Alabama showed why it is No. 1 Saturday.
The Crimson Tide looked the part of a team that had played in big games. They made the big first downs. They made the critical stops. They forced turnovers and overcame a blitzing start by Arkansas, and a raucous environment, to boot.
The crowd was the best Fayetteville has seen in years. A stadium record 76,808 fans squeezed their way in and were loud and vocal from the get-go. The decibel level was deafening following a two-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to begin the game. Only the most mature teams could overcome that kind of environment and Alabama did.
Truth be told, maybe only the defending national champion could overcome the Razorbacks Saturday. Arkansas played a wonderful game – one worthy of the pregame hype. The defense proved it is a better unit than last season. The special teams were solid as well, including a pair of field goals by freshman Zach Hocker.
From the opening kick to the final kneel down, the Razorbacks never gave the nation’s best team any breathing room and that is a stark contrast from 49-14 and 35-7 losses in the two previous meetings. Arkansas showed why it is worthy of a top 10 ranking nationally, despite the loss.
But for the second straight week Arkansas couldn’t close out a game it controlled. Yes, the Razorbacks won last week at Georgia but not before squandering a 14-point fourth quarter lead.
Arkansas once again gave up a double-digit lead after halftime Saturday. Alabama scored the game’s final 17 points after trailing 20-7 late in the third quarter.
Up to that point the Razorbacks looked the part of the team that had played and won 17 games in a row, which Alabama had entering Saturday. But Arkansas could never deliver the final blow. They Hogs twice failed to score a touchdown in Alabama’s red zone, including a series ended by a Ryan Mallett interception in the second quarter.
Once again the lack of an effective running game contributed to the outcome for the Razorbacks. A Tenarius Wright sack helped Arkansas’ defense hold Alabama to a field goal to end a long fourth quarter drive and the Razorbacks were clinging to a 20-17 lead when they got the ball back with 6:01 to play.
Much like last week in Athens, though, Arkansas could only take 1:21 off the clock before Mallett was intercepted by Robert Lester for the second time on the afternoon. Alabama needed only three plays to punch it in from 12 yards out to take the 24-20 lead.
Arkansas passed twice on the possession, likely because its running game never got going for the third consecutive week. The Razorbacks finished the game with just 64 rushing yards on 20 carries. Against a well-coached defensive unit like Alabama, you must be able to mix pass and run. Arkansas could only do one of the two well Saturday and Nick Saban’s defense eventually shut it down.
Arkansas had one final chance, but Mallett was intercepted for the third time on the afternoon at the Alabama 35 with 1:48 to play. The Crimson Tide were able to run the clock out with the help of a fourth down conversion.
In what was thought to be his showcase game for Heisman voters, Mallett finished 25 of 38 passing for 357 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a score, but it’s those three costly interceptions that will likely keep him up tonight.
Though they wore down late, it’s hard to pin the loss on Arkansas’ defense. The Razorbacks buckled down after Mark Ingram busted a 54-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. An Andru Stewart interception in the end zone and Rudell Crim pick in consecutive possessions kept Arkansas in the lead.
The Razorbacks played Alabama so well the Crimson Tide resorted to the Wildcat formation almost exclusively in the fourth quarter. The defending Heisman Trophy winner Ingram showed why he was deserving of the honor, working masterfully at the controls in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
Still, Arkansas kept him in check for much of the afternoon, as it did the entire Crimson Tide roster. The Razorbacks played a wail of a game but will ponder missed opportunities until they hit the field next in two weeks against Texas A&M.
More than anything, though, pin the loss on the play of Alabama. The Crimson Tide looked every bit the part of the defending national champion and a team primed for a chance to repeat. They overcame a valiant effort by the Razorbacks Saturday and might have been the only team that could have.
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Great game Razorbacks! #10 vs. #1. I won’t rehash- let’s carry this team forward this season! Good job!
In the clutch, when it mattered most, Ryan Mallett faded like the setting sun. All three of those pics were ugly, but the last one was just plain awful!
