Bill's Blog: Game Day Carolina
2:22 p.m. — Three snaps to kill the clock and it’s over. Razorbacks win 33-16 over USC. Game story and stats up shortly. Remember next week’s game with Troy is at 6:30 p.m. on CSS and CST. Good afternoon from Fayetteville.
2:19 p.m. — Lob pass into the end zone for Saunders incomplete, almost tip intercepted, and stops the clock with 1:49 to play and fourth down.
2:15 p.m. — Lob pass into the end zone for Saunders incomplete, almost tip intercepted, and stops the clock with 1:49 to play and fourth down. Carolina takes a time out.
2:12 p.m. — Garcia keeps the drive moving with a completion to the Arkansas nine. Swing pass to Maddox goes for only four. 2nd and goal at the five
2:09 p.m. — Garcia finds Sherman on the fly and flips the field to the Arkansas 22 yard line. Broken up on first down, keeps for a short gain on second down.
2:08 p.m. — TV timeout as USC returns the kickoff to the 30 yard line.
2:07 p.m. — Remember, this is the world wide headquarters of poultry processing.
2:05 p.m. — And Green completes the progression with one up the middle for three and the TD. The PAT is good and it’s 33-16.
2:04 p.m. — Green over the left side to the eight for second and 7. Green over the right side for four for 3rd and 3 at the four.
2:03 p.m. — Williams across the middle, Mallett patiently waits then delivers. Williams drags a Carolina linebacker to the 11 for the first down.
2:02 p.m. — Nothing on first down for Smith, Mallett to Wingo in the right flat, he’ll deal for five to the Gamecock 18.
2:01 p.m. –Ruling on the field stands, 1st and 10 at the 23
1:58 p.m. — Childs scoops it up near the turf much to USC’s defensive protests. First down for the hogs at the 23 yard line, and you knew this was headed to a review.
1:56 p.m. — Adams on the carry, not quite as successful as his 1st half run; USC strings it out and keeps him from the corner; 1 yard loss. Childs on the catch but not a lot of gain, now 3rd and long.
1:56 p.m. — More pressure and Garcia caught, has to shovel pass and gets very little, the punt is almost blocked, Norton on the return to the USC 37
1:54 p.m. — Garcia goes down, big sack; potential game clinching sack. 10 yard loss. 3rd and 25 now on the USC 20
1:54 p.m. — Rudell Crim all but intercepts Garcia — that is the third near miss for the USC QB who already has one costly pick today
1:52 p.m. — Garcia working the field as Carolina goes spread to find openings. Picks up a pair of quick first downs to the USC 35, 11:40 clock running.
1:50 p.m. — Screen to Michael Smith gets back the losses, but brings up 4th and 10 at the 44. Breeding to punt. Great punt to the 10 and a three yard loss on the return. USC starts at own 7.
1:49 p.m. — Eric Norwood pings Mallett hard. 9 yard loss sets a 3rd and 18.
1:48 p.m. — Mallett underneath the linebackers to Wright, first down Razorbacks at the 44.
1:48 p.m. — The safety was the first for Arkansas since the 2007 game with Kentucky.
1:45 p.m. — Mallett gets the yardage back and advances to 46 with pass to Crawford, 3rd and 7; that will end the third quarter — UA 26, USC 16.
1:42 p.m. — Mallett on the throw back across the grain to Williams but it will be coming back on a hold, or perhaps face mask, on the downfield block by Smith. Hmm. Now we have roughing the passer on USC so the hold and the roughing offset — no play.
1:42 p.m. — Now 26-16 after the safety, and USC to kick off from own 20; Johnson returns it to the 43 yard line, short field for Mallett.
1:40 p.m. — Horrible snap, Garcia goes after it, squirts away at the two, he struggles to cover it, gets into the end zone SAFETY as covered by Maddox. Now 26-16 Razorbacks.
1:38 p.m. — Saunders gets 18 of it back and a first down for Garcia.
1:38 p.m. — Garcia evades one sack, then two sacks, but not three as Patrick Jones brings him down after a game of pinball with the Razorback rush.
1:38 p.m. — Another Tejada kickoff into the deep end zone. USC starts at own 20.
1:33 p.m. — Green busts it up the gut on the Gamecocks for the final yard. The PAT is good and its’ 24-16.
1:32 p.m. — For those who’ve been asking where is Williams, we’ll he’s right here, that’s his sixth catch today for 130 yards
1:31 p.m. — Williams again, another catch at the marker. This one will bring on the measurement at the one yard line.
