Positives, like first downs, few, far between

FAYETTEVILLE — Overwhelmed, overmatched and underachieving.

That was the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday against South Carolina.

If there was one statistic to show the difference in the two teams that are in the same conference but were in different leagues, it was time of possession. South Carolina had the football an almost unheard of 43:25.

After showing good effort and progress in the three previous losses, the Hogs jumped out to a 7-0 lead and looked like a rejuvenated team — driving 64 yards in seven plays — only to have a replay of last week at Florida, never finding the end zone again giving up too many unanswered points.

Two of Arkansas’ three longest plays from scrimmage ended in fumbles. It was that kind of day for the Razorbacks, who managed only 30 yards passing.

It might not have been the worst game in Hogs history, but it has to rank in the top 10. First downs were harder to come by than happy fans in the fourth quarter, and the majority of the announced crowd of 66,302 was long gone by the time the Razorbacks ended about a 35-minute drought of no first downs on the last play of the third quarter.

The Hogs had three first downs in their opening drive, one on their second, then none on their next five possessions. They finished with seven, and the Gamecocks had 32.

What hampered the Razorbacks offensively, besides not being able to get passing yards, was that they averaged only 1.2 yards on the first play of their first nine possessions until the last drive of the game.

In the fourth quarter, South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier seemed to graciously pull quarterback Connor Shaw, who passed for three touchdowns and did a little dash and dart like Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, running for another score.

Spurrier then poked the Hogs in the ribs, going for it on fourth-and-2 late in the quarter to set up the final touchdown. On the possession before, he called for a pass to Kane Whitehurst, who started his career at Arkansas but was suspended after being arrested by campus police and eventually dismissed from the team.

Spurrier going for the jugular is typical. He has long believed in making defenses stop him.

Arkansas’ defense basically couldn’t stop the Gamecocks, and Spurrier had picked apart the Razorbacks and showed no respect long before those fourth-quarter scores.

Spurrier liked what he saw in the Arkansas defense so much that he never hesitated to go for it on fourth down. He tried it five times and converted it five times, which is also almost unheard of too.

The difference between Arkansas and South Carolina, Florida and Texas A&M is talent, and that really isn’t shocking. Those programs have more of it, but that shouldn’t be a surprise after what the Hogs went through last year and the decline in recruiting following their BCS Sugar Bowl appearance.

It would not be surprising if Saturday’s performance makes the Hogs a morning kickoff a couple of more times this season and tickets for the Auburn and Mississippi State games easy to come by. Razorbacks fans are deeply loyal, but you can only watch so much of what was displayed on a spectacular Homecoming day.

The Gamecocks didn’t rain on the parade. They destroyed it on both sides of the ball.

The only real battle the Hogs won was punting, averaging 53.5 yards, but then the Gamecocks punted just once. Arkansas punted for 214 yards and had 248 yards of offense.

Even though it looked bad for the defense, the offense spit and sputtered most of the day, too. Two long runs, one by Alex Collins and an end-around by Keon Hatcher, ended in fumbles.

It was that kind of day because South Carolina simply dominated too much of the time.