FAYETTEVILLE — The home losing streak in the SEC is over.
Arkansas football fans finally got to watch the Hogs win a game against a conference rival in the Natural State.
The Razorbacks (4-6, 2-5 SEC) rolled to a 34-6 victory over No. 24 South Carolina (6-4, 4-4) on Saturday, Nov. 14. The win snapped a 10-game losing skid in the league. Arkansas‘ last home win in the conference was against Tennessee on Oct. 5, 2024.
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This was as convincing of a performance from Arkansas since that stunning upset over the Volunteers, and the Hogs took full advantage of facing a backup quarterback. Here are our grades for the Razorbacks from the victory.
Offense grade: B+
KJ Jackson had an excellent first half and finished 15 of 24 with 188 passing yards. The lefty quarterback also had 46 yards on the ground. He finally got two wide receivers going, connecting with Chris Marshall and Antonio Jordan for touchdowns in the second period. The Arkansas offensive line deserves a ton of credit for solid pass blocking and creating push up front to open running lanes for Cam Settles and Sutton Smith, who combined for 124 yards on 30 carries. It was a relatively quiet second half, but Arkansas took care of the football and crossed the finish line.
Defense grade: A+
The defense provided a pair of red-zone stands in the first two quarters and pitched a first-half shutout. In the second half, Joker Johnson had two interceptions, including his second pick-six of the season. Defensive coordinator Ron Roberts dialed up plenty of blitzes against Cutter Woods, who filled in for the injured quarterback LaNorris Sellers and had decent yardage but failed to finish off drives. The biggest bright spots for this unit were the four forced turnovers and a rushing defense that held South Carolina to 90 yards on the ground.
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Special teams grade: D
Jesse Ehrlich had three punts go less than 40 yards, and Max Gilbert went 2 for 3 on field goals. His miss on the Hogs’ first drive of the second half gave South Carolina some life.
Coaching grade: A
Roberts delivered a masterclass, and offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey was sharp in the first half while he stayed conservative across the final two periods. Arkansas out-coached South Carolina, with Shane Beamer providing some questionable clock management at the end of the first half.
Game MVP: Joker Johnson
Johnson’s pick-six tilted momentum back onto the Razorbacks’ sideline. It was a pivotal moment as South Carolina started to find a rhythm on offense. His other interception was icing on the cake, and the junior cornerback also had a forced fumble that Arkansas could not recover.
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Overall team grade: A
This was the best day of Ryan Silverfield’s first season in charge. The home losing streak within the conference is over, and Arkansas has something to build on as it looks ahead to two rivalry games against Texas and LSU to close the fall.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas report card | Grading the Razorbacks after South Carolina victory
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