1:30 p.m. — D.J. Williams with the reception. Officials say its just short of the first. 3rd and 1; Davis busts to the USC 11.
1:30 p.m. — Oh yes — that as in stride to Greg Childs, stutter step and oops by USC secondary. Next thing you know, Hogs on Carolina 30 yard line.
1:28 p.m. — Spoke too soon as Garcia goes for it all in the deep left corner of the end zone. Jerell Norton goes up and takes it away for the first interception of the day for either team.
1:26 p.m. — Give Garcia credit, he finds Saunders for the first down and more to the Razorback 25. Not flashy, just gets the job done. Reason why he’s #2 in SEC in passing.
1:25 p.m. — Another third down for USC. Another flag. Another critical penalty for USC to try to overcome.
1:25 p.m. — Crowd announced at 68,865. Crowd sounds like 75,000. Don’t belive me, just ask USC’s Garcia.
1:24 p.m. — Garcia finds Barns for a half yard more than he needed for the first down and keeps the drive alive for USC at own 45. Goes deep and incomplete on first down.
1:23 p.m. — Garcia keeps, gets plenty, but not enough; 3rd and 11.
1:22 p.m. — Lots of bad things happen for USC, a hurry, a flurry of flags and Garcia gets smashed as he throws it away. Ends up as a holding penalty that backs Gamecocks up to the 24. Second and 24.
1:19 p.m. — All but intercepted by Burton on first down for Garcia. Out of the gun and under pressure, Garcia can’t get the play changed. Team can’t hear. Clock expires but USC bench manages to call a penalty saving TO.
1:18 p.m. — Both teams have 1 yard QB sneak TDs, both have a FG — the difference is the missed PAT — the smallest of margins.
1:09 p.m. — Third and short and Mallett sells the fake HARD. 20 players go into the line, Williams gets away from his man, Mallett calmly pulls the ball from behind his back and 26 yards later its’ first and goal.
1:08 pm. — Mallett rolls away from pressure, finds London Crawford for an 18 yard gain to the USC 44. Green then carries seven, maybe eight, for a short second down.
1:05 p.m. — Michael Smith for eight on first down, Knile Davis gets close enough to earn the measurement at the Razorback 32.
1:00 p.m. — Garcia play fake, steps back and goes for it all to Alshon Jeffery, the 80-yard TD reception are career bests for both players. The PAT snap is muffed and then stuffed, USC 16, Arkansas 10, 14:47 in the third.
12:59 p.m. — Tejada kicks it with that swirling wind all the way to the back of the end zone; USC downs it and they’ll start at their own 20.
12:53 p.m. — Here’s some breaking news — the halftime kicking contest hit his 20-yard and 30-yard field goals; he’s kicking for 10K from the 30, shanks that one. Next contestant has to deal with USC’s team running in front of him.
12:45 p.m. — The Razorback Marching Band on the field. Sure the windows are open today, but they have a very crisp, loud sound today. Very drum and bugle corps.
12:42 p.m. — Today’s Burl’s Kids are sponsored by the Petit Jean Razorback Club.
12:39 p.m. — Razorback baseball team now on the field being honored. Video clip of the score at Florida State brings a roar from the crowd.
12:37 p.m. — 69 yards for Williams, from the 6 with 6 left Mallett incomplete; Tejada out for FG attempt. It is good. 24-yard field goal and we go to halftime, 10-10.
12:36 p.m. — Williams slips one tackler, two fall down, gets a block, cuts back and rambles all the way to the seven yard line. Bad news, took 18 sec. Hogs at the six.
12:35 p.m. — Hogs get one last chance with 22 seconds and all three time outs left. Start at their own 24 yard line.
12:33 p.m. — Seems that Carolina is milking clock (they do get the ball in the second half), hand off one yard and now running down the clock on fourth down. Take the delay penalty to give more space for the punt
12:31 p.m. — Carolina now has 2:23 left to move, Giles spins for eight and the ball at the UA 49. Giles slips and gets nothing to set up third and two.
12:29 p.m. — Razorbacks get just one on the pass to Green, Mallett flushed and runs for no gain on third down. Forester to punt, he shanks.
12:28 p.m. — Lots of time for Mallett, Gilmore lays out to save a touchdown pass to Wright. If he doesn’t tip it, an embarassing wide open six points.
12:26 p.m. — Ugly shanked punt but an interesting spot. Razorbacks take over on their own 27 after the 21 yard punt and a TV timeout.
