Quotes to Note - South Carolina

Whether you call the quarterback by the name of Johnson or Dick, Arkansas being a bit short on key plays has been the theme of the year.

“Wish I wouldn’t have,” Nutt said of going for it. “I know better than that. But I thought we could make six inches.”

“I can’t believe I couldn’t get a yard on three carries,” McFadden said. “But there wasn’t any running room. South Carolina’s defensive line must have gotten a really good push coming across.”

On the next to the last possession, Steve Superior took the “I’ll believe it when I see it, but until then we’re playing the run” view to the Arkansas passing game.

The scoring threat ended when freshman tailback Darren McFadden, who rushed 32 times for 187 yards, was stopped for no gain on second-and-1 and third-and-1, then was dropped for a 1-yard loss on fourth down.

Spurrier said the Gamecocks’ defense was loaded up to stop McFadden on those three runs and was ready to take its chances if Dick attempted a pass.

“They’re a running team,” Spurrier said. “So get everybody up there, and if they throw it and hit it..., you’ve got to see them do it.”

Running, but where?

How many yards rushing did Arkansas gain, the Gamecocks coach wanted to know. The answer was 219.

“Between the goal lines,” Spurrier said.

A bit of clarification is in order regarding the offensive stats.

Official stats: 356 Total yards by the Arkansas offense. 219 rushing, 137 passing. But when you take note that 36 rushing yards came on a swing pass that was counted as a lateral, and that 30 yards of sacks from the passing game counted against the rushing, the stats more accurately reflected are 213 yards from the rushing offense, and 143 yards from the passing offense.

To borrow from the Queen's English - “We are neither amazed nor amused.” How about annoyed?

Houston Dale is at his “lowest point,” and from the point of view of at least one member of the defense, “everybody can see it for themselves.”

“That's just what it is,” Nutt said. “It's my lowest point since I've been here.”

“When we get the offense the ball, they've got to put points on the board," safety Randy Kelly said. “I'm not trying to be negative. I mean, everybody can see it for themselves. But we're going to keep doing our jobs.”

In case you've been pondering the Razorbacks success this season on a spiritual level, this clarifies the situation.

Steve Superior’s view is that God apparently favors the Gamecocks over the apparently non-cheerful gift giving Razorbacks:

“Arkansas was tough,” Spurrier said. “We are very fortunate and got good penalties from them. God has been smiling on the Gamecocks.”

Is the nuiance in this situation that God loves cheerful givers? (I think that’s in the Bible somewhere, isn’t it?) We certainly gave some nice gifts of numerous penalities, besides the first and best gift, the ball on the 29 yard line. And we are certainly not cheerful about much of anything regarding Arkansas football.

I wonder if Houston Dale’s excuse for senselessly going for it on fourth down from the Razorback 29 yard line is “the devil made me do it?”