Crimson Tide Wash Out Arkansas

In a month chock-full of shockers, the Alabama Crimson Tide refused to be sucked into the upset whirlpool—blowing out Arkansas 35-7.

Tide quarterback Greg McElroy went 17/24 for 291 yards and three touchdown passes—including tosses of 80 and 50 yards. The offensive output was more than enough for Alabama’s powerful defense; Razorback quarterback Ryan Mallett was only 12/35 for 160 yards and took three sacks—a plethora of drops by his receivers did him no favors either.

The Arkansas defense—the unit most predicted would be the weak link on the field—held off the Tide for a quarter, but lost their newfound swagger when they lost their ability to tackle. With the game still scoreless five minutes into the second quarter, true freshman running back Trent Richardson took a handoff and ran right; the ‘Bama back broke four tackles on his way to the end zone and the game was scoreless no more.

The Tide added another touchdown—a fifty yard reception by star wide receiver Julio Jones—to go up 14-0 at the break, but the Arkansas offense—only one week removed from scoring 41 points against Georgia—finally woke up on their first drive of the second half. Mallett hit all four of his passes on the drive—the last one a beautiful fade to wide receiver Greg Childs in the end zone—to cut ‘Bama’s lead in half. Better yet, the Arkansas special teams finally contained a Tide returner on the ensuing kickoff, and Alabama had to start on their own 20.

Then came two plays which proved to be Razorback-breakers.

Wide receiver Marquis Maze ran a picture-perfect hitch ‘n go route up the left sideline and McElroy hooked up with him for an 80 yard touchdown and, in one play, the Tide’s lead was back to fourteen. Arkansas, having seen their next drive quickly fizzle out, attempted a rugby-style punt and had it blocked by defensive end Lorenzo Washington; that led to running back Mark Ingram taking a screen pass into the end zone to make it 28-7 and put the game out of reach.

Despite getting blown out, Arkansas can blame themselves for, literally, dropping the ball. Mallett was inconsistent all day—often throwing over, and behind, his targets—and his receivers seemed to drop every offering that was accurate. The Razorbacks were also flagged eleven times for ninety-eight yards, which was thirty-five more than they rushed for as a team.

Unfortunately for Alabama, they did not come away from the win completely unscathed. Star linebacker Dont’a Hightower took a direct hit to his left knee in the first quarter and had to be carted off the field—usually a sign of a serious injury. The defensive unit did not miss him for the rest of the game, but may be if he is unable to come back before the likes of South Carolina, Tennessee, and LSU come to Tuscaloosa.

In pushing the lead to twenty-eight, ‘Bama concluded the scoring with what would be considered a meaningless touchdown…had the drive not began inside their own 1 yard line; Arkansas, ravaged by penalties all game, committed their most bone-headed infraction when they were flagged for off-sides before the first snap. The Tide rolled the rest of the way down the field—a 2 yard run from Ingram completed the marathon—and sent the crimson contingent home content.

Even more grateful were the numerous college football polls which finally saw a top 5 rated team play like one.