By Scott Faldon
Times Record • sfaldon@swtimes.com
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The game plan for the Arkansas defense against South Carolina was simple — stop the run, force the Gamecocks to throw.
Well executed, it was a winning strategy.
Arkansas held South Carolina to just 105 rushing yards and 190 passing yards en route to a 41-20 blowout at Williams-Brice Stadium.
South Carolina came into Saturday’s game averaging nearly 152 rushing yards and 256 passing yards per game.
“We had to stop the run or slow it down — we would have been happy to just slow it down — but I think we stopped it,” Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said. “(We) made them throw the ball, that’s hard when you see those receivers to think you’re trying to make them throw the ball, but that’s what we were trying to do.”
South Carolina was hampered offensively when Marcus Lattimore was injured in the second quarter. Lattimore had carried 151 times for 722 yards and 11 touchdowns before Saturday. He’d carried eight times for 24 yards in the first quarter before a knee injury. After the injury, he carried just three more times for seven yards. His 11 carries and 30 yards were season lows.
“He’s a great player. Everybody knows that, but he’s just one player,” South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia said. “We moved the ball pretty well in the first half. We just had stupid stuff happen. We missed the field goal. We had an offensive pass interference. We had a lot of missed opportunities that we just can’t have happen.”
Tramain Thomas led Arkansas with seven tackles and a very timely interception.
Early in the third quarter, an Arkansas drive was snuffed by an interception. The Gamecocks took over at their own 15. On third-and-5, Garcia moved to his right to avoid the Arkansas pass rush. He fired a pass down the right side to an open receiver.
But Thomas charged, stepped in front of the receiver and grabbedd the interception. He returned it 12 yards to the South Carolina 20.
“I saw the quarterback scramble out and was just trying to press the receivers,” Thomas said. “I saw where he wanted to go with the ball and just broke on it. As a whole, our defense came out to play tonight.”
Five plays later, Knile Davis dove in from the 1 for a 31-10 lead.
But Arkansas suffered an injury as well. Starting corner back Ramon Broadway was hurt early in the first quarter. Freshman Eric Bennett got the first shot at replacing him, but was soon replaced by junior Greg Gatson. Gatson finished with five tackles, broke up two passes and recorded an interception.
“They practice, they take reps and their number is called and they go,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said. “Greg did very well. We mixed things up for him and changed some things up so they didn’t ever actually get (a wide receiver) isolated (on Gatson).”
Late in the third quarter, Arkansas defensive end Damario Ambrose came around the left end and hit Garcia just as he was passing. The ball fluttered to his left and Gatson sprinted under it for the easy interception. Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett later scored on a 1-yard run which gave Arkansas a 41-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“Ambrose did a great, great job of rushing,” Robinson said. “Interceptions are sometimes performed by kids who put them in position and that kid fought for that ball, but Ambrose created it with a great rush.”
Garcia, who entered the game with a quarterback rating of 168 for the season, finished with a 92.5 on Saturday.
With Arkansas leading by 31 points, the South Carolina fans began streaming toward the exits.
“That’s always a good feeling, (but) you never like to see that at home,” Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette said. “On the road when the crowds quiet and leaving early it’s a good sign.”
