FAYETTEVILLE — The final annual matchup between Arkansas and South Carolina ended in the most lopsided outcome in the series' 22-year history.
The No. 14 Gamecocks beat the Razorbacks 52-7 Saturday in front of a Homecoming crowd of 66,302 at Razorback Stadium. Arkansas has lost a school-record seven consecutive Southeastern Conference games.
The 45-point loss was the program's second-worst ever at the 75-year-old Razorback Stadium.
South Carolina (5-1, 3-1 SEC) overcame an early 7-0 deficit behind a strong outing from quarterback Connor Shaw. The senior, who improved to 22-4 as a starter, passed for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns and also ran for a score.
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Bruce Ellington caught two of Shaw's touchdowns in the second quarter, including 4-yard pass 13 seconds before halftime to give the Gamecocks a 24-7 lead at the intermission. Ellington finished the game with 6 receptions for 96 yards.
Shaw threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Demiere Byrd on South Carolina's first possession of the second half and ran for a 10-yard touchdown later in the third quarter to extend the Gamecocks' lead to 38-7.
Kane Whitehurst, a receiver who redshirted at Arkansas before being kicked off the team, added a 15-yard touchdown catch and third-string quarterback Brendan Nosovitch added a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
Arkansas started the game well, scoring on a 64-yard drive after receiving the opening kickoff. Brandon Allen threw a 20-yard pass to Javontee Herndon on a third down to extend the drive, and Keon Hatcher and Kiero Small added runs of 19 and 16 yards in consecutive plays.
Alex Collins' 7-yard touchdown gave the Razorbacks a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, but it didn't last long. Arkansas finished with only 248 yards of total offense and fumbled on runs of 50 and 29 yards in the second half.
After a field goal on its opening drive, South Carolina took the lead thanks to a big play from its defense. Victor Hampton intercepted Allen and returned it to the Arkansas 6, setting up a 9-yard touchdown run by Mike Davis to give the Gamecocks a 10-7 lead.
Davis, the SEC's leading rusher entering Saturday, finished the game with 128 yards on 19 carries. The Gamecocks finished with 537 yards of total offense.
The Razorbacks (3-4, 0-3) were blown out after jumping to a 7-0 lead for the second consecutive week. Arkansas has now lost four straight games overall.
Prior to Saturday, the most lopsided outcome in the series was a 45-7 Arkansas win over South Carolina in their first meeting in 1992. The two teams, which entered the SEC together, will play new annual cross-division opponents beginning next season.
The Razorbacks have lost 10 of their last 12 conference games entering a road trip to No. 1 Alabama next week.