Alabama’s 52-0 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks won’t shock many people, a byproduct of the machine head coach Nick Saban has built. What was supposed to be a top-ten matchup before the season started, turned into a blowout all too familiar to the Crimson Tide and its fans.
But even still, Alabama remains unsatisfied. The Tide got off to a slow start on offense for the second week in a row, scoring in the first quarter only after a botched snap on an Arkansas punt gave Alabama the ball at the six. It committed an uncharacteristic seven penalties for 74 yards.
“This group has to continue to challenge themselves to demand more,” Saban said after the game.
The slow starts and penalties will be Saban’s focus in the coming week, but the rest of the country will admire the way Alabama put away its first SEC opponent with ease, while attempting to find a way to stop it.
It didn’t matter who played quarterback for Arkansas Saturday. Tyler Wilson sat on the sidelines with a concussion, but was likely thanking his coach for keeping him off of the field as he watched Alabama’s defense swarm his two replacements.
The Razorbacks used a combination of Brandon Allen and converted wide receiver Brandon Mitchell to run their offense. Neither were able to establish any sort of rhythm.
Arkansas head coach John L. Smith used Mitchell to run an option offense, but was stymied for just 29 yards on six carries. Meanwhile Mitchell, a more traditional, drop-back passer, was under fire all afternoon. Alabama was finally able to unleash its edge rushers after facing two teams that demanded a more conservative approach, and Mitchell was intercepted twice in the first half under the pressure. Alabama turned both into touchdowns, and the fans at Razorback Stadium streamed out of the exits with 30 minutes still left to play.
“It’s exciting to get [the offense] crunk, to get them turned up,” said safety HaHa Clinton-Dix, who returned one interception 46 yards to the one-yard line.
On offense, Alabama’s offensive line, which gave up six sacks a week before, established the line of scrimmage early, giving quarterback AJ McCarron plenty of time to throw for 189 yards and a touchdown.
But the running backs were the primary beneficiaries of Alabama’s offensive line play. Starter Eddie Lacy ran as well as he has all season after dealing with ankle and toe injuries during the offseason and fall camp. He found the end zone three times, while true freshmen T.J. Yeldon and Kenyon Drake as well as junior Blake Sims all added scores on the ground.
“They were locked in, all of them,” Lacy said of the offensive line. “They came in with the right mindset and dominated the whole game.”
It seems as if No. 2 LSU is the only team left on Alabama’s schedule that can match the Tide blow-for-blow on the field. Michigan and Arkansas were supposed to be early tests for this young team, but instead turned into mismatches before halftime. But Saban won’t tell you that; this is, after all, the coach who challenged a fumble up 38-0 in the third quarter.
Instead, he and his players will turn their attention to Florida Atlantic. A 35-0 win against Western Kentucky two weeks ago was considered a letdown week, and Saban is expecting more against a similarly-matched opponent.
“We’ve really been fighting with this group ever since the Michigan game, about allowing ourselves to accept average, and getting them to believe more in themselves,” Saban said. “This group is still learning to motivate themselves every week and demand to be the best that they can be.”
