USC looking to erase 3-straight defeats by Razorbacks
South Carolina’s recent games against Arkansas are ones the team would prefer to forget.
“We lost,” wide receiver Bruce Ellington said. “That’s what I remember. I don’t want to do that again.”
USC has lost three straight against Arkansas, and the closest of those games was decided by 16 points. No player on the Gamecocks’ roster has ever beaten the Razorbacks.
But coming off its bye week, USC will look to end its losing streak against an Arkansas team that has not lived up to high preseason expectations.
“I haven’t beaten Arkansas yet,” senior free safety D.J. Swearinger said. “The seniors want to beat Arkansas bad. We came in all week trying to get everything on the right path to beat them.”
Last year’s Gamecocks were the No. 10 team in the nation when they went to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the No. 8 Razorbacks. But they put up one of their worst performances of the season, managing only 49 yards of offense in the first half.
Despite struggling to contain Arkansas’ passing game, South Carolina trailed by just two points after a touchdown run by quarterback Connor Shaw with 10:50 to play. But Arkansas would pull away with two touchdowns to seal a 44-28 victory.
USC fared even worse against Arkansas at home in 2010, when the then–No. 17 Razorbacks used a 17-point second quarter to pull away in an eventual 41-20 win. For the Gamecocks, then ranked No. 18, it was the largest margin of defeat at Williams-Brice Stadium in five years.
“They’ve been pretty good ... [Defensively] we haven’t played very well against them and offensively, not too well either,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “We’ll see if we can’t go a lot better.”
This year’s Razorbacks were ranked No. 10 in preseason polls, one spot below the Gamecocks, but it didn’t take long for their season to get derailed. After winning their season opener against Jacksonville State, they lost in overtime to Louisiana-Monroe. That defeat was enough to drop them out of the AP Top 25.
Arkansas’ woes continued when it was shut out by Alabama at home in the third week of the season. But since a 48-point loss at Texas A&M in Week 5, the Razorbacks have recovered by winning three of their last four games. South Carolina is the first of three consecutive ranked teams Arkansas will face as it seeks to become bowl-eligible.
The Razorbacks’ 4-5 record makes them, on paper, a less intimidating opponent than they have been in the teams’ past two meetings. But despite their offseason coaching change and early struggles, the Gamecocks are not taking them lightly.
“They have a great passing game,” Swearinger said. “They have great running backs. All those guys are great players. The record is bad for them, but they’re a great team. They’re very capable of beating us, so we just have to be ready.”
Even with the SEC East now officially out of reach, USC could possibly receive an at-large bid to play in the Sugar Bowl if it wins out. The winner of the conference is contractually committed to play in the Sugar Bowl, but if the first-place team is in the national championship, the bowl selects a replacement.
Senior spur DeVonte Holloman said the team is aware of the possibility of a BCS bid but is focused only on defeating Arkansas.
“It’s very known throughout the team,” senior spur DeVonte Holloman said. “We have to take it one week at a time, not focus on the BCS per se. Focus on what we can control, which is what goes on out on the field.”
The Gamecocks are also fighting to finish the season undefeated at home, which Spurrier said has not happened in 25 years. To do so, their immediate task is to end their losing streak against the Razorbacks.
“Arkansas has a good program and everything,” sophomore defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles said. “But we want to get back to our winning ways and beat Arkansas.”