No. 17 Arkansas 41, No. 18 South Carolina 20: Razorbacks Assert SEC West Dominance

It’s now 41-20 in the Razorbacks’ favor.

Arkansas got an easy touchdown. Stephen Garcia has been pulled and South Carolina has basically conceded the game. Steve Spurrier and crew have to quickly return to the drawing board; next week the team heads to Gainesville for the most important game in the program’s history, and at the moment the Gamecocks are not looking ready for it.

Time is running out for South Carolina. Arkansas just kicked a 51-yard field goal to push the lead to 34-10 with a bit more than a minute left in the third quarter. Barring a stunning comeback, this game is basically over, which could knock the Gamecocks clear out of the Top 25.

SB Nation’s Arkansas and South Carolina communities discuss today’s game, and whether the Gamecocks can weather their traditional late-season faceplant:

Recent history shows that the Gamecocks tend to start strong and then fade in November. Is this the year you avoid the swoon, or do you see it coming again? And either way, what does that answer mean for Steve Spurrier’s future?

Whether we avoid it this year or not remains to be seen, of course. However, I do think the chances of it happening are better than they have been in the past. One thing that many folks (cough*UGA fans*cough) oftentimes leave out regarding the infamous Carolina November swoon is that the teams Carolina plays in late October and early November are all tough teams that give most programs problems--Tennessee, Florida, and, yes, even Arkansas, although you’ll grant that you’re not exactly in Florida territory. Carolina may tend to tally up most of its losses late in the season, but it’s not like we’re going into most of these games as favorites and then totally wetting the bed. We’re usually just losing to the teams that are supposed to beat us. That should be a bit different this year. Out of the typical Tennessee-Arkansas-Florida-Clemson run, only Arkansas looks to have a team approaching or measurably better than the norm. Combine that with the fact that Carolina looks a bit better than usual, and I think you have the recipe for a strong finish in Columbia. We’ll see, of course, but that’s the way I see it right now.

As far as Spurrier’s future goes, I think it depends on who you ask.

Talk to us about your view of the job Bobby Petrino is doing in Fayetteville. Although it looks like Arkansas will miss out on the SEC championship game, are you happy with the way the season is going?

Overall, Petrino has done a fine job in Fayetteville. When he took over the program nearly three years ago, the cupboard was pretty bare, but the Hogs missed bowl eligibility by only one victory in 2008, and they improved to seven regular-season wins last year. This season, Arkansas is well positioned to again improve its season victory total. On top of that, the Hogs possess the most explosive offensive attack in the history of the program. As has been well documented, however, the Razorbacks’ defense and special teams must improve for the team to seriously compete in the SEC, and we’ll just have to wait and see if Petrino and his staff are able to upgrade those units.

Having said all that, the season does feel like a slight disap­point­ment for seve­ral rea­sons. First off, while there’s cer­tainly no shame in losing to Ala­bama or Auburn, the Hogs had leads in the fourth quarter of those contests only to per­for­m ineptly in the final minu­tes. [Eds. note: where have I heard that before?] And in most of their other games, the Hogs have loo­ked somewhat sluggish. For whatever reasons, Arkansas often has had trouble scoring in the second half.