Raheim Sanders takes off like a rocket, carries Arkansas football past South Carolina

Christina Long, Fort Smith Times Record
·2 min read
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FAYETTEVILLE — It was an early kickoff, but Arkansas football's running game was wide awake in the Razorbacks' 44-30 win over South Carolina on Saturday at Razorback Stadium. The No. 17 Razorbacks got past the Gamecocks in their first game of conference play.

Arkansas (2-0) got a strong performance from running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders, and the running game was the difference for the Razorbacks offensively. Arkansas' defense held South Carolina (1-1) to two touchdowns until the fourth quarter while forcing two turnovers despite a depleted secondary.

Here are our key takeaways from the Razorbacks' win.

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Rocket Sanders blasts off

One week after putting up his second career 100-yard rushing performance, Sanders had his third. Sanders was the star of the first half, scoring a pair of touchdowns on back-to-back drives. He accounted for more than a third of Arkansas' offensive yardage in the first half.

By the third quarter, Sanders had surpassed his career high in rushing yards with almost 20 minutes still left to play. He finished with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.

Quarterback KJ Jefferson was, naturally, a factor in the ground game as well. The Gamecocks struggled to bring him down, often needing several tacklers to stop his legs. He was sacked once for a loss of eight yards and ran for 65 on 18 carries.

Freshman running back Rashod Dubinion got his first touchdown as a Razorback in the second quarter on a 1-yard run. Sophomore AJ Green collected 43 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown on nine carries.

Drew Sanders makes key plays in big spots

Alabama transfer linebacker Drew Sanders was a bright spot in his second game for Arkansas. He made several key plays on South Carolina's early drives, including a big third-down play to hold the Gamecocks to a field goal on their second drive. Later, he ran tight end Jaheim Bell out of bounds for a loss of two, then sacked Spencer Rattler for a loss of eight on the very next play.

Sanders stuffed the stat sheet with 10 tackles, three for loss, two sacks, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.

Forcing South Carolina turnovers

Arkansas forced two turnovers late to help put the game away. Safety Latavious Brini, who was starting in place of injured star Jalen Catalon, forced a MarShawn Lloyd fumble in the fourth quarter. Cornerback Hudson Clark recovered it, and Arkansas scored on the ensuing drive with a touchdown catch by wideout Warren Thompson.

On South Carolina's next drive, cornerback Dwight McGlothern picked off Rattler in the end zone. It was the LSU transfer's second interception in as many games and the third Rattler has thrown this season.

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: Rocket Sanders leads Arkansas Razorbacks football over South Carolina

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