Carolina falls short in Fayetteville

Momentum can be a funny thing.

South Carolina had fought its way to a 10-10 draw at halftime. But then, on the first play of the second half, quarterback Stephen Garcia found freshman Alshon Jeffery down the middle of an 80-yard touchdown and the Gamecocks had a 16-10 advantage.

But the extra point was muffed, and the game was never the same.

“We dropped the snap on the extra point, which always seems to be a bad omen for us,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said. “It just seems like nothing good happens.”

Bad omen may have been an understatement.

Arkansas (5-4, 2-4 SEC) scored the next 23 points, and USC (6-4, 3-4) was never able to recover, as the Razorbacks knocked around the Gamecocks 33-16 at sun-drenched Donald W. Reynolds Stadium.

Other than the bomb to begin it, the third quarter was fairly miserable for USC.
After falling behind by six, the Razorbacks moved the ball 73 yards and quarterback Ryan Mallett punched it in from the 1-yard line for a 17-16 advantage.

“We had a little momentum right there, but they took it and went down there and scored. So they answered,” Spurrier said. “Someday around here, hopefully if we get ahead a little bit, we cannot let them catch up real fast.”

USC responded, driving to the Razorbacks’ 25-yard line. But Garcia’s fade pass intended for Jeffery was picked off in the end zone..

Seven plays and 80 yards later, Arkansas’ lead was up to eight at 24-16.

“I guess defenses have seen us doing it so much they’re just sprinting back there and making plays,” Garcia said. “Those are the kind of plays that turn momentum. And it did. And it just spiraled downhill from then.”

Then, center Garrett Anderson snapped the ball over Garcia’s head on the next possession, and the ball sailed into the end zone for a safety.

“It looked like Garrett snapped it a little high and hard,” Spurrier said. “I don’t know if Stephen was not looking or what. I think he was looking. It just went right through his hands with pretty good velocity.”

Arkansas added insult to injury late in the fourth, when Broderick Green punched it in from 3 yards.

“We had a decent showing in the first half. Had a few big plays. But then we stopped playing after the first drive [of the second half],” Anderson said.

The first half featured several big plays for USC, as the Gamecocks moved the ball at will on their first possession. Tailback Kenny Miles and receiver Moe Brown both netted runs of more than 20 yards on USC’s first drive.

But a delay of game penalty on fourth-and-goal at the 2 forced kicker Spencer Lanning to settle for a 23-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.

“It’s like, so close yet so far away,” tight end Weslye Saunders said of USC’s red zone woes. “We’ve got to get back to the basics, back to the drawing board, try to figure something out and get back in the end zone.”

Arkansas immediately responded, as Joe Adams’ 18-yard run put the Hogs up 7-3.

After being forced to punt back to South Carolina, the Hogs attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-2 at their own 26-yard line. Freshman Quin Smith made the play of his young career, tackling Ronnie Wingo for a 2-yard loss.

Carolina only needed four plays from there, as Garcia capped off the drive with a 1-yard rush as USC reclaimed the lead at 10-7.

Just when it looked like USC would take that lead to the half, Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett threw underneath to D.J. Williams with 22 seconds left in the half for a 69-yard gain.

From there, the Razorbacks were able to net the tying field goal, bringing the halftime score to a 10-10 draw.

By: Chris Cox The Daily Gamecock

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