Defense dominates; interception hurts
Last updated Saturday, November 8, 2008 5:44 PM CST in Columns
By Harry King
The Morning News
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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Redshirted as a fourth-year player because of problems with grades, South Carolina defensive end Jordin Lindsey gets an “A” in Play-Fake Recognition.
Lindsey provided the defining moment of the Gamecocks’ 34-21 victory over Arkansas when the Razorbacks had the ball with a chance to take the lead for the first time. The possession began gloriously, Casey Dick to London Crawford on a crossing route for 30 yards to the South Carolina 42. From the 40, Lindsey started to rush, realized Dennis Johnson had slipped past him, and retreated.
Lindsey’s vertical leap might only be 12 inches or so, but he got high enough to intercept, and spent the next 40 yards shifting the ball from one arm to the other. Two plays later, Isaac Madison was helpless against Kenny McKinley and the Gamecocks led 27-14.
Lindsey’s play “turned it all around,” said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.
How ironic that defense decided a game in which Spurrier, one of the offensive trendsetters of the 1990s, squared off against Bobby Petrino, one of the play-calling wizards of this decade. Arkansas’ 309 yards was its lowest production since Texas in September and 70 yards of that came on one pass.
Helpless came up earlier in the afternoon in conjunction with Arkansas running back Michael Smith.
Sans helmet, the signature of a non-participant, Smith stood between a couple of civilians 20 yards from his offensive mates preparing for their first opportunity of the second half.
He tried to raise his right arm and recoiled before it got as high as his waist. A marked man, Smith had 25 yards on seven carries when he left the game in the second quarter, his right shoulder drooping after a second-effort gain of 5.
Arkansas couldn’t run the ball with Smith in the game or with him on the sideline and Dick was under duress much of the game. The Gamecocks would start out in a three-man front and then rush another player or two from a variety of spots.
Until the fourth quarter, South Carolina’s best running plays were a quarterback draw and a couple of sneaks. Sitting on a 13-point lead, South Carolina ran the ball 11 straight times for 72 yards and a TD and there was no drama in the final minutes of an Arkansas game for the first time in a month.
South Carolina’s offense is a conglomeration of quarterbacks Chris Smelley and Stephen Garcia. They are about even, Spurrier said, and shuttling them allows him to give the play to the quarterback standing beside him. They both overthrew or ignored receivers running free.
Impeccable in the first quarter against Tulsa last week, Arkansas was equally inept Saturday in the early going and trailed 10-0 after 3:40. Contributing to the deficit were poor throws by Dick, a 20-yard punt by the usually reliable Jeremy Davis, a grounding call against Dick under pressure from Eric Norwood and another bad throw that was intercepted.
Arkansas had a splendid opportunity to get within a score when Garcia — criticized by Spurrier for trying to scramble too much — chose an even worse alternative, a floater in the middle of the field. Dallas Washington intercepted at midfield.
The Gamecocks’ defense is accustomed to being on the spot and the only positive for Arkansas was a 5-yard penalty on South Carolina for 12 men on the field. The snaps that counted included a 1-yard run by Smith, a double-team of the UA quarterback, and a sack of Dick when Darian Stewart circled Arkansas’ right tackle and Smith stepped up to block somebody coming from the inside.
After eight straight Saturdays, the week off is welcome.
About this columnist
The dean of Arkansas sports writers, Harry King updates his column five days per week with the latest on the Razorbacks. A 35-year veteran of The Associated Press, King joined the Arkansas News Bureau in May of 2002. He's covered the Razorbacks since the Arkansas-Texas game dubbed the Big Shootout in 1969.
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