South Carolina football vs. Arkansas: Score prediction, scouting report for SEC opener

Emily Adams, Greenville News

September 9, 2022 at 7:00 AM·3 min read

COLUMBIA — South Carolina football (1-0) travels to Fayetteville on Saturday to face Arkansas (1-0) in its first SEC game of the 2022 season (noon ET, ESPN).

The two teams have not met since 2017, when South Carolina beat the Razorbacks 48-22 in Columbia. Arkansas leads the all-time series 13-10 and is 5-2 againsts the Gamecocks in Fayetteville. Here's everything you need to know about the matchup.

How to stop KJ Jefferson

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said the Gamecocks would need to turn a defensive end into a scout team quarterback to accurately mimic the size and strength of Arkansas's KJ Jefferson. Defensive coordinator Clayton White said it's going to take more than one man to take down the 6-3, 242-pound quarterback.

Jefferson picked up right where he left off in Arkansas's first game, rushing for 87 yards and passing for 223 yards with a combined four touchdowns in a win over Cincinnati. The South Carolina defense did a solid job slowing down Georgia State's run game in Week 1, but the pass rush was still lacking.

The Gamecocks need to find holes in Arkansas's offensive line to put pressure on Jefferson early and get as many defenders to the QB as possible. Otherwise, he's going to run all over them.

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Exploiting the Arkansas secondary

The South Carolina offense didn't make the most of Spencer Rattler's arm strength against Georgia State — 23 of the quarterback's 37 pass attempts were shorter than five yards. The Oklahoma transfer did have an impressive 39-yard pass to Jalen Brooks, proving he's more than capable of taking deep shots down the perimeter.

Two starters on the Arkansas secondary, safety Jalen Catalon and nickelback Myles Slusher, are questionable for Week 2 with injuries sustained against Cincinnati. That's a huge opportunity for the Gamecocks to showcase the passing game and utilize their slate of veteran receivers against less experienced DBs.

The special teams mismatch

The South Carolina special teams had an all-time great performance in against Georgia State. The two blocked punts returned for touchdowns and fake field goal were highlights, not to mention Kai Kroeger's 79-yard punt that earned him Ray Guy National Punter of the Week honors.

Josh Vann also had a solid performance as punt returner, logging 33 yards on three returns including a longest return of 18 yards. Arkansas still has an ongoing battle for starting punter, and South Carolina will have no problem exploiting any errors.

The Razorbacks logged just three yards on their lone punt return against Cincinnati, so they won't be a much of a threat against Kroeger.

Battle for the line of scrimmage

It's no secret that the South Carolina offensive line struggled against Georgia State's undersized defense, and they'll face a much harder test against SEC linemen this week.

The veteran O-line couldn't maintain the pocket long enough for Rattler to get a deep pass out, and the offense was held to just 102 yards rushing. Meanwhile, the Arkansas defensive line recorded three sacks against Cincinnati for a loss of 35 yards and linebacker Bumper Pool recorded a whopping 13 tackles.

The Gamecocks may also be without left tackle Jakai Moore, who was injured in Week 1 and is undecided for Saturday's game.