And why not more draw plays? Its not like they thought we were actually going to run the football! There were times when the middle of the field was wide open. The draw could have been a powerful weapon…
Lots to be proud of … lots of growth from last year. Tough loss after a rough Q4. Big season ahead still for a good team. WPS!!
Our guys played their hearts out. They almost beat the most physical team in the country. Mallet shouldn’t be too hard on himself. I know it’s not what he hoped for, but he was light years better than last year. He has nothing to be ashamed of. Alabama was pressuring him all day. And the fact that we couldn’t run made it easier for Bama to just pin back their ears and rush Mallet. That last pick was simply due to pressure. Mallet was still outstanding. Anyway, now we will see what this team is made of. Will they feel sorry for themelves, or will they get mad? This one loss to the best team in the country does not mean that they do not have a chance to win the SEC and play for the national championship. Alabama has plenty of games left and they could lose a couple. Why can’t Arkansas finish at 10-1 and play for the SEC championship?
We could finish 10-1, but Alabama still has to lose 2 more games for us to make it to the SEC championship. I doubt that is going to happen. 10-1 and a BCS bowl berth would be nice, but we have to figure out how to finish football games. Talk about pressure all you want, but that’s SEC football and when the heat is on, champions rise up. We’re not at that level yet, though many in our beloved state believed it. We played 2 quarters like football Gods, but that’s why every team in college football puts 4 fingers in the air when the 3rd quarter ends. ITS ABOUT FINISHING STRONG!
I’m very glad that Greg Childs seems to be okay. That was a nasty fall. Learn from the game and move on, Razorbacks. Go Hogs!
i think Bama could lose to both Aub and South Carolina,so 2 losses are possible for them.
Mallet just needs to just get those 3 INT’s out of his head and move on to the next game but the receivers need to learn how to catch a freaking football!.i know that last INT never would have happened if Adams wouldn’t have dropped the previous pass across the middle!
I want to point out the maturity of the team and the fans after Ingrams 54-yd TD run. We could have said “here we go again” at that point, but instead we got angry and scored the next 13. I think at that point the emotional high might have started to wear off, and in the grind, we fell to an incredibly talented team. But, seeing how good we can be with this offense and a much improved defense, I honestly don’t think we should fear anyone we play, and hopefully our running backs will see that if they turn it up then we can have a magical season still. I’d put it on them as much as anyone to be able to step it up and send our season forward.
I am not trying to be patronizing, but Arkansas played a hard-fought battle. Now that I’ve picked my stomach off the floor, I wanted to to let you guys know, as a Bama fan, what a fine fan base you have. I was at the Bama-Arkasas game way back January 1, 1980 at the Superdome in New Orleans and was seated in the Arkansas student section surrounded by soooeee PIG all night long. Instead of getting shakers in the face, smack-talked, etc., your fans were a great bunch to be around. I ended up invited to run around with the Hog fans to the French Quarter that evening and had a great time. After Bama, I’ve been a Hog fan since. BTW, Bama players said Saturday’s crowd was the loudest they’ve heard.
Even though a loss is not pleasent, I, in my humble opionion, based on what I saw Saturday, expect Arkansas to have a great year.
An afternoon spent ranting at the TV and frightening my jack russel who is fearless. It was great because that is what college football is all about!!
Postmortems are fun also. I saw the following:
Our coaches know what they are about
Recruiting needs most –
Some strong blocking o linemen,
Sure tackling secondary
A post-Mallet Qback who meshes with team system and talent level
A revised system -this will be Bobby’s biggest challenge.
Until then I will spend off week revising my TV rant and making friends with my Russell
Hogs played hard and just fell short, not because of lack of effort. They just don’t know how to close games yet. To say they kept the Alabama running game in check is a stretch though, Ingram and Richardson averaged 7.5 yds. a carry for 242.
Great game! The Hogs are for real – wouldn’t be surprised if they won the rest of their games and finished in the top five. Welcome back to the elite!
Great game and great effort by both teams. This game showed the Nation why the SEC is the best conference! Good game Hogs. I don’t expect you to drop very far in the polls. Good luck on the rest of your season.
