Arkansas football grades vs. South Carolina: Razorbacks nearly ace SEC opener

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football has its first SEC win after a 44-30 victory over South Carolina on Saturday. The No. 17 Razorbacks (2-0) used their strong ground game to roll over the Gamecocks (1-1). Despite injuries in the secondary and plenty of penalties, Arkansas forced key turnovers and got big stops early to get past its first conference opponent.

Here's how we're grading each phase of the Razorbacks' game.

Offense: A

Arkansas ran all over South Carolina in the first half, scoring on three of its four drives. All three touchdowns came on the ground, two from sophomore Raheim "Rocket" Sanders and a third from freshman Rashod Dubinion. By the end of the game, all three running backs had scored, and all but one of Arkansas' six touchdowns had come on the ground. Quarterback KJ Jefferson was his usual self, racking up 67 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown while completing 18-of-21 passes for 162 yards.

Defense: A-

Arkansas held South Carolina to nine first-half points, and it did it with two starters missing from the secondary. The Razorbacks gave up one long touchdown pass from Gamecock quarterback Spencer Rattler in the second half, when he found a wide-open receiver over the middle. It cut Arkansas' lead to five, but the offense recovered. Safety Latavious Brini forced a fourth-quarter fumble recovered by Hudson Clark , and Dwight McGlothern grabbed an interception that helped slam the door on South Carolina. The defense gave up some late scores, but it wasn't enough for the Gamecocks to overcome the deficit.

Special teams: A-

There aren't a lot of college kickers who can attempt a 50-yard field goal and be expected to make it. Cam Little is one of them. He missed the long field goal in the second quarter, and while it's hard to fault him for it when Arkansas was already up by almost two touchdowns, the miss still deducts a few points off the special teams grade. Linebacker Bumper Pool made the special teams play of the day, recovering a South Carolina onside kick and returning it to the South Carolina 9-yard-line.

Coaching: B

Arkansas showed guts against South Carolina, going for it on three fourth downs and converting two. But the Razorbacks struggled with penalties all game, committing 10 to give the Gamecocks 122 yards. Three were holding calls, two were pass interference, and the Razorbacks were whistled for illegal hands to the face three times. Arkansas will need to clean up its act as its tough schedule continues.

Overall: A-

Arkansas exploited South Carolina's weaknesses while playing to its own strengths. Jefferson bulldozed his way to a rushing touchdown, Sanders had a career day, and the defensive held up well until the fourth quarter. The penalty problem is concerning, but the Razorbacks got the SEC win in spite of it.

Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Southwest Times Record and USA Today Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@swtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas football grades vs South Carolina: Razorbacks ace SEC opener