Alabama vs. Arkansas: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More
The times are changing in the SEC, with this theory none better personified than in Saturday's showdown between the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Alabama has been spotty at best this season when confronted with quality opposition, and after a 23-17 loss to an upstart Ole Miss program, Nick Saban's Crimson Tide must travel to Fayetteville for an encounter with one of the collegiate landscape's most physical rushing attacks.
Bret Bielema's Razorbacks are in the midst of a renaissance of sorts. Their last game was an overtime loss to then-ranked No. 6 Texas A&M on Sept. 27, which sets the stage Saturday for a first of its kind between these two foes, as WholeHogSports of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette notes:
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
"Next Saturday's game will be the first time Arkansas and Alabama play when both teams are coming off a loss; 24 previous meetings.
— WholeHogSports (@wholehogsports) October 5, 2014"
With a berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff on the line for Alabama and the signal of a program finally back on its feet for Arkansas, something has to give Saturday.
Expect nothing short of a grisly, well-contested affair.
Brute Force
Bielema and his staff make no effort to disguise what they want to do. The team is going to run it until it imposes its will, win or lose.
Thanks to a bevy of names, the Razorbacks are No. 1 in the SEC and the nation in rushing touchdowns and come in at No. 7 overall with an average of 44.6 points scored per game:
| Alex Collins | 86 | 621 | 7.2 | 84 (TD) | 6 |
| Jonathan Williams | 66 | 486 | 7.4 | 90 (TD) | 8 |
| Korliss Marshall | 22 | 117 | 5.3 | 27 (TD) | 1 |
| Keon Hatcher | 3 | 98 | 32.7 | 82 (TD) | 1 |
| Kody Walker | 17 | 83 | 4.9 | 11 | 0 |
The approach is something Saban clearly respects, as one can glean from an excerpt provided by Jim Dunaway of WIAT-42 Birmingham:
Of course, Saban's team makes a lot of headway on the ground as well thanks to an iffy quarterback situation. T.J. Yeldon has 407 yards and two scores on a 5.3 per-carry average, while his complement, Derrick Henry, has 357 yards and as many scores on a 5.1 per-carry average.
Alabama has the talent to counter Arkansas' main strength, though. The Crimson Tide excel against the run, having allowed just one team (Florida) to gain more than 100 yards on the ground this season.
So while Bielema's team will need to mostly stay the course, leaving its comfort zone via the play-action pass with junior quarterback Brandon Allen (751 yards, nine touchdowns, one interception with a 59.8 completion percentage) is a must.
Road Weary
As if facing a surging Arkansas team after a loss is not enough, the fact this game is on the road should give Crimson Tide faithful serious pause.
After all, Alabama hardly got past West Virginia at a neutral location to start the season. Granted, the team was busting in a new quarterback, but a major weakness—the defensive secondary—was exposed in a major way as Mountaineers signal-caller Clint Trickett went for 365 yards and a score.
The team's second road contest was in Ole Miss last week, where Blake Sims tossed an interception while his counterpart, Bo Wallace, tossed three touchdowns.
Alabama is clearly uncomfortable away from home, but Bielema is more concerned with what the Crimson Tide usually do after a loss.
"I think Alabama is a tough football team coming off a win or a loss," Bielema said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "I did the research as well and realized they had not lost two conference games back to back since (Saban's) first year."
So, as is the case with the overarching game itself on the field, something has to give. Either Alabama will continue to struggle away from home, or the team will live up to its billing as one that does not take kindly to SEC losses.
When: Saturday, October 11, 6 p.m. ET
Where: Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Television: ESPN
Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):
- Over/Under: 56
- Spread: Alabama (-11)
Team Injury Reports
| Denzel Devall | LB | 10/06/2014 | is expected to miss 3-4 weeks | Out | ankle |
| Kenyan Drake | RB | 10/05/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | ankle |
| Kurt Freitag | TE | 10/05/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Arkansas | Questionable | toe |
| Grant Hill | T | 10/06/2014 | is doubtful for Saturday's game against Arkansas | Doubtful | illness |
| Tyren Jones | RB | 10/02/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | finger |
| Ryan Kelly | C | 10/06/2014 | is expected to miss 2-3 weeks | Out | knee |
| Randy Ramsey | LB | 10/05/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Alabama | Questionable | ankle |
| JoJo Robinson | WR | 09/18/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | foot |
Injury reports per Sports Network, via USA Today.
Prediction
What Bielema has been able to do in a short period of time, in the SEC no less, should serve as inspiration for any number of programs on the mend across the nation. The Razorbacks might just be the most improved team in the country.
But this is certainly no passing-of-the-torch moment.
While Alabama is not very close in terms of talent to some of the teams Saban has rolled out over the past few years, Sims and Co. will come out hungry and score enough to overwhelm a run-first team. The Arkansas defense struggles against quality opposition, surrendering 42 points to Auburn and 35 to Texas A&M.
This will not be any typical Alabama-Arkansas clash. The former will pick up its eighth win in a row, but expect it to be much more competitive than in years past.
Prediction: Alabama 35, Arkansas 24
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
