COLUMBIA, S. C. — Just like Kentucky and Ole Miss, Saturday was a could’ve, should’ve game that might haunt the Arkansas Razorbacks when they look back at this season.

Sacks (six for 44 yards ), interceptions (three, leading to 10 points ) and a couple of poor tackling attempts cost the Razorbacks any chance of a victory and left them facing a mountain of a challenge in their attempt at getting bowl-eligible.

Less than four minutes into the game, the Razorbacks were down 10-0 after a shanked punt and interception. South Carolina had 38 total yards of offense at that point.

The Razorbacks would end the first period with a measly 6 yards of total offense.

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Take nothing away from South Carolina, which intended to put pressure on Casey Dick and was very successful at it, but the final score of 34-21 was not indicative of how evenly the teams actually played.

Thanks to miscues and mistakes, the Gamecocks had to average only 47 yards per scoring drive, while the Razorbacks, who seldom had field position, and when they did, wasted it, averaged 74 yards per touchdown drive.

Arkansas’ only first-half bright spot was a 70-yard pass from Dick to Jarius Wright, who cleared his defender by 10 yards, slowed up to make the catch and then sprinted the final 30 yards for the touchdown.

The Gamecocks answered with a 66-yard touchdown pass when for some reason the coverage called for linebacker Jerry Franklin to cover Jared Cook, South Carolina’s top receiver, who broke one tackle and avoided a very slight attempt by a Razorback to knock him out of bounds on his way to the end zone.

South Carolina opened the second half with a 34-yard drive — after a 41-yard kickoff return — for a field goal and a 20-7 lead.

Then came that moment, with time running out in the third quarter, trailing 20-14, when it seemed the momentum had swung to the Hogs.

A 15-play, 62-yard touchdown drive that took 8: 12 and pulled the Hogs within a touchdown seemed to have brought out the curse of the chicken.

Legend has it that a guy, probably a Clemson fan, put a voodoo curse on the Gamecocks many years ago.

Once, just a few years ago, South Carolina, in the spirit of fun (maybe desperation ) actually brought in a guy who claimed to be a witch doctor to remove the hex. Some time later, Steve Spurrier was hired to get the Gamecocks on the winning path and South Carolina stands 7-3 today.

So there the Hogs were, within 20-14, and the defense held South Carolina with 1: 18 to play in the third quarter. The Razorbacks started at their own 28, and the 80, 290 fans had the same thought: Here come the Hogs.

Immediately, Dick hooked up with London Crawford for a 10-yard pass that Crawford turned into a 30-yard gain to the South Carolina 42. After a 2-yard run by Dennis Johnson — who along with Brandon Barnett was filling in for an injured Michael Smith — Dick threw a pass to defensive end Jordin Lindsey, who returned it 40 yards to the Arkansas 15. With 14: 29 to play, it was 27-14.

The glue was coming off the label.

Dick got sacked again with 12: 43 to play, and South Carolina lined up and did exactly what everyone in Williams-Brice Stadium knew Spurrier was going to do, run the ball and the clock.

It took 11 consecutive runs by a team that averages only 100 yards per game on the ground, using more than six minutes, to cover the 68 yards to make it 34-14.

When Casey Dick got knocked out of the game, his younger brother Nathan stepped in and with the help of two passinterference penalties against South Carolina drove the Hogs 80 yards in 13 plays, but this one had lost its suspense with the interception by Lindsey.

It was the first time since the Florida game the Razorbacks didn’t show improvement, and some of that was because of mistakes.

Now, they face the challenge of winning at Mississippi State and against LSU in the Rock.

A formidable challenge that becomes impossible if they don’t make a lot less mistakes than Saturday.