Behind Enemy Lines: South Carolina preview with Ben Portnoy of The State

Get to know this week’s opponent, South Carolina, a little better in this week’s edition of “Behind Enemy Lines” with South Carolina beat writer, Ben Portnoy.

This Saturday, the No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks to town for the SEC opener at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Both teams come into the game with a 1-0 record. Arkansas took care of business last Saturday afternoon by holding off a comeback attempt by then-No. 24 Cincinnati, 31-24 while the Gamecocks defeated Georgia State, 35-14 in Columbia.

Saturday’s game will rekindle an old rivalry that dates back to 1992 when both programs entered the SEC at the same time. The programs, which had never met prior to the 1992 season, played every season from 1992 until 2013 as permanent divisional cross-over opponents. That changed when Missouri and Texas A&M joined the conference in 2012. Now, Arkansas enjoys a more convenient geographical rivalry with Missouri, while the Gamecocks are stuck with Texas A&M as a permanent opponent.

Arkansas currently holds a 13-10 advantage in the series, but South Carolina has won three straight over the Razorbacks. In their last meeting, South Carolina outgained Arkansas 358-330 in their 48-22 victory in 2017.

It has been four seasons since Arkansas and South Carolina met each other on the gridiron, so there is some catching up to do. Ben Portnoy, South Carolina beat writer for The State, will help us do just that in this week’s edition of “Behind Enemy Lines.”

In this week’s segment, Portnoy talks about the Gamecocks’ win over Georgia State, what Spencer Rattler brings to the offense, and what a win over a ranked Arkansas squad would mean to the legacy of head coach Shane Beamer.

Without further delay, here is this week’s edition of “Behind Enemy Lines” with Ben Portnoy of the State.