12:25 p.m. — Garcia throws downfield in the grasp of a Razorback, puts it behind his well-covered receiver. 4th down punt.
12:23 p.m. — After back to back yard loss plays, Carolina adds to woes with motion; now 3rd and 16 at UA 43. Garcia from the gun and his left tackle flinches again. Back it up another five — the crowd is getting rewarded for its noise.
12:22 p.m. — Nelson not fooled at all by USC play fake, crushes swing play for a one-yard loss. Another swing pass to Sherman, Crim waiting on this one. Back to back yard loss plays. 3rd and 11.
12:20 p.m. — Garcia complete to his right flat, eight yards to the UA 43. Maddox gets the first down on a six yard carry to the 37.
12:19 p.m. — Garcia waits, faces the pressure, gets it on the mark to Brown slicing across, a 25 yard gain to the 49 yard line
12:17 p.m. — Miles with eight on first down to the 18. Several Razorback players pointing as if there was motion. Garcia’s less than enthusiastic play fake gets Miles stuffed for a one yard loss. Carolina converts on third, out to the 25.
12:13 p.m. — Razorbacks work it into USC territory at the 44, but now third down. Power formation to right, Mallett rolling out, then breaks for run. Fourth and three. In to punt, high spiral drops right down near 10. Fair catch and Carolina has 90 yards to go after the TV timeout.
12:12 p.m. — Mallett works the progression, drops it to Smith on the backfield loop. seven on the carry. Davis knifes through the right side for the first down to the 50.
12:08 p.m. — Johnson picks up the short kick on the bounce, moves it out to the 25. Green stacked up on first down. Wright in the right flat, battles away from a Carolina defender to pick up the first down.
12:07 p.m. — Miles on counter handoff gets to one and trips. Third down. Garcia keeps and gets the score, PAT good, USC 10, UA 3.
12:06 p.m. — Monster coverage by Crim on Moore, gets the catch but nothing more at the two yard line
12:05 p.m. — First and goal at the six and Gamecocks burn their final time out of the half, 13:35 left in the second quarter
12:03 p.m. — Wingo gets ball on fourth down, caught for loss and Carolina gets it on downs at the Razorback 24 yard line. Garcia find Brown for 17 to the six, but actually aided by a Razorback tip. Otherwise, looked like would sail again.
12:01 p.m. — Mallett from the endzone for Crawford, he goes up the ladder to catch it and holds on for the 15 yard gain with a big hit from USC. Third down and five, complete to Adams short of marker but flag on the play. Holding on UA is declined.
11:57 a.m. — Mallett sacked on first down to the seven by Pepper. Now 2nd and 20, but that will end the first quarter, Arkasnas 7, USC 3.
11:56 a.m. — Williams takes the shot over the middle but gets the first down at the 18 yard line.
11:56 a.m. — Hogs start at own 7 after big punt by USC, Smith moves it a yard, 2nd down gets caught in backfield by Ajiboye at the six
11:54 a.m. — Norton calls for the fair catch, makes it over his shoulder at the seven yard line. That swirling wind got under the punt even though it was too the south.
11:54 a.m. — Another third down by USC, another check, but not another first down. Gamecocks fail on third for first time, punting from own 42
11:52 a.m. — Garcia takes his time, airs it out deeeep but well overthrown. Not sure pass could have gotten into the Razorback coverage. Giles on second sets up 3rd and six.
11:51 a.m. — Garcia checking on third down, noise is up, shotgun, gets the pass away under pressure to Jeffery, first down at the 37 yard line
11:49 a.m. — Not a lot of room for Sherman’s return, gets it to Carolina 21. Gamecocks start there for the second drive of the day.Garcia from the gun, overthrows his receiver in the right flat for the third time today.
11:47 a.m. — Adams on the end around and a Superman lunge for the finish and style points TOUCHDOWN ARKANSAS. Tejada PAT is good and it’s Arkansas 7, Carolina 3. Drive just under two minutes long going 60 yards, 4 plays.
11:45 a.m. –Mallett to Green in the left flat, lays it in front of him and Green’s got a full head of steam. 39 yards later first down UA.
11:44 a.m. — Mallet rolls left, USC bites hard on the action to the right. Mallett has a wide open field and two open receivers out of three. Too much on the pass and its incomplete. Green bowls ahead for three, 3rd and 7.
11:42 a.m. — Carolina puts kickoff out of bounds. Razorbacks start on own 40 yard line.
11:41 a.m. — The Carolina drive was 14 plays, 65 yards, 3 of 3 on third down conversions, 1 of 1 on fourth down conversions; a huge time consumer for USC as they slip third, then fourth down repeatedly in the drive.
