Arkansas vs. Alabama: Crimson Tide Will Survive First Big Test of 2011 Season

Alabama and Arkansas open their SEC seasons on Saturday at Alabama's Bryant-Denny stadium.

Both teams have blasted through preseason play and sit at 3-0. While Alabama did beat Penn State on the road, this will be the biggest test that either team has encountered at this point of the season.

While this is a game that will be tough, Alabama will prevail.

In 2010, Alabama beat Arkansas on the road. Both teams have lost their starting quarterback. Alabama's quarterback situation may hurt them at some point this season, but it won't happen here.

Arkansas struggled to beat a winless Troy team at home in Week 3. While that doesn't necessarily preview what will happen in Week 4, it's a pretty good bet.

Tyler Wilson is off to a good start for Arkansas this year. Still, I'm troubled by the two interceptions that he's thrown. That's not an excessive amount of picks, but Arkansas' competition hasn't been especially stiff.

Now they are going against an Alabama defense that does a good job of forcing turnovers. So, what will be the key for Arkansas to win?

Well, let's look at the Alabama offense. While they sit at 3-0, the Tide have also been prone to turnovers this year.

However A.J. McCarron has firmly established himself as Alabama's quarterback. He has two picks this year, but those both came in the opener. McCarron did a great job of protecting the ball against Penn State.

That's really the game that's making me confident Alabama will win here. Arkansas' 38-28 win over Troy is not terribly impressive. Other than that, these two teams are about a wash based on what we've seen thus far.

The team that wins the turnover battle will win this game. While Arkansas is certainly capable of doing that, I will take my chances on a team coached by Nick Saban.

The SEC is a tough conference, but I like Alabama to go into the Nov. 5 showdown against LSU undefeated in what could be college football’s game of the year.