The Crimson Tide are number two in the country and have their eyes set on the College Football Playoffs. Arkansas came into Saturday’s game trying to prove themselves versus the top of the SEC West.
Alabama didn’t have the most impressive win, but a win is a win, especially in November. A lot of Alabama’s perceived struggles are due to the fact that Arkansas is actually a much better team than what the average fan thinks.
Nick Saban and his Tide defeated Sam Pittman’s Razorbacks 42-35 in Bryant-Denny Stadium tonight in an important victory this late in the season. Bama now has only one game left before the SEC Championship game which they clinched their spot in tonight.
The final regular season game will be against arch-rival Auburn, who will likely be able to present a decent challenge to the Tide. However, after a season-ending injury to Tigers quarterback Bo Nix, Alabama is in a prime spot for the playoff.
Bryce Young had a Heisman performance-type night tonight. He managed to complete 31 of his 40 passes for 559 yards — an incredible performance for the sophomore signal caller against a well-coached Barry Odom defense.
However, Alabama had been lacking in their use of Brian Robinson, Jr. and the run game as a whole. Bama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien changed that up this week, and Robinson had 27 carries for 122 yards on the ground.
Arkansas on the other hand could not get the ground game going with any sort of hot hand. Treylon Smith is usually pretty reliable for the Hogs, but he only managed to pick up 42 yards running the ball.
This is the moment where we brag on the Alabama defensive line after saying they needed to step it up this game.
The defensive line play for Alabama was nothing short of dominant, holding three different running backs for Arkansas to 110 total yards in the game. Not only that, but they were also able to get pressure on KJ Jefferson. But their most important role tonight was stopping the run.
On defense, Alabama was content to try and let Jefferson beat them through the air, and Arkansas seemed content to do just that. Alabama’s linebackers and line shut the Razorback’s run game down, but the passing game actually seemed to be working okay against the Tide defense.
The defensive backs for Alabama have had some struggles this season with a lot of flashes of good, but there have been also some flashes of bad. Arkansas seemed to be prepared to pick on them and stayed within 10 points of Alabama for most of the game. The final score had them down only seven. Yet, if you were watching the game, there was never really any doubt who was in control of the game.
Alabama has the Iron Bowl up next against a deflated Auburn team who is missing some key pieces, and then it is on to Georgia.
The SEC Championship game will be a rematch of the 2018 SEC title matchup. Alabama won that game 35-28 after being down 28-14 in the third quarter.
Georgia seems to look like the real deal this year, but Kirby Smart has struggled to beat his former mentor. Saban is the king of college football and rarely gets beaten.
Alabama doesn’t need to get ahead of themselves, but it may be hard for the Tide to not be looking head at that game just a little bit this week.
Hayden Crigler is a contributing college football and college basketball writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him through email: Hayden@yellowhammernews.com or on Twitter: @hayden_crigler.