11:40 a.m. — Mayhem ensues. South endzone noise, Garcia lets clock expire, Defense tees off, ball loose; penalty takes precidence; FG by Manning, good. USC takes first lead of the game, 3-0, at 6:40 in the first quarter.
11:38 a.m. — Miles up the middle, little or no gain on first and goal at the Hogs four yard line; same story on second down for Miles. And again on third as Miles keeps going wider to the right each time. Now fourth down.
11:35 a.m. — Let’s try again. Crowd getting amped up, Full length TV time out this time. Spontaneous Hog Call erupts. Public sale tickets in upper deck full, some students overflowing into the upper deck today. Fourth again, QB sneak by Garcia, first down
11:33 a.m. — Time out Carolina to decide. They are going for it. Carolina goes for it on fourth and 1 at the six; time out again and Spurrier is furious; off comes the visor
11:31 a.m. — Razorbacks stuff the run, now 3rd and two at the six; out of bounds on the reception. Now fourth down.
11:30 a.m. — Brown gets Carolina down to the Razorback 16 yard line; flair pass covered well to the 13 on second down now for USC.
11:29 a.m. — Carolina converts on third down to the Razorback 40.
11:28 a.m. — Hogs bring the pressure, Garcia dumps to DiMarco and it’s too high; second and 10 again for USC. Noise again and USC looks to change play; Garcia sails it high again.
11:26 a.m. — Burton breaks up the pass over the middle. Garcia hands off to Miles and gets the seam for a 20 yard run.
11:26 a.m. — Nice punt with little return. USC in action on own 29.
11:24 a.m. — Tipped pass caught by Adams, Mallett lots of time; sets up third and seven. Razorbacks looking to change plays, Adams jumps on wrong count. Five yard penalty. Now 3rd 12. Hits Williams in the flat, but the eight with the penalty can’t get the first down.
11:23 a.m. — Smith takes over single back set and gets the ball out for three yards
11:23 a.m. — Green opesn as the starter for Razrobacks and it’s already an Arkansas Razorback FIRST DOWN 13 on the gain. Huge, huge hole for Green.
11:22 a.m. — Johnson tries to cut back, but gets caught at the 15; Hogs go from there.
11:21 a.m. — Tremendous noise greets Hogs as they take the field; Razorbacks ready to recieve — Johnson back for Arkansas
11:18 a.m. — Razorbacks onto the field, big roar. Carolina won toss, differs; Arkansas receives. USC takes north goal.
11:16 a.m. — Razorback captains, Smith, Mallett, A. Love, Sheppard; Carolina DiMarco, Norwood, Pepper, Brown; Gamecocks come onto field to a solid boo.
11:15 a.m. — Bet we don’t have to wait for USC’s captains for the coin toss this week as we did EMU last week.
11:13 a.m. — There’s the big A marching down the field, today special guests getting to "run" the A from the Red Tie event
11:10 a.m. — Today’s flyover is the 80th Training Wing T-38s from Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. They are notoriously loud and make a great flyover, Thunderous.
11:08 a.m. — National Anthem.
11:05 a.m. — LETS STAND UP AND CALL THOSE HOGS — 16 minutes to kickoff — first formal call of the day
11:02 a.m. — Crowd getting excited with the new highlights on video board — big cheer for Green’s 99-yard TD run from last week
11:00 a.m. — Gamecocks have leff the field, Razorbacks huddling and moving off now; Razorback band ready to take field we are on T-Minus 20:00
10:55 a.m. — Coach Petrino has made it clear that starting positions on Saturday will now be earned during practice; expect changes again today
10:54 a.m. — Flip card today lists five players at running back for the Razorbacks, in order, Smith, Johnson, Wingo, Green, Davis.
10:53 a.m. — It’s official — white visor, no ball cap, today for the opponent head coach.
10:52 a.m. — Under 30 minutes to kickoff.
10:50 a.m. — Tomorrow afternoon, Razorback volleyball hosts LSU at Barnhill Arena.
