COLUMBIA, S.C. -- With the fourth quarter only seconds away, the momentum had swung clearly in Arkansas’ favor.

Only a few minutes earlier, the Razorbacks had put together a 15-play scoring drive that took 8 minutes, 12 seconds off the clock and cut South Carolina’s lead to 20-14.

And after watching his defense come up with a big stop on the ensuing drive, Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick had the football and a chance to give his team its first lead Saturday.

But on the final play of the third quarter, Dick threw a pass to his right — only to see South Carolina defensive end Jordin Lindsey jump up and snatch it and the Razorbacks’ hopes of winning out of midair.

Lindsey’s interception led to a quick South Carolina touchdown, and it proved to be the most costly of Arkansas’ mistakes in a 34-21 loss before 80,290 in Williams-Brice Stadium.

“The guy made a nice play and picked it off,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “That was a big turning point in the game because we had a lot of momentum at that time.”

Arkansas’ coaches knew heading into Saturday that they had little room for error against South Carolina’s stingy defense.

But rather than cutting down on mistakes, Dick threw three interceptions, the offensive line gave up six sacks and the Hogs had trouble moving the football after running back Michael Smith injured his shoulder in the first half.

“We’re a better ballclub than we showed tonight. I mean, it’s tough,” Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs said. “You really don’t know what went wrong. We weren’t ready to play and they were, and it’s just hard to overcome that.”

Arkansas’ defense had its share of miscues. Safeties Rashaad Johnson and Dallas Washington each missed tackles on South Carolina’s two second-half touchdowns.

And by the time the Gamecocks celebrated their sixth win in the past seven games, the Razorbacks had lost Dick and Smith to injuries and their bowl hopes looked grim.

“I’m disappointed in that game,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. “I thought we’d play a lot better than that, and I think it’s a game we should have been in right at the end to win.”

After playing eight consecutive games, Arkansas (4-6, 1-5 Southeastern Conference) heads into its final open week of the season battered and in poor shape of making the postseason.

Dick suffered a possible concussion after taking a hit to the helmet in the final minutes, and Smith was forced to watch the second half from the sideline after suffering a shoulder injury.

Meanwhile, the Razorbacks must win at Mississippi State on Nov. 22 and a week later against No. 15 LSU in Little Rock to become bowl eligible.

“We’re going to have to pick up and really get going. Obviously, we have to win the next two to see any kind of postseason play,” Luigs said. “I mean, it’s going to be tough.”

The Razorbacks got off to a bad start offensively, getting shut out in the first quarter after losing eight yards on 10 carries and gaining only 6 yards total. Things didn’t get much better from there.

Arkansas’ offense showed life when Dick faked a handoff to Smith and then hurled a deep pass to wide receiver Jarius Wright, who had beaten South Carolina free safety Chris Culliver by at least five yards.

Wright’s 70-yard touchdown cut South Carolina’s early 10-point lead to 10-7 with 9:24 left in the second quarter. But Dick threw two of his interceptions in the first half, and Wright’s score accounted for 70 of the 132 yards the Razorbacks gained in the first half.

A week after getting its offense going in a win over previously unbeaten Tulsa, Arkansas finished with 309 yards, and its running game struggled when backups Brandon Barnett and Dennis Johnson were forced to fill in for Smith.

“We got going for a minute. They switched the momentum by the defensive end’s interception,” Wright said. “He made a great play. It wasn’t Casey’s fault. It wasn’t the receiver’s fault. He just made a great play.”