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9.10.2022 KEYS TO VICTORY MATT JONES & SCOTTIE BORDELON WHOLEHOGSPORTS.COM SPECIAL TEAMS This is the No. 1 key for the second week in a row. If you watched much SEC football in Week 1, you know why. The third phase was key to outcomes in the LSU-Florida State and South Carolina- Georgia State games. LSU left points on the field because of special teams and lost by one point, while South Carolina created its winning margin with big special teams plays. Special teams play contributed to three touchdowns during the Gamecocks' 35-14 victory over Georgia State. South Carolina returned two blocked punts for touchdowns and set up another score with a successful fake field goal. South Carolina coach Shane Beamer is the son of Hall of Fame coach Frank Beamer, whose special teams units at Virginia Tech made game- changing plays for more than two decades. The Hokies' special teams expertise was dubbed "Beamer Ball." "My dad was so good on special teams because they were so good at blocking (kicks). People would get so worried about that, next thing you know they're returning them for touchdowns," Shane Beamer said this week. "Then you're trying to get more people out in coverage to keep them from returning them for touchdowns, and now you're blocking punts again. That's what we want to be at all times. "We want to be aggressors on special teams." The younger Beamer was special teams coordinator at Georgia in 2016-17, when Arkansas coach Sam Pittman was on staff as the Bulldogs' offensive line coach. Beamer was also a tight ends coach at Georgia, so he worked closely with Pittman. He also worked closely with Arkansas special teams coordinator Scott Fountain, who was a special teams analyst for the Bulldogs in 2017. "We know a lot of things they're doing and they know a lot about what we're doing," Pittman said. South Carolina's punt blocks against Georgia State were not necessarily the result of scheme, but of missed blocks, Pittman said. Still, Arkansas is aware of the Gamecocks' potential — they led the SEC with four blocked kicks last season — and mindful of its own troubles in punt protection early the past two years. "Anytime you have a team coming in that had that much success on special teams, you better be ready for it, because they've got juice over there for special teams," Pittman said. "We've got to be really well prepared, which we will be." MORNING KICKOFF Pittman has drawn from his Georgia experiences many times in the three years since coming to Arkansas. But it was his experience on the other sideline of Sanford Stadium last October in Athens, Ga., that seems to have stuck with Pittman this week as he has been vocal about his desire for a boisterous crowd at 11 a.m. Those who were at the Arkansas-Georgia game last year all remark how loud it was. Leading up to the game — a top-10 matchup featured as the "College GameDay" game of the week — Georgia coach Kirby Smart implored the crowd to make a difference. Scheme and talent played a role, but so did the noise in the Bulldogs' 37-0 victory. "Georgia's crowd last year was deafening," Pittman said. "When we went out there it was a problem for us, just like hopefully our crowd is going to be Saturday for South Carolina." Although not always this way, crowds have a reputation for being sleepy and late arriving for games with morning kickoffs. Before the Arkansas game last year, Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean referenced a 2019 home loss to South Carolina and said players were not as energized for a game early in the day. Arkansas' only home loss last season was for a game against Auburn that began at 11 a.m. Pittman said morning kickoffs can be used as an excuse, but players should be ready for games at that time. Arkansas, for instance, scheduled six morning practices during the preseason to be prepared for games that start before noon. South Carolina practices in the morning, "so 11 a.m. is right up our alley," Beamer said. "We're basically done with practice every day by the time kickoff will be Saturday." The Gamecocks were winless in SEC road games last season at Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Missouri, and lost three of those games by at least 25 points. NEW FACES, NEW PLACES Injuries are an unfortunate part of the game. Arkansas experienced that last Saturday against Cincinnati at nearly every level of its defense. No area, though, was dealt a bigger blow than the secondary. Safety Jalen Catalon, fresh off missing most of 2021 due to injuries, and Myles Slusher left the opener banged up, and their status moving forward is unclear. So who steps in to potentially replace them? The open viewing periods of practices this week were an indicator, and Arkansas could field new faces — Georgia transfer Latavious Brini and defensive back Khari Johnson — in those places. South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is likely to test each member of Arkansas' secondary Saturday with quick throws, screens and deep balls. Cornerback Hudson Clark is confident Brini and Johnson will be up for the challenge. "I thought (Brini) did a good job stepping in whenever his number was called (last week)," Clark said. "We get the same number of reps in practice, so I was as comfortable getting in the game with him as I was with (Catalon). He filled that role pretty good. "(Johnson) has been able to kind of cross train at corner, nickel and safety. I really have a real big