The Hogs passing game is great, but it’s the running game that lost this battle. Up 13 points, the Hogs could have chewed up the clock by keeping the ball on the ground. If they do that, the outcome is different. Sadly, there is no running game, and there is no balance. 300+ yards in the air and 60 something yards on the ground should be a huge concern for Petrino and his staff. If they can figure this one out, the Hogs may not lose another game. If not, the Hogs could lose several.
You think Bama will lose to Auburn and USC huh? I bet you also thought Arkansas would win.
You THINK Bama will loose to Auburn and South Carolina. I am sure you THOUGHT Bama would loose to Arkansas Saturday. Don’t give up your day job to pick football games.
Another win for one of, if not the dirtiest programs in college football. Another scandal, Saban leaves, they reload and do it again. It’s just a matter of time.
…and before the Alabama fans respond, it only takes a simple google search to verify this. Add to this death threats to Bill Curry, payoffs to coaches in Memphis (Albert Means) and deaths of boosters (Logan Young) and it’s easy to see how they can be so proud of their program.
Dear Bama mouths, get set for at least one SEC loss this year. I do wish the Hogs could have delivered the big “L” to you. Not to be this year, but know one thing — we are back and breathing down your necks.
oink2u2 you’re an idiot. Instead of giving credit to the best team in the country when they rose up like champions do, you throw low class trash comments like that at Bama. What a loser you are.
Mallett made three poor throws, the last two of which made the real difference. We need to learn how to finish games. We had the game in hand, but didn’t react well to the adjustments Alabama made. We would never have been in position to win the game if not for the play of Mallett, so I’m not going to verbally beat up on him. He’ll learn from those mistakes. Even without a very good running game of our own, we had Alabama on the ropes. Give Alabama credit, they cashed in on our big mistakes. That’s what experience in big games does for you. We’re still learning in that area, but we proved we belong on the field with the best teams in the country. I don’t think Alabama will be tested that much the rest of the year.
BamaGrad,Saban and Alabama couldnt wait to get on that plane and get out of Arkansas,for a little over 3 qt the Hogs outplayed Bama all over the field,and it was good considering Bama was the No 1 team in the country,but the Hogs beat theirself worst than Bama did.
There were a handful of friendly folks at the game, but by and large I felt unwelcome, especially afterwards. To be expected I guess, and I found myself thinking how good it felt to be hated. That’s how we feel about Florida – they used to be our arch-nemisis, and they may still become that again next week. But, also, it was strange because we’ve never felt that way about your base. I for one have always liked you guys. Good luck with the rest of your season, you should go undefeated if you can pick yourself up.
Nobody runs on Bama, so the lack of a running game didn’t hurt the Hogs very much. In fact, Arkansas may provide the most challenging schemes we will see all season, including Florida. Our secondary is the least experienced group on the team, and I think Petrino had the Hogs as well prepared as they could be.
Great game Hogs. Scared the crap outta me.
Collegefootballfan,
Yes, they are a good team but as far as my comments are concerned, they are ALL 100% accurate. The truth hurts.
its all about growth as a team and a player, this will come.
The players did well they played there hearts out.
What more do you want from 18-21 yr olds, come on give it a break.
It is not do or die we have been here we know how to regroup!!
The great thing is we don’t have to worry about this feeling too much longer.
CBP has us on the right track, he will take us to the Promised land just not this year….lol
Birmingham, I am sorry that you felt unwelcomed at our house. I don’t get to come to many games in Fayetteville, but I never think it’s nice to treat visitors that way. It is a college campus, and there are many immature people there. What’s bad, is that adults act this way, too. I passed an Alabama couple on the way back to the car after the game, and I told them, “Good Game!”. They responded the same, and we conversed for a moment. People, let’s treat visitors with consideration. They spent their money to come to our place, and I am sure, they spent money in the Fayetteville area, as well. Try to show good sportsmanship…I’m just saying…
GirlHog, you’re a class act. Much to respect to you and yours, and go represent the west like I know you will. SEC baby!
I’ll immediately grab your rss feed as I can not in finding your email subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly let me realize so that I may subscribe. Thanks.