Fried Chicken!: Why the Razorbacks will beat the South Carolina Game Cocks
Overmatched Gamecocks expected to be run off field
The Razorbacks are riding high after their 31-24 win over the Cincinnati Bear Cats in their home opener. They now turn their attention to another worthy adversary in South Carolina, who also has the distinction of being their first SEC opponent of the season. The Gamecocks are also looking to improve to 2-0, having defeated Georgia-State 35-14 in their season debut. While Arkansas’ battered secondary will have to contend with Spencer Rattler and the South Carolina passing attack it is actually the Gamecocks who are at the biggest disadvantage. The Razorbacks top rushing offense picked up where it left off last year, trampling the Bear Cats defense for 224 yards on the ground. South Carolina’s defense has been atrocious against the run dating back to last year. During their 2021 campaign, South Carolina’s defense surrendered a putrid 175 rushing yards a game.
Their inability to stop the rushing attack is still a glaring weakness in their defense as even in their win against Georgia State, they were still gashed repeatedly on ground, ending the match up with 200 rushing yards allowed on 40 carries. Arkansas’ offensive line and running backs are both superior to Georgia State’s and will give the defensive line of the Gamecocks issues the entire game. Arkansas will also need to rely on the defense to protect it’s embattled secondary from Spencer Rattler. While the former Sooner struggled a majority of his Gamecock debut last week; he is still one of the more experienced quarterbacks that the Hogs will face this season and has proven he is more than capable of taking advantage of secondary besieged with injuries. The Razorback’s ability to win at the line of scrimmage will enable them to limit the number of possessions the South Carolina offense is allotted by controlling the clock, and if they are able to score consistently it will force a Gamecocks offense that already struggled to establish a run game in their prior matchup, to be one dimensional. With that said, I’m picking the Razorbacks to beat South Carolina 38-27.