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Jones, McFadden rush Arkansas past South Carolina

Nov 4, 2007 - 3:13 AM FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (Ticker) -- Darren McFadden supplied the power while Felix Jones provided the fireworks.

McFadden and Jones headlined a running game which finished with 541 yards as Arkansas held on for a 48-36 Southeastern Conference victory over 23rd-ranked South Carolina on Saturday.

McFadden rushed for 323 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries and threw for a score. Jones added 174 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns for the Razorbacks (6-3, 2-3 SEC West), who have won five of their last six games.

The 323 yards marked a career-high and a school record for McFadden, who became the second runner in SEC history to rush for over 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons after Georgia's Herschel Walker.

McFadden and Jones both went over the 1,000-yard mark on Saturday, marking the first time in SEC history that a pair of teammates accomplished the feat in back-to-back seasons.

The Gamecocks (6-4, 3-4 SEC East) entered the contest with the top-ranked passing defense in the SEC, allowing just 153.7 yards per game in the air.

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt chose instead to attack South Carolina on the ground, running the ball on seven of the first nine plays of the game before quarterback Casey Dick capped the 10-play opening drive with a four-yard strike to Marcus Monk to open a 7-0 lead.

The Razorbacks' career leader in touchdown receptions, Monk has missed most of the season with knee injuries and caught just two passes against the Gamecocks.

Jones had no problem picking up the slack for the passing game in the first half, showing off his speed while breaking away for touchdown runs of 40 and 71 yards to give Arkansas a 21-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After South Carolina cut it to 21-10 on quarterback Blake Mitchell's one-yard rushing touchdown, Dick connected on a 35-yard pass to Lucas Miller to send the Razorbacks into the half with a 28-10 lead.

The Gamecocks scored the first 10 points after the break on Ryan Succop's 30-yard field goal and a 21-yard pass from Mitchell to Jared Cook, cutting it to 28-20.

But McFadden responded less than four minutes later with a 23-yard pass to Robert Johnson for a touchdown.

Mitchell tossed for another touchdown, and Jones added a seven-yard scoring run later in the third.

South Carolina pulled within 42-36 on Cory Boyd's one-yard rush, but McFadden responded on the very next play from scrimmage with an 80-yard touchdown run to seal the win.