Week one’s victory over Cincinnati was fun, but it’s time to think about the next opponent on the most brutal schedule in college football.
Arkansas’s next scheduled game is their first SEC opponent of the season, the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks opened their season with a win over Georgia State, which knocked off Tennessee in Neyland Stadium in 2019 and pushed Auburn to the limit in War Eagle Stadium.
And if it weren’t for “Beamer Ball,” coach Shane Beamer has taken up father Frank’s mantle, the Gamecocks would have been another SEC victim for the team out of the Sun Belt Conference.
For the Hogs, the biggest challenge will be getting ready for SEC football after a hard-hitting match against the Bearcats. The secondary took a hit after Jalen Catalon and Myles Slusher suffered injuries that knocked them out of the game. We’ll have to wait to find out whether or not they will miss this week’s matchup.
They will be needed, though. Oklahoma transfer, Spencer Rattler, didn’t play outstanding against Georgia State, throwing two interceptions, but Rattler is still recognized as having the most gifted in the SEC. There was a time when Rattler was a Heisman candidate for the Sooners.
And then Caleb Williams happened.
Shane Beamer, is big on special teams like his father. Preparing for a team that emphasizes special teams can be challenging to say the least. Pittman and the rest of the Razorback staff will have to spend more time on special teams in practice this week.
South Carolina blocks a punt and returns it for a score. Rashad Amos got the block, DQ Smith scored.
So that's two 50+ yard field goals, a 79-yard punt, a fake field goal and a blocked punt.
South Carolina's first blocked punt return TD since 2000.
Beamer Ball is alive.
— Alan (@Alan__Cole) September 4, 2022
This could be a big day on the ground for the Razorbacks’ offense. Georgia State rushed the ball 40 times for 200 yards against the Gamecocks, using four different rushers.
I’m watering at the mouth if I’m Rocket Sanders, AJ Green, and KJ Jefferson. Even Rashod Dubinion should be expecting some touches after catching Pittman’s attention with a couple of plays.
Opening SEC play against South Carolina is an excellent way to check the barometer on where they are, with a trip to College Station, Texas, on the horizon.