Alabama holds off Arkansas in first major game since Week 2

The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Arkansas Razorbacks, 49-26. In their first major game since the near loss against Texas, the Tide showed they have improved since that game. The offensive running game carried in this matchup, as Bama went for 317 rushing yards overall.

The Alabama offensive running game was able to help out the passing game when Bryce Young went out of the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. Jahmyr Gibbs had the most production out of the running game.

He ran for 206 yards on 18 carries. Additionally, he had 2 rushing touchdowns on the day. In a game where points were needed and Bama’s star QB went out midgame, the rushing attack stepped up.

The game started pretty rough for Alabama. On their first drive of the game, Dwight McGlothern was able to come up with an interception for the Razorbacks. It came when the Tide were in the red zone.

KJ Jefferson and the rest of the Razorbacks’ offense would struggle to get anything going on this drive and would have to punt after 7 plays and 28 yards.

The Tide would get a touchdown on the next drive after some good runs from Bama’s running backs and a 47-yard pass from Young to Kobe Prentice that would result in a TD. Arkansas’ offense would struggle again and have to punt after three plays, giving Bama good field position.

Despite the good field position, Alabama would not score on this drive and they missed a 53-yard field goal after a not-so consequential drive. Bama was up by two touchdowns after this missed field goal.

Alabama and Arkansas would trade back missed opportunities on offense until Kool-Aid McKinstry got into his bag and returned a punt for 45 yards. This punt was after another short drive by Arkansas which means the Tide was in the red zone.

Behind some nice solid runs on the next drive, the Tide scored a touchdown to make it a 21-0 game. Add another touchdown by Bama from the running game on a Bryce Young-less drive and it seemed like Bama had this one wrapped up.

Arkansas had something to say about that; when on the last drive of the half, they scored a touchdown behind KJ Jefferson’s arm and Rahiem Sanders’s legs. Sanders notably had a 26-yard run that showed the Razorbacks weren’t going down easy.

Still, it was a three-possession deficit, and that is hard to overcome. Sam Pittman had the Razorbacks sprinting before halftime. This was a little unusual, but I think Pittman did this to tell the players that this game isn’t over.

The motivation worked at least as on the second offensive of the half, they went for a touchdown. Although the deficit was still huge, Bama wouldn’t have Bryce Young for the rest of the game.

Arkansas decided to go for an onside kick and it worked, Arkansas had the ball only down 2 scores. Considering where the game started, this was quite impressive.

Again, Jefferson was able to get out swift passes to the wide receivers. The biggest play of the drive was when Jefferson threw a pass to Ketron Jackson Jr that ended up being a 17-yard gain. Sanders was able to move the chains with his legs, as well.

Despite, the offense’s best efforts, they were not able to end up in the endzone for this drive. They ended up settling for a field goal.

The decision was a little bit controversial, considering it didn’t change the possession difference but they lucked from it not being a huge thing when Alabama would have a huge special teams blunder on the next drive.

After basically no progress on offense, Bama decided to punt near their end zone. Alabama then had a huge special teams blunder when the snap was messed up. The punter ended up just sitting on the ball and Arkansas got the ball at the three.

It was an easy touchdown from there and the Razorbacks were only down by 5 after a failed 2-point conversion attempt. Bama needed a response and the backup QB would provide one. Jalen Milroe, Bama’s backup QB out of Katy, TX, decided to take his legs for 77 yards on a third and 15. This play would set up a Bama touchdown only a couple of plays later.

After an Arkansas three and out, Alabama got the ball back. Gibbs began to put this game away with a 77-yard touchdown run on the first play of that drive.

Alabama was able to hold on because of their running game. As of this writing, it is unknown when Young will return from injury. Even if Young comes back next week against A&M, the running game will be crucial for the Tide going forward.

I have more faith in the Tide after this game. No matter how long Young will be sidelined, the running game is legit and the defense cleaned up a bit since their last real opponent (week 2 against Texas).

For the Razorbacks, I would be a little bit more worried about their outlook. They did clean up the turnovers (only had 1 all game), which was a huge weakness before this game. Still, the offense didn’t get going till the second half.

I will probably need them to at least keep pace with Mississippi State’s offense next week before I consider them to be a top 3 team in the SEC West.