South Carolina needed something good to happen and the defense definitely provided that tonight. They did it all tonight. They forced turnovers, hit Austin Allen all game, and stuffed the run. Arkansas’s offense depends on establishing their running game and that never happened today.
I was really impressed with South Carolina’s defensive line, especially D.J. Wonnum. The thing I was most impressed with him today was how he stood up against the run. He was active the entire game. He had several deflections. He was rushing the passer well. He was really good today. The entire defensive line played really well. Dante Sawyer made several plays.
Skai Moore was his normal self. His pick 6 was nice but I thought his closing speed was more impressive. I also thought Chris Lammons was really good.
Arkansas only had 106 yards rushing the entire game. That is really impressive by this defense. It is almost as impressive as the four turnovers they forced and the three touchdowns they scored. They pretty much single handedly turned the game into a blowout in the second half.
The offense was inconsistent again. I thought the running game in the second half was a positive development. I thought Rico Dowdle looked healthier today before he came out banged up. He had some tough runs and was getting yards after contact like he did a lot last season. I also thought he had a little more burst today. A.J. Turner had some tough plays as well. The third down conversion on his catch when he carried the Arkansas defender for the first down comes to mind.
It wasn’t a good start for the offensive line but I thought they got better as the game went along. Donell Stanley was the standout for me on the offensive line.
Jake Bentley got off to a bad start but I thought he played better after he hit Hayden Hurst for the touchdown. He was inconsistent and missed some open guys. The one pass that really stands out to me was when he missed Hurst in the end zone on the first drive of the second half. That is a pass that he has to hit on third down. He was under pressure a good bit in the first half. It also seemed like he felt pressure when it wasn’t there at times.
I also thought there were some plays where the receiver has to make a play on the 50/50 balls in the first half. Bryan Edwards did that at the end of the first half.
South Carolina will now travel to Tennessee next weekend and it is another very winnable game. It will be interesting to see where Tennessee’s mindset is next weekend. If the defense plays like it did today, then they should have a really good day against that Tennessee offense. South Carolina’s offense needs to be more consistent and they need to get healthy upfront.
I was really impressed with South Carolina’s defensive line, especially D.J. Wonnum. The thing I was most impressed with him today was how he stood up against the run. He was active the entire game. He had several deflections. He was rushing the passer well. He was really good today. The entire defensive line played really well. Dante Sawyer made several plays.
Skai Moore was his normal self. His pick 6 was nice but I thought his closing speed was more impressive. I also thought Chris Lammons was really good.
Arkansas only had 106 yards rushing the entire game. That is really impressive by this defense. It is almost as impressive as the four turnovers they forced and the three touchdowns they scored. They pretty much single handedly turned the game into a blowout in the second half.
The offense was inconsistent again. I thought the running game in the second half was a positive development. I thought Rico Dowdle looked healthier today before he came out banged up. He had some tough runs and was getting yards after contact like he did a lot last season. I also thought he had a little more burst today. A.J. Turner had some tough plays as well. The third down conversion on his catch when he carried the Arkansas defender for the first down comes to mind.
It wasn’t a good start for the offensive line but I thought they got better as the game went along. Donell Stanley was the standout for me on the offensive line.
Jake Bentley got off to a bad start but I thought he played better after he hit Hayden Hurst for the touchdown. He was inconsistent and missed some open guys. The one pass that really stands out to me was when he missed Hurst in the end zone on the first drive of the second half. That is a pass that he has to hit on third down. He was under pressure a good bit in the first half. It also seemed like he felt pressure when it wasn’t there at times.
I also thought there were some plays where the receiver has to make a play on the 50/50 balls in the first half. Bryan Edwards did that at the end of the first half.
South Carolina will now travel to Tennessee next weekend and it is another very winnable game. It will be interesting to see where Tennessee’s mindset is next weekend. If the defense plays like it did today, then they should have a really good day against that Tennessee offense. South Carolina’s offense needs to be more consistent and they need to get healthy upfront.
