By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino couldn’t ignore the missed opportunities.
His team had just polished off an important win, beating South Carolina 44-28 in front of 73,804 in Razorback Stadium. But after watching dropped touchdown passes, missed field goals and the offense struggle to punch the ball in the end zone when it reached the redzone, Petrino pointed to the obvious.
“It could’ve easily been 60 points on the board,” Petrino said. “We made some mistakes.
“But one thing we didn’t do is get down when we made the mistakes. We kept competing.”
Arkansas, in search of a flawless performance, may not have gotten its wish for homecoming. But the Razorbacks’ most complete effort of the season was more than enough to win a battle of top 10 teams.
Quarterback Tyler Wilson completed 20 of 37 passes for 299 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, finding receivers like Jarius Wright (four catches, 103 yards and two touchdowns) for big plays against one of the NCAA’s best passing defenses.
Sarah Bentham • Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
Running back Dennis Johnson tallied 252 all-purpose yards, too, including a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. And Arkansas’ defense — challenged by Petrino throughout the week — held South Carolina to 207 yards, sacked quarterback Connor Shaw five times and forced four turnovers.
It helped Arkansas grab its first win in a matchup between top 10 teams since 1979.
“Arkansas played very well, and they were a lot better than we were tonight, certainly, on offense, defense and special teams,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. “We didn’t play our best.”
That may be, but Arkansas had a handful of issues as well despite being faster and more physical than the Gamecocks. It led to nervous moments in a game that featured several big plays in the first half.
Johnson turned in the first big moment after South Carolina took a 7-3 lead on Brandon Wilds’ 4-yard touchdown run. The junior returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, which was the third of his career and first since the 2009 season opener.
“It was just a great blocked return,” Johnson said. “I was only touched by one guy and that was the first 10 yards. Everybody did their job.”
The cushion didn’t last long because of a costly mistake by Wilson. The junior, trying to avoid a sack, flipped up an ill-advised pass that landed in South Carolina lineman Devin Taylor’s hands. Taylor had an easy route to the end zone for a 48-yard score.
The turnover ended Wilson’s school-record streak of consecutive passes without an interception at 184.
It also was South Carolina’s fifth defensive touchdown, handing the Gamecocks a 14-10 lead.
“He only made one real mistake (Saturday) on the interception and he knew it,” Petrino said.
But, once again, the Razorbacks shrugged off the mistake and turned in an impressive response.
In fact, Wilson threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Wright on Arkansas’ next play. The score was the longest play the Gamecocks’ defense has allowed this season.
“I felt like they had a little momentum and they acted like they had a little momentum,” Wright said. “So for us to be able to quiet them down right after that big play was real big for us.”
Wilson also found Wright a little later for a second touchdown, threading a 16-yard pass on a seam route to help the Hogs open a 24-14 lead. But Arkansas dominance in a first half in which it outgained South Carolina 253-49 didn’t show on the scoreboard.
The Razorbacks were slowed by mistakes, which included a dropped pass on a wheel route by Ronnie Wingo Jr. The back was all alone and would’ve scored a touchdown to help the Hogs break the game open. Instead, Taylor intercepted Wilson’s pass two plays later and returned it for a touchdown.
Receiver Cobi Hamilton also dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone in the closing seconds of the first half. Place kicker Zach Hocker compounded the mistake by missing a 29-yard field goal attempt.
It was Hocker’s second missed field goal of the half.
“We could’ve buried them at halftime,” Wright said.
Sarah Bentham • Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
Arkansas missed the opportunity and had to work throughout the second half to secure a win.
The Gamecocks moved downfield on its first possession of the second half, scoring a touchdown on Shaw’s 9-yard run. Then, after Hocker made 21- and 25-yard field goals to boost Arkansas’ lead to nine, Shaw notched another touchdown run to make it 30-28.
Wingo made up for his dropped pass with a four-yard touchdown run, which capped an 8-play, 63-yard drive that handed the Hogs a 37-28 lead. It was the third time the resilient Razorbacks answered a South Carolina touchdown by reaching the end zone.
Arkansas’ defense — which force four turnovers in the second half — then set up the final score. Defensive end Jake Bequette ended Shaw’s night with a bone-jarring sack that resulted in a fumble.
Defensive tackle D.D. Jones recovered the ball the 1-yard line and Broderick Green scored two plays later.
“It seems like every year our season kind of hinges on what happens in this game — and theirs too,” said Bequette, who had three sacks. “We were lucky enough to come out and play hard and really execute a great gameplan. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to (the Gamecocks). They played hard. But we were victorious.”
Arkansas beat the Gamecocks for the third straight season to continue its best start under Petrino.
More important, the Hogs moved into a tie with Alabama – which lost to LSU on Saturday night – for second in the SEC West with the win. Both teams are one game behind LSU, which plays Arkansas on Nov. 25.
“We’re still in the race,” Arkansas linebacker Alonzo Highsmith said. “It meant a lot for us to get this win. Everything we want to do is still in front of us.
“With this win, we just keep moving along.”
