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South Carolina gets bowl eligible against UA Sunday, Nov 6, 2005 By Harry King FAYETTEVILLE - For folklore and the future, the setting was superb. Barely out of high school, a quarterback rescues the Razorbacks, completing pass after pass in the final minutes on a drive for the winning touchdown. It didn't happen for Casey Dick. Darn that uncooperative bunch from South Carolina. Arkansas had chances, including a possession at its 37 with 2:26 to play and South Carolina in front 14-10. Dick completed a 15-yarder on third-and-20, but he missed Marcus Monk on fourth down. Even Mitch Mustain would have been hard pressed to deliver under such circumstances. It wasn't that fourth-down pass or that series that cost Arkansas. The Razorbacks lost because they: • Failed to make a first down with second-and-1 at the South Carolina 17 late in the third quarter. • Failed to keep the Gamecocks bottled up after a punt was killed inside the 2 early in the fourth quarter. • Made zilch on fourth-and-inches from the Arkansas 29 when Houston Nutt was trying for a spark early in the game. • Gave up a 42-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the third period, particularly galling because it was an obvious time for the Gamecocks to go deep since they had just intercepted and it was their final play with the wind. For the record, South Carolina (6-3) is bowl eligible in its first year under Steve Spurrier and Arkansas (2-6) is ineligible for the second straight year. Much of the afternoon, Dick was good enough to help Arkansas win - a far cry from saying he was going to beat the Gamecocks. It was also encouraging that, after a major boo-boo that led to South Carolina's go-ahead touchdown, he responded with a positive pass play. In the first half, he was only 6-of-11 for 47 yards, but he was shortchanged out of 36 when a swing pass to Darren McFadden was an overhand lateral. That play reached the 1 - the ball broke the plane of the goal but McFadden's foot was on the sideline - and Arkansas settled for a 19-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half. Less than eight minutes earlier, Arkansas moved en masse to the left before Dick wheeled back right and threw to Peyton Hillis who was alone after sneaking across the formation. Caught up in the moment, wide receiver David Thompson congratulated the quarterback near the sideline with such enthusiasm that Dick's red mouthpiece went flying. Coolly, the freshman picked up the gum guard and continued to the bench to bask briefly in the congrats for the first touchdown pass of his college career. The last time Dick threw a touchdown pass, the competition was Arlington Lamar High School. Although four of his first six completions were to backs, Dick did find Cedric Washington camped in the middle of the field for 21 yards on Arkansas' first touchdown drive. That throw and his long try for Washington in the first quarter should persuade Razorback fans to withhold applause for a deep pass unless it is complete. Dick was supposed to be redshirted this year, but with a 2-5 record, Nutt decided to bench sophomore Robert Johnson in favor of the 19-year-old from Allen, Texas. Dick wound up 12-of-24 for 137 yards - numbers not much different than Johnson against Georgia - but Dick had more style points and three of his misfires were on the final possession. McFadden ran for 187 and Felix Jones added 66, but nothing happened on fourth-and-1 from the South Carolina 17. Prior to the play, Arkansas called time with 3:40 to play and Nutt was joined on the field by his four offensive coaches and about 20 players. Tackle Stanley Doughty got into the backfield, ruining McFadden's initial path and setting up Dakota Walker's tackle. When it was over, the only happy Razorback was Kane Wommack. A walk-on and son of Arkansas' former defensive coordinator Dave Wommack - now with the Gamecocks - he made contact with family members in the stands before trotting off the field. ----- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media Group's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
