Bowled over

Defense comes up big as Carolina secures sixth win

Published on 11/06/05

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — South Carolina's offense managed only 14 points Saturday against Arkansas, but coach Steve Spurrier was grinning from ear to ear after the Gamecocks beat the Razorbacks 14-10.

"Man, our defense," he said. "We've come a long way. Our guys are playing like winners. Gee, it's fun to watch right now."

Saturday's victory, the Gamecocks' fourth consecutive, leaves South Carolina bowl eligible with six wins. USC is 6-3 overall, 4-3 in the Southeastern Conference with games remaining at home against Florida and Clemson.

"I can't believe it, but I'm so happy we are," said tackle Na'Shan Goddard, who is one of a group of Gamecocks seniors hoping to play in their first bowl game. "We knew we could do some good things this year. A lot of people doubted us at the beginning of the season, saying we were going 4-7 and this and that and the other. We've proven a lot of people wrong. That's the good thing about this team. We keep on marching."

After a 48-7 loss at Auburn, the Gamecocks have beaten Kentucky (44-16), Vanderbilt (35-28), Tennessee (16-15) and now Arkansas.

"It has been an amazing run," Spurrier said. "Like I said last week, God is smiling on the Gamecocks. I don't know the history too well. Don't want to know too much of the history. We've just got to keep going. Got a big one next week and a big one

after that.

"Our guys set a goal to win six and they actually set a goal to win more than six. So we're in position to hit some more goals. But it has been an interesting run, and it's really due to those players just hanging in there and making plays when it looked doubtful that we had a chance. Something good keeps happening to us right now."

The best thing that has happened to the Gamecocks in recent weeks is the emergence of a defense that looked lost earlier in the season.

Arkansas (2-6, 0-5) managed 219 yards rushing, led by freshman Darren McFadden with 187 yards on 32 carries.

But the Gamecocks came up big on third and fourth downs. The Razorbacks were 4-of-14 on third-down conversions and 0-for-4 on fourth down.

Every one of the stops seemed to come at critical times, but perhaps none was bigger than the one that came late in the fourth quarter.

The Razorbacks' running game looked unstoppable when Arkansas was driving and faced second-and-one at the South Carolina 17-yard line. But the Gamecocks stopped McFadden on three consecutive running plays and took over with 3:33 to play in the game.

"It's not me who makes those plays," said Gamecock co-defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix. "Our kids make those plays. We've just been blessed that these guys understand the importance of third down and fourth down. We're just trying to get off the field."

It was only the latest in a day of big stops for the South Carolina defense, which held Arkansas to a field goal after the Razorbacks had first and goal from the 1-yard line.

Arkansas gambled early in the game on fourth-and-one from its own 29, but the Gamecocks held.

That set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Blake Mitchell to Sidney Rice.

The Gamecocks would not score again until Mitchell hit Kenny McKinley with a 42-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the third quarter.

The score came one play after Gamecock linebacker Orus Lambert jumped up and intercepted a screen pass by Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick.

"We said, 'We've got to go out and do something now because our defense has been stopping them all day,' " McKinley said. "I got by my man and Blake put the ball on the money."

However, the day belonged to the defense, and from the head coach on down, the Gamecocks knew it.

"It goes to show again that we can win close games," Mitchell said. "Our defense played awesome. These guys on our team, they never give up. When we're down, we keep fighting. That's why we're winning."

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