Little bro does well in debut
COLUMBIA, S. C. — After waiting for nearly two seasons, Arkansas redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Dick finally got into his first college game.
Dick came off the bench in the fourth quarter of South Carolina’s 34-21 victory over Arkansas on Saturday after Razorbacks senior starter Casey Dick — his older brother — suffered a possible concussion.
Entering the game with six minutes to play after Casey Dick was sacked, Nathan Dick directed the Razorbacks on a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.
The drive was aided by two pass-interference calls against the Gamecocks, but Nathan Dick completed 4 of 8 passes for 38 yards, including an 11-yard gain to Lucas Miller on a fourthand-2 play from the South Carolina 12.
Nathan Dick also had a 5-yard gain on a scramble.
“I liked how Nathan operated,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “He made some good throws and made some good decisions and had a nice little run out of there.
“ I’ve always said we’ll never know how good Nathan is until he gets in live action. You see his instincts in the pocket and ability to run, but it had never been live action. He got the ball in the end zone.”
Nathan Dick moved up to second-team quarterback after freshman Tyler Wilson was sidelined in recent weeks by mononucleosis. “Ever since Tyler went down with mono, Nathan’s been getting a lot of reps,” Petrino said. “It was good to get him some live work.”
Golden Boy Swimming star Michael Phelps, who has won an Olympic-record 14 gold medals, watched the game from South Carolina’s sideline. Phelps, who lives in Baltimore, has a girlfriend in Columbia and frequently visits.
“I just met Michael,” Gamecocks Coach Steve Spurrier said after the game. “In fact, I just gave him a visor. I think he’ll go out on the town, and I hope he wears a South Carolina visor out.” South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia said he saw Phelps on the sideline. “He’s really tall, taller than I thought,” Garcia said. Phelps, 6-4, holds seven world records and has 16 Olympic medals overall, including two bronze to go with all that gold.
Mixing it up South Carolina safety Chris Culliver was ejected with 1: 18 left for throwing punches at Arkansas’ Khiry Battle after the Gamecocks recovered an onside kick.
“That’s an unbelievably selfish play on his part,” South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said. “It was a sad ending for a good game.
“ I couldn’t believe I saw him in there swinging away. Everyone knows you can’t do that.
“ That’s embarrassing to me and my coaches to have a guy swinging. I apologize to Arkansas and their coaches.”
In accordance with NCAA rules, Culliver, a starter, will have to miss the first half of South Carolina’s next game at Florida because of his ejection.
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said he didn’t have a good view of the play, but he praised his coaches and players for making sure no Razorbacks were ejected for fighting or leaving the bench area. Completion record
Casey Dick has set an Arkansas record for completions in a season with 187. The record had been held by Barry Lunney Jr., who had 180 completions in 1995.
Dick got his 181 st completion to break Lunney’s record on a 3-yard pass to tight end D. J. Williams with 12 minutes left in the third quarter. Secret weapon Arkansas fullback Mitchell Bailey, a true freshman walkon from Broken Arrow, Okla., who rarely plays, slipped out unnoticed and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Casey Dick to pull the Razorbacks within 20-14 in the third quarter. It’s the only time Bailey has touched the ball this season.
Depth chart Arkansas sophomore offensive tackle Ray Dominguez returned to the starting lineup Saturday after missing last week’s game against Tulsa because of a knee injury. Senior defensive end Antwain Robinson made his first start since the opener against Western Illinois with Adrian Davis and Damario Ambrose sidelined by knee injuries. Go figure South Carolina senior Ryan Succop hit a 54-yard field goal in the first quarter — yeah, there was a strong wind at his back, but he really nailed it — then missed a 25-yard fieldgoal attempt into the wind in the second quarter.
Route 66 Chris Smelley’s 66-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jared Cook in the second quarter was South Carolina’s longest play of the season. Mount McKinley Kenny McKinley now stands atop South Carolina’s career receiving yards list. McKinley, who had seven catches for 130 yards Saturday, raised his career total to 2, 602 yards. Sterling Sharpe had held the record with 2, 497 receiving yards from 1983-1987. McKinley also is South Carolina’s all-time leader in receptions with 188. Earlier this season he broke Sharpe’s record of ©.
Thumbs up To South Carolina’s defense, which sacked Casey Dick six times and intercepted him three times. To Gamecocks defensive end Jordin Lindsey, who looked like a wide receiver in extending his arms for an interception that he returned 41 yards on the last play of the third quarter with Arkansas driving for a potential go-ahead touchdown. To Arkansas backup tailback Brandon Barnett, who in his most extensive playing time of the season rushed 7 times for 45 yards and 1 touchdown.
Thumbs down To Arkansas’ defense, which yielded a 72-yard touchdown drive on 11 consecutive run plays. To Arkansas’ offense, for failing to get a first down and punting after an interception by Dallas Washington set up the Razorbacks at the South Carolina 48 in the first quarter.
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