University of Arkansas
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Students: 21,406
Head Coach: Bobby Petrino (17-14 in 3rd season)
Last years game against Carolina: Arkansas won 33-16 in Fayetteville
2010 Record (6-2 overall, 3-2 SEC)
Overall record against USC: Arkansas leads the series 11-7
Famous Alumni: Jerry Jones (owner of the Dallas Cowboys), John Daly (Golfer) Butch Davis (UNC Head Coach) Jimmy Johnson ( Former Cowboy Head Coach) Robert D. Maurer (inventor of fiber optic technology), Joe T. Ford(Founder and CEO of Alltel) and William T. Dillard (founder of Dillard’s Department Stores)
Saturday’s game will be head lined by two of the best offensive minds in the game, Bobby Petrino and Steve Spurrier. If you enjoy offense then Saturday will be a game you will want to watch. Arkansas is coming off a 49-14 win over Vandy where the offense put up 555 yards of offense with 3 of their top receivers missing time during the game. Arkansas will be without their top receiver Greg Childs, who is out with a knee injury, and could be without their other big receiver Joe Adams, who is recovering from an ankle injury. You would think this would be a disadvantage for the Razorbacks but its seems that Mallett doesn’t have a problem finding other receivers in the Arkansas offense.
Ryan Mallett vs. Stephen Garcia: Saturday’s game will feature two of the best passing QB’s in the SEC and maybe the country. Mallett, a 6 foot 6 inch junior from Texarkana, is currently averaging over 300 yards of passing a game, which is best in the SEC. So far this season Mallett has completed 172 passes on 259 attempts for 2449 yards with 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He is currently ranked 3rd in the SEC in passing efficiency behind Auburn’s Cam Newton and Carolina’s Stephan Garcia.
Garcia on the other hand has completed 137 passes on 194 attempts for 1904 yards with 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Garcia is currently completing 70.6% of his passes with ranks him 5th best in the country. If the game on Saturday turns into a shoot out, this game could go down in the record books, as both quarterbacks are capable of putting up big passing numbers.
Arkansas offense Vs. Carolina Defense: The big questions this week is, can the Gamecock secondary stop anybody. Last weekend against Tennessee, the Gamecocks gave up 312 passing yards to a Tennessee offense that was averaging less then 200 yards a game in the air. If the Gamecock’s secondary doesn’t find a way to slow down the Arkansas passing attack, it could be a very long game. Arkansas leads the SEC in passing, averaging 360 passing yards a game, and is 2nd in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 35 points a game. Arkansas’s running game hasn’t needed to do much for Mallett and company to have success in the air this season, the Hogs rushing attach is currently 2nd to last in the SEC averaging 127 yards a game.
The Gamecock defense is still ranked last in pass defense giving up 259 yards a game, but only allowing 19.5 points a game. In my personal option, if we can hold the Razorbacks to under 27 points, we have a real shot of winning the game. Weather or not that happens will be determined by if we can get pressure on Mallett and how well the secondary defends down field. Coach Ward will need to have his players coached up and ready to stop the best passing offense in the conference. The secondary can redeem themselves from a miserable season so far by stepping up Saturday.
USC offense vs. Arkansas Defense: Arkansas’s defense has looked much improved this season, outside of the 65 points in the Auburn game. Currently the Hogs are giving up 22.5 points a game, on 330 totals yards per game. If USC has any chance of winning this game Saturday, they will need to utilize ball control with Marcus Lattimore. Arkansas’s offense can score in a hurry, but if they are not on the field it makes it very hard from them to do that. Lattimore had a career day against Tennessee with 184 rushing yards, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t get 30 or more carries against Arkansas. The Razorbacks are giving up 164 yards on the ground per game,but have been very good against the pass, only giving up 167 yards in the air per game.
Keys stats for the game:
- Through 8 Games, USC has only attempted 8 Field goals, Arkansas has only attempted 9.
- USC has sacked the opposing QB 30 times this season, Arkansas has 24 sacks (1 &2 in the SEC)
- USC has given up 20 sacks this season, Arkansas only 15
- USC leads in the SEC in 3rd down conversions, getting 1st downs 54% of the time. Arkansas leads the SEC in defending 3rd down conversions, only allowing 1st downs 29% of the time.
