Final thoughts, prediction for South Carolina’s SEC opener at Arkansas
It’s time to fire up the jet plane and back those bags.
South Carolina hits the road for the first time this season on Saturday as it opens Southeastern Conference play against Arkansas in Fayetteville (noon, ESPN).
I’ll be honest — I’m not sure what to expect.
South Carolina had its moments in a Week 1 win over Georgia State. The punt block touchdowns were inspiring. The defense swarmed a Panthers offense that was among the best in the nation running the ball a year ago.
The Gamecocks offensive line was also a mess — again.
So what South Carolina team are we going to get on Saturday? We’ll see.
“We’ve got to coach better and play better this week in all three phases,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “There’s no doubt about it.”
Quarterback Spencer Rattler was solid enough in his debut, finishing 23 of 37 for 227 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also flashed the poise and precision that made him a Heisman front-runner entering last year with his ability to make something out of nothing in scramble drill situations.
That said, Rattler rarely, if ever, had time to really let his routes progress downfield. He ranked second among SEC quarterbacks in total time to throw at 2.91 seconds per dropback, per Pro Football Focus, but that came more out of his ability to extend plays with his legs than anything the offensive line did to protect him.
“It’s not really mayhem scrambling,” offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said of Rattler’s ability to extend plays. “It’s just he understands time and space and very casually knows how to move out of the pocket. He’s never really out of control. I think that’s something that you can use to your advantage offensively, especially when you’re trying to move the pocket and protect the passer.”
Speaking of the offensive line, South Carolina may well have a problem on its hands.
No matter how many times we heard the group was headed for an improved 2022 campaign, last Saturday sure looked like the offensive line that was among the worst in the SEC a year ago.
Arkansas isn’t a team that is necessarily set up to dominate things on the interior of the defensive line, but it is a group that can make some plays. South Carolina has to find a way to shore up the protection, or this thing could get ugly.
“Everybody has got to look at themselves — not just the offensive line — the whole 11 on the field and see what they can get better on,” center Eric Douglas said on Tuesday. “Just (got to) improve each week.”
Whether South Carolina sorts out its offensive line issues or not, the Gamecocks defense is in for a big test — literally.
Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson is a rare mix of speed and size at 6-foot-4, 242 pounds. He’s rocket-armed and runs like a Mack truck. (Beamer joked this week that if South Carolina truly wanted to simulate Jefferson in practice, it’d take moving a defensive end to scout team quarterback.)
Jefferson, though, is just one part of the talented skill position triumvirate that also includes Oklahoma transfer receiver Jadon Haselwood and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders.
Haselwood recorded a trio of catches and Sanders went over 100 yards in Arkansas’ season-opening win over Cincinnati. Expect the Razorbacks to lean on both to anchor their offense on Saturday.
“Matchup-wise, I think our DBs love challenges,” USC defensive coordinator Clayton White said in reference to Haselwood. “And I’m pretty sure I know they (Arkansas) do as well.”
South Carolina technically has a three-game winning-streak in this series dating back to 2012. However, the Gamecocks and Razorbacks have only played once since 2013.
More pressing, the winner of this game has scored at least 33 points in the last eight games.
South Carolina — dating back to 2017 — has scored only scored 33 or more points in eight of 40 SEC games over that span.
I don’t think it’s crazy to imagine USC pulling an upset here. Until the offensive line figures something out, however, there’s no way the Gamecocks are scoring that many points in an SEC game.
Sam Pittman is going to have his latest excuse to light up his Razorback statue on Saturday night.
Prediction: — No. 16 Arkansas 34, South Carolina 18 —