respect for him and have confidence wherever he plays." Brini totaled five tackles in Week 1. Johnson did not record any statistics. Asked about Johnson's prospects at safety and nickel, Pittman said, "He's going to have to be able to play both of those. We moved him to corner for a reason. We moved him to safety for a reason. At times last week he was in the two deep at corner. He's a good player. "He hasn't played quite as much, obviously, as the other guys, but he's probably going to. He's smart. He's probably going to have to be a guy that's going to have to play both of those spots." GAMECOCKS' PASS RUSH Six South Carolina players finished Week 1 with at least one-half tackle for lost yardage. Three were edge defenders. Gilber Edmond, a 6-5, 255-pound sophomore, led the way with 2, and Jordan Strachan, another 6-5 talent, added 1.5. Edmond posted a run defense grade, according to Pro Football Focus, of 79.0 and pass rush grade of 72.8 over 21 snaps. Jordan Burch (6-6, 275) and Strachan played the most defensive snaps last week and will test the SEC readiness of Arkansas left tackle Luke Jones and right tackle Dalton Wagner. The 6-9 Wagner stood out in pass protection with a PFF grade of 85.3 last week. The Razorbacks will likely need a similar effort against the Gamecocks and a more impressive showing from Jones (64.5), who last week made his first start for Arkansas since transferring from Notre Dame. He received praise in the preseason from offensive line coach Cody Kennedy for not standing out for the wrong reasons. Beamer said the Razorbacks' linemen are a reflection of Pittman. "If you're watching (the Cincinnati game) from the end zone copy that we as coaches do, there's times on offense where if you just pause the video you literally can't see anyone on the front seven from Cincinnati because they've got two double teams that are covering up the two defensive tackles," Beamer said. "And then their 6-9 offensive tackle has completely covered up the guy on the edge. The offensive guard is up on the linebacker. "They're just big and physical. They want to maul you. You can tell they believe in what they're doing." Edge defenders and linebackers, Pittman said Monday, are a strength of the Gamecocks' defense. "They've got good size," he said. "Anytime you have good linebackers, in my opinion, you have a chance to have a good defense. They've got a lot of experience." BACKUP LINEMEN South Carolina's offensive line is hearing criticism for its play last weekend. According to The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., it isn't all that different than what happened a season ago. The Gamecocks rushed for 79 rushing yards against Georgia State, and they allowed Rattler to be sacked three times. Several players, including Rattler, took to social media earlier in the week in an attempt to calm the storm. There is some optimism coming out of the win over Cincinnati that Arkansas' front has enough able bodies to be consistently productive. "Everybody's going to get a chance," said Jordan Domineck, a transfer from Georgia Tech who was named SEC defensive lineman of the week. "Everybody's going to get their shot to play, so whether you're first string, second string, third string or reserves, somebody could get hurt, somebody could go down and you've got to be ready to step up. Next man up. That's how I was really thinking about it. "I just wanted to be able to play. I don't really count the amount of plays I get. I just want to try to make those plays count." The Razorbacks' second- team defensive line may have fared better than the starters. Domineck made a game-changing fourth-quarter strip sack of Ben Bryant and recovered the fumble, and LSU transfer Landon Jackson flashed with quickness and athleticism at 6-7. Arkansas State transfer Terry Hampton also tallied a tackle for loss against the Bearcats. Generating a pass rush with three down linemen will be critical for Arkansas. If the top line is unable to do so, the second group will be ready and waiting. Against Cincinnati, Domineck posted the top defense grade among Razorbacks edge defenders in just 19 defensive snaps (87.9), SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY LOOMS LARGE AS RAZORBACKS OPEN SEC SLATE NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo On Saturday, Arkansas punter Max Fletcher will face the SEC special teams unit with the most blocked kicks since the start of the 2021 season. South Carolina at 16 Arkansas 1 Alabama at Texas Missouri at Kansas State 24 Tennessee at 17 Pittsburgh 20 Kentucky at 12 Florida Mississippi State at Arizona 23 Wake Forest at Vanderbilt Arkansas Alabama Kansas State Tennessee Florida Mississippi State Wake Forest Arkansas Alabama Kansas State Pittsburgh Florida Mississippi State Vanderbilt Arkansas Alabama Kansas State Tennessee Florida Mississippi State Wake Forest Arkansas Alabama Kansas State Tennessee Kentucky Mississippi State Wake Forest Arkansas Alabama Kansas State Tennessee Florida Mississippi State Wake Forest Arkansas Alabama Kansas State Tennessee Florida Mississippi State Vanderbilt Arkansas Alabama Missouri Pittsburgh Kentucky Mississippi State Wake Forest Arkansas Alabama Missouri Pittsburgh Florida Arizona Wake Forest GAMES PREDICTIONS Matt Jones 7-0 Scottie Bordelon 5-2 Tom Murphy 7-0 Ethan Westerman 5-2 Paul Boyd 5-2 Andrew Joseph 5-2 Rick Fires 6-1 Chip Souza 6-1 OVERALL LAST WEEK 7-0 5-2 7-0 5-2 5-2 5-2 6-1 6-1

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