Instant Analysis: Arkansas-South Carolina

Sustain with Mustain? Try the Mighty Casey and a Monk in the trunk. Houston Nutt made yet another winning decision in a ballsy breakthrough season for the Arkansas Razorbacks, who are making the most of their good fortune by supplementing it with step-up performances from everyone on their roster.

A lot of people throughout the college football world expected the feel-good run of the Razorbacks to end in Columbia. With freshman Mitch Mustain playing an SEC road night game, there was a school of thought which said that the Hogs' youth under center would catch up with them. But early in the proceedings, Arkansas' head coach--who started the year with Robert Johnson at quarterback and then switched to Mustain after the season-opening loss to Southern California--decided to use the third signal caller in his stable. It was the daring kind of quarterback shuffling normally reserved for Nutt's opponent in this game, Steve Spurrier... whose switch later in the contest to Blake Mitchell nearly enabled the Gamecocks to pull off a 20-point comeback.

First things first, though: Nutt's decision to bring sophomore QB Casey Dick off the bench worked like a gem. Arkansas' passing playbook wasn't expansive, but the Hogs were consistently able to use play action--off a running game the USC of the East couldn't stop--and get a number of completions that kept Carolina's defense honest. Much more importantly, though, Dick--a traditional dropback passer--was able to hit Marcus Monk time and again on third downs in a pressure-packed fourth quarter. Despite the knowledge that Monk was Arkansas' only reliable go-to receiver in a fairly limited passing scheme, Carolina defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix wasn't able to coax a stop from his charges. This was partly attributable to deficient cornerback play that burned the Roosters all night long, but it was even more a result of the poised and precise play of the Mighty Casey, who did anything but strike out. The Hogs might live in Fayetteville and not Mudville, but the Arkansas program has to have the joy of a Pig in slop after seeing its reserve quarterback play so superbly in a hostile environment. Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, a stellar offensive line, and the SEC's best ground game might have put Arkansas in position to win this game, but Casey Dick and Marcus Monk ultimately won it with their third-down hookups in the white-knuckle moments of this riveting, rousing affair.

The contest wound up being as close and exciting as it was because Spurrier--like Nutt--felt compelled to pull the trigger at quarterback, even though he didn't have to. Spurrier's decision to pull Syvelle Newton in favor of Blake Mitchell seemed to be a panic move at the time. Sidney Rice had a touchdown catch waved off in the second quarter because of a pass interference penalty, while Kenny McKinley (just two plays after Rice's flag) dropped a touchdown pass from Newton's right arm. Some of Newton's reactions were tardy in a sluggish first half, but the accuracy of this throws was appreciably solid. There didn't appear to be enough reason to pull Newton; Gamecock receivers needed to make plays in traffic.

Well, as soon as Mitchell stepped into the South Carolina huddle, that's exactly what began to happen.

With a new signal caller, Carolin's receivers started to make plays left and right, catching passes from all sorts of angles with a full range of bodily contortions. Rice's spectacular touchdown catch turned what had been a 26-6 runaway into a 26-20 game with just under 14 minutes left. Arkansas continued to move the ball as the fourth quarter progressed, but a missed field goal with 6:49 remaining gave the Gamecocks a chance to take the lead with one more drive to paydirt. Mitchell started the drive well and had his teammates on the move, but after reaching midfield, Carolina's own backup began to noticeably press. He forced one ball that was nearly intercepted, and two plays later--after throwing yet another successful fade to Rice--Mitchell didn't recognize one of the few zone coverages employed by Reggie Herring, Arkansas' defensive coordinator and a man-to-man stalwart. Darius Vinnett managed to win it for Arkansas by picking off Mitchell's pass, which proved to be Carolina's last legitimate threat. The Mighty Casey and the Monk not named Tony Shaloub sealed the deal for a team that, with the win, stayed unbeaten in the SEC and increased its margin for error.

With Mississippi State on the Hogs' remaining schedule, Woo Pig Sooey will almost certainly march to Atlanta for a football fight with Florida if it can merely split two toughies against Tennessee and LSU. Next week's humongous home date with the Vols becomes even more winnable for the Razorbacks in light of Erik Ainge's diminished health. In what could be a battle of multiple quarterbacks on both sides, Arkansas--with Casey Dick--can now fight Tennessee on much more even terms. Arkansas won a lot simply by beating South Carolina on the road; but by getting a clutch performance from a backup quarterback, the Hogs also managed to win greater leverage for the remainder of their season.