Gamecocks plod in running game

FAYETTEVILLE -- South Carolina's football team hopes to find a running game in time for the Arkansas Razorbacks' visit Saturday to Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2 SEC) are averaging 84.6 rushing yards to rank 122nd nationally.

Texas A&M held South Carolina to 23 yards on 26 carries in beating the Gamecocks 24-17 Saturday night at Kyle Field.

South Carolina's rushing total was affected by quarterback Jake Bentley being sacked seven times, but even taking away those 56 yards in losses, the Gamecocks' rushing total would have been 79 yards.

"We got whipped up front in a lot of situations," South Carolina Coach Will Muschamp said. "In one-on-one situations we just got beat.

"We did have some missed assignments, so we've got to go back and narrow it down again and say, 'What can we do? Where can we get a hat on a hat?'

"I can live with getting beat physically. But getting beat mentally to me is an issue."

Bentley completed 17 of 30 passes for 256 yards against Texas A&M without an interception, but the Aggies overcame a 17-7 deficit in the third quarter by holding the Gamecocks to minus-2 yards on their final five possessions.

"We couldn't run the football in the first half, and they noticed that, so of course they brought more pressure because they knew we were going to throw the football," South Carolina senior center Alan Knott told reporters after the game. "It's just something we have to handle."

Sophomore Ty'Son Williams is the Gamecocks' leading rusher with 41 carries for 246 yards and 1 touchdown. He's averaging 49.2 rushing yards per game.

"We can't maintain drives with any consistency," Muschamp said. "That's something where we've got to be able to find ways to run the ball to create balance."

Muschamp said the Gamecocks can't win strictly on Bentley's passing and allow teams to tee off on him as the Aggies did.

"It became somewhat of a launching pad on the quarterback as far as just their pressure, which contributes to seven sacks," Muschamp said. "In a couple of those situations, Jake's got to get rid of the football, our running backs missed protections on two situations and a couple were on the offensive line."

South Carolina was missing three offensive line starters for most of the game after junior right tackle Malik Young was sidelined in the first quarter by an ankle injury.

Junior right tackle Zack Bailey has missed the past two games because of a high ankle sprain, and senior right guard Cory Helms didn't play against Texas A&M after suffering an ankle injury against Louisiana Tech.

Young started the first two games at left tackle before being replaced by junior Dennis Daley. Then Young got back in the lineup for Bailey at right tackle.

Junior Donell Stanley moved from left guard to right guard to replace Helms with redshirt freshman Sadarius Hutcherson taking over at left guard and making his first start at Texas A&M.

The injuries have resulted in the Gamecocks having four different starting offensive line combinations in four games. Knott is the only lineman to start at the same spot in every game.

"They ran a few stunts, and that was the thing that got us," Knott said after the Texas A&M game. "They got us multiple times on the same thing. It's something we have to look at, because we're going to see it again."

Muschamp said he won't know whether Bailey, Helms or Young will be healthy enough to play against the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville until later in the week.

"We didn't play well at all on the offensive line," Muschamp said. "So we're going to try and get the best five available for Arkansas."

The offensive line injuries, along with junior wide receiver and kick returner Deebo Samuel suffering a fracture in his left leg in a 23-13 loss to Kentucky, have contributed to South Carolina being held to 17 or fewer points in its past three games. That includes the Gamecocks' 17-16 victory over Louisiana Tech.

"Certainly it's concerning and we need to improve," Muschamp said. "The injuries are what they are, so that's not changing."

Bentley, a sophomore who took over as the starting quarterback after four games last season, has completed 98 of 157 passes (62.4 percent) for 1,257 yards and 9 touchdowns with 4 interceptions this season.

"I think Jake's been outstanding," Muschamp said. "He's averaging over 250 passing yards a game with a pretty much nonexistent run game."

Muschamp said the coaches need Bentley to continue playing within the scheme and not try to do too much.

"That's something we've got to make sure he understands," Muschamp said. "He just needs to be Jake."

Bentley defended South Carolina offensive coordinator Kyle Roper -- the son of former Razorback defensive lineman and longtime college assistant coach Bobby Roper -- after the Texas A&M game.

"It's all of us. It's no one person. It's no one coach," Bentley told reporters. "We give it everything we've got, and coach Roper busts his tail all week developing the game plan he thinks is going to work. We all fully believe in him and what he does for us.

"We just have to find a way to score more points and that's on all of us. We have to execute better, and that's the bottom line."

At a glance

RECORDS Arkansas 2-2, 0-1 SEC; South Carolina 3-2, 1-2 SEC RANKINGS Neither team is ranked BETTING LINE Arkansas by 2½ - COACHES Bret Bielema (27-28 in 5th year at Arkansas, 95-52 in 12th year overall); Will Muschamp (9-9 in 2nd , season at South Carolina, 37-30 in 6 6th year overall) SERIES Arkansas leads 13-9 overall, trails 6-5 in Columbia RADIO Razorback Sports Network, including KABZ-FM 103.7 in Little - Rock; KQSM-FM, 92.1, KIGL-FM 93.3, KAKS-FM 99.5 and KUOA-AM 1290 in Fayetteville; KERX-FM 95.3 in Fort Smith, Sirius 137, XM 190

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Sports on 10/03/2017