10:46 a.m. — Flip card starters: USC Off. T, Nunn, Eckerson; G Chisolm, Johnson; C Jeanpierre; FB DiMarco, TB Miles, WR Jeffery, Brown, Barnes; TE Saunders, QB Garcia
10:45 a.m. — Flip card starters: UA Def. DE Bequette, A. Davis; DT Stadther, Sheppard; LB Franklin, Davis, Burton; DB Broadway, Ford, Harris, Crim
10:44 a.m. — Flip card starters: USC Def. DE, Geathers, Taylor; DT Pepper, Ajiboye; LB Wilson, Norwood, Stewart; DB Gilmore, Auguste, Holloman, Whitlock
10:43 a.m. — Flip card starters: UA Off. T, Dominguez, Love; G Grayson, Petrus; C Oxner; WR Adams, Childs, Wright; TE Williams; FB Stumon, RB Smith, QB Mallett
10:42 a.m. — Traffic is thick outside the stadium with folks who are just rolling toward the stands, early games tough on the home crowd
10:39 a.m. — Razorback Marching Band has entered the facility; Razorbacks into passing drills; Gamecocks in their team huddle.
10:36 a.m. — Rest of the Razorbacks out on the field for warmups; Arkansas wears the all Cardinal uniform again today. We scored 63 points last time in that Cardinal jersey, Cardinal pants combo for homecoming last week.
10:34 a.m. — Official welcome announcement from John George; Carolina backs and specialists back on the field for warmups.
10:26 a.m. — Razorback specialists hit the field and the team’s sound system is cranking; cue the Tusk trailer and the cheerleaders, who are driving in through the southeast tunnel.
10:22 a.m. — Carolina kickers out on the field to warm-up, Gamecocks going in all white today, Garnett numbers and trim.
10:08 a.m. — Dave Neal just came by the blog spot. Good to see him today in Fayetteville.
10:00 a.m. — Good morning again from Fayetteville. Remember that the high detail Twitter feed is @RazorbackRoad.
9:51 a.m. — The 90 minute clock is rolling.
9:40 a.m. — The 100 minute meeting with officials and representives of both teams is complete.
9:35 a.m. — Standing in the southeast tunnel waiting for the 100 minute meeting and the wind is ripping through the space. If this game were played back in the day before the south endzone stands, we’d have a fierce wind advantage.
9:23 a.m. — Pep rallies begin in moments at Trough, Alumni Center and The Gardens — 9:30 a.m.
9:21 a.m. — The gates are open and the students are streaming into the stadium.
9:19 a.m. — Even though we have a rough south wind — I can see the flags at the top of the stadium not just standing out, but actually pointing up — the wind is swirling in more from the north into the stadium. The streamers on the north field goal at showing a steady north wind, tailgater’s flags near the Hog Grill in the northeast corner of the stadium are flipping back and forth from a east wind to a south wind as the strong wind rips around the stadium. The American flag — sitting in the northeast corner — is doing the same swirling.
9:18 a.m. — Nice visit to the blog spot from the Chic-fil-A Bowl’s rep.
9:13 a.m. — Two thumbs up to the catering crew from Chartwells in the media area. Not too many games you can chow down on the opponent in two ways — egg omlettes (no bacon, thank you) and chicken strips.
9:12 a.m. — The officiating crew is taking their walkthrough.
8:54 a.m. — Wind starting to pick up a little bit, but its is fab in the media area today. The windows are open for the first time since the Georgia game.
8:02 a.m. — Closing out the early notes and moving to set up equipment. Remember, the full blog runs from about 90 minutes out to kick. Keep up with the high detail notes @RazorbackRoad and the scoring and quarter updates only through the main feed @ArkRazorbacks.
8:01 a.m. — And the Broyles Center football museum just opened. Since this is an early day game, and the team will arrive soon, it is a very limited opening today.
8:00 a.m. — If you are at home, don’t forget to check out our game day page here. You can catch up on the game week wallpapers from Andrew Reynolds, this week’s Color the Game sheets for your Junior Razorbacks, read the game notes of both teams and get important stadium information if you’re on the way to the game. If you want to read the Game Day program feature stories for this week, jump to our program home page for the South Carolina game.
7:50 a.m. — Don’t forget, today’s game is televised on SEC Network — check your local listings for our kickoff at 11:21 a.m. It will also stream on ESPN360. Pregame, you can watch the band and the stadium festivities at RazorVision, plus listen to the audio from the Voice of the Razorbacks, Chuck Barrett.
7:40 a.m. — Windy as predicted, a strong south wind that’s pretty constant around 15-18 mph. Expect gusts up to 30 and the peak of the wind as the game gets underway. The good news — this is strictly a wind event that will finish off the last of the fall folliage around Fayetteville. No rain, no clouds in today’s forecast.
7:20 a.m. — An early morning in Fayetteville, but a gorgeous one. Traffic has turned for today’s game as we are four hours out.
