacker Weston Dacus had seven tackles. South Carolina junior middle linebacker Marvin Sapp had a team-high 12 tackles, but too often the Gamecocks’ linebackers were watching Arkansas’ backs whiz by them.
ADVANTAGE South Carolina DEFENSIVE BACKS Arkansas sophomore safety Rashaad Johnson, who played a lot in the dime package with six defensive backs, had a game-high 13 tackles. Senior safety Matt Hewitt added 12 tackles. But too often the defensive backs were beaten on pass plays in soft coverages. South Carolina’s defensive backs weren’t tested often but played solid coverage. Gamecocks sophomore safety Erin Cook had nine tackles.
ADVANTAGE South Carolina SPECIAL TEAMS Felix Jones had a 49-yard kickoff return to help set up an Arkansas touchdown. South Carolina recovered an onside kick that resulted in a touchdown, but also had an attempt go out of bounds that gave Arkansas a short field for a touchdown drive. ADVANTAGE Even
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