Gamecocks Versus Razorbacks

Gamecocks Face Defensive Challenge

The Razorbacks second year coach, Bobby Petrino, has the Arkansas team playing at a very high level on offense. Last Saturday, the Razorbacks scored over sixty points against Eastern Michigan. The red bar on the graph below shows the point total by opponent. The white bar represents how many points the Gamecock defense has surrendered. (The South Carolina State game was omitted).



The following chart shows the offensive yardage output for the Razorbacks.



The Razorbacks are very impressive on offense. Their offense is ranked second in the SEC, averaging 438 yards per game and 36 points per game.

The Gamecocks are fifth in total defense (295 total yards allowed per game) and sixth in scoring defense (19 points a game).

Arkansas offensive strength has been in the passing game. It is ranked first in the conference by a mile, averaging almost 300 yards passing a game. However, their strength is matched up with the Gamecocks strength, pass defense. The Gamecocks are ranked second, giving up only 141 yards per game through the air.

What can the Gamecocks do to stop the Razorbacks?

The chart below shows the sacks allowed per game by the Razorback offense. This indicates that when opposing defenses are able to pressure the Razorback passer and sack him from time to time, the Razorback offensive production substantially decreases.



The Gamecocks are averaging over two sacks per game. That ranks them fifth in the SEC among defenses. If the Gamecock defense can put pressure on the Razorback quarterback, statistics suggest the Gamecocks will slow down the Razorback offensive attack. Hopefully, Lorenzo Ward and Ellis Johnson will dial up a few blitzes that will shake up the Razorback passers.

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