Arkansas @ South Carolina preview
Williams-Brice Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 7, 2009 ) South Carolina 16, Arkansas 33
The South Carolina Gamecocks know their road to the SEC title game goes through Gainesville, Fla., and that's where the Gamecocks are headed next Saturday.
But South Carolina has to make one more stop at home before that road trip, taking on No. 19 Arkansas on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium, where the No. 17 Gamecocks have won seven in a row and 14 of 15.
South Carolina (6-2, 4-2 SEC) has won two straight SEC games since following its upset of then-No. 1 Alabama with a disappointing loss at Kentucky. The Gamecocks maintained their one-game lead over Florida in the SEC East with last week's 38-24 home win against Tennessee, but they still need to take care of Arkansas before the showdown that should decide who represents the division in the SEC title game next month.
The teams engaged in an aerial shootout last year, with Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett throwing for 329 yards and South Carolina's Stephen Garcia passing for 327 in the Razorbacks' 33-16 win in Fayetteville.
Arkansas remains a pass-heavy offense, though leading rusher Knile Davis had a career-high 176 yards against Mississippi two weeks ago. But the Gamecocks have become far more balanced thanks to freshman running back Marcus Lattimore, who rushed for a career-high 184 yards against the Vols, becoming the first Gamecock to top 150 yards rushing twice in the same season since Derek Watson in 2000.
Lattimore has scored 13 touchdowns this season, which matches Sidney Rice for the school's freshman record and moves him within three touchdowns of South Carolina's all-time mark of 16, set by Harold Green in 1987.
The presence of Lattimore and an improved running game have made things easier on Garcia, who ranks second in the SEC and fifth in the nation in passing efficiency (167.96) and needs just 84 yards against the Razorbacks to move into fourth on the school's all-time passing list.
The Gamecocks will be challenged to keep up the strong offensive play against an Arkansas defense that allowed a season-low 153 total yards in last week's 49-14 home win against Vanderbilt.
The victory was the second consecutive conference win for the Razorbacks (6-2, 3-2 SEC) since a 65-43 loss at Auburn, which left them needing quite a bit of help to get back into the SEC West title hunt.
The 49 points were a season-high for Arkansas, which averages 37 points per game.
The Razorbacks hope Mallett and the nation's No. 2 passing offense can keep it up by picking apart a South Carolina secondary that has been vulnerable at times. The Gamecocks rank last in the SEC in pass defense, allowing 259.9 yards per game through the air.
Mallett broke his own school record for passing yards in a game with 409 last week against Vanderbilt, the fourth 400-yard game of his career. He leads the SEC and ranks fourth in the nation with 306.1 passing yards per game.
If there's a knock on Mallett it's the fact he has taken 15 sacks, and that certainly will be a concern this week. The Gamecocks lead the SEC and rank second in the nation with 30 sacks (3.75 per game).
Mallett will be without one of his top weapons for the remainder of the season, as Greg Childs suffered a knee injury against Vanderbilt and will require surgery on his patellar tendon. Childs leads the Razorbacks in receptions (46), receiving yards (659) and receiving touchdowns (6).
The Gamecocks have injury concerns with their top receiver as well, as sophomore Alshon Jeffery tweaked his knee last week. But Jeffery, who leads the SEC and ranks fifth in the nation with 116.9 receiving yards per game, is expected to play.
Arkansas leads the series 11-7, but the Gamecocks have won five of the nine meetings in Columbia and the teams have split the past six contests.