Hogs look to take offensive show to Gamecocks.
FAYETTEVILLE - It was against New Mexico State and not an SEC opponent like the South Carolina Gamecocks that Arkansas visits Saturday.
But starting quarterback Austin Allen protected sack free and completing 19 of 26 to six different receivers for 264 yards while the running game rushed for 230 net yards in a 42-24 victory puts a spring in the Razorbacks offensive step going into Saturday’s 3 p.m. SEC Network televised game at the Gamecocks’ WilliamsBrice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
“New Mexico State brought pressure about 60 percent of the time or something like that and I thought our guys picked it up well and gave me time to throw,” Allen said Tuesday evening after the Razorbacks practiced inside the Walker Pavilion. “And I thought the wideouts played a heck of a game,also. Anytime they got the chance to make a play they did. I thought the offense clicked pretty well.”
The passing game was opened by the running game with running backs Devwah Whaley, 19 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown; Chase Hayden 12 for 48 yards and 2 touchdowns; and David Williams, the former Gamecock coming home as a transferred to Arkansas Hog, netted 51 yards on 15 carries.
“The running game really got it going for us,” Allen said. “Devwah had a heck of a game. David played well as well and Chase played well, also. When those guys are going everything is going for our offense. They understand and the whole team understands it.”
Allen said they also understand that New Mexico State’s defense and the defense of second-year South Carolina Coach Will Muschamp, the former LSU, Texas and Auburn defensive coordinator, contrast in caliber to the Gamecocks’ favor.
“Yeah, they’ve got a bunch of athletes on that side of the ball,” Allen said. “Any time you play an SEC opponent the defense goes up. Every time you turn on the tape you see them big, fast and physical and playing hard. They present a challenge and we’ve got to be ready for it.” What’s their style? “They are a swarming defense,” Allen said. “They play a different coverage every snap it seems like. They do different things and bring different guys and come from different areas. Watching film you might see some tendencies but they mix it up so it’s kind of hard to find them.”
At linebacker for the Gamecocks, the Skai is the limit.
“Skai Moore is a heck of a football player,” Allen said. “You watch film he’s making a lot of plays. He’s a guy we’ve got to be ready for.”
The Gamecocks likely will be ready for David Williams, a 3-year Gamecocks’ letterman under former South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier and last year under then firstyear Coach Muschamp come to Arkansas as a graduate transfer with football eligibility and Williams likely ready for them. Williams says little about it, according to fellow running back Whaley.
“He’s going back to where he originally started but he doesn’t want to be a distraction,” Whaley said. “David has been quiet about it. But he’s been working hard. He’s ready.”
Williams isn’t the only player Saturday knowing his opposition personally.
Opposing quarterbacks Allen and South Carolina sophomore starter Jake Bentley know each other well.
“I went to Manning Camp and he was my roommate,” Allen said. “So I got to hang out with him. He throws the ball really well and is a gritty, tough guy and the nicest guy you’d ever meet off the field.”
No player in Saturday’s game is more familiar with the Arkansas vs. South Carolina game, an annual SEC West vs. SEC East event from 19922012, than Austin Allen.
Bobby Allen, Austin’s father since the 2013 the Razorbacks director of high school and NFL relations, coached on Arkansas defensive staffs from 1998-2012.
“I remember Carlos Hall blocking that field goal against them a long, long time ago,” Allen said recalling a 10-7 Arkansas victory in 2001 over the Gamecocks in Little Rock. “The last time we won there (41-20 in 2010 in Columbia, S.C.) Ryan Mallett and Jarius Wright had a big game.”