Two 100-yard rushers and three passing touchdowns propelled the Crimson Tide to a blowout victory over Arkansas Saturday night.
“We made some explosive plays in the passing game,” Nick Saban said. “We were able to run the ball, and we had pretty good balance out there. I’m really pleased with the progress that we made.”
Alabama dominated Arkansas with a balanced attack of rushing and passing and piled up 532 yards in its 52-0 victory over the Razorbacks.
AJ McCarron threw for 180 yards on 15-of-21 passing for three touchdowns to three different receivers.
For the second consecutive game, sophomore running back Kenyan Drake rushed for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns. He carried the ball eight times for 104 yards against Arkansas.
Drake used his speed Saturday to bounce outside of the tackles. He broke free along the Arkansas sideline for a 46-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
“It’s obviously a testament to my offensive line and the players around me. They do a good job blocking on the edge,” Drake said.
Alabama’s running game seems to be hitting its stride, and its success is parallel to the offensive line’s cohesion.
Senior right guard Anthony Steen said the offensive line has finally started to gel together, despite the injury to center Ryan Kelly, as well as Austin Shepherd and Grant Hill splitting time at right tackle.
“The more games we have played, the better everybody felt together, and I think we are getting along just fine right now,” Steen said.
Derrick Henry breaks out as leading rusher
Drake might have had another productive outing, but true freshman Derrick Henry ended the game as Alabama’s leading rusher.
Henry carried the ball five times for 31 yards in the fourth quarter and was running to drain the clock and secure a 45-0 victory. But he bounced outside and raced to an 80-yard touchdown with less than a minute left in the game.
“I’m one of Derrick’s biggest fans. … That’s his favorite thing, to hit that outside corner,” Drake said. “I always tell him, ‘When you do it, I know you’re going to show your speed, so just don’t let anyone catch you from behind.’ He sure didn’t do that.”
Henry finished the game with 111 rushing yards on six carries and proved he can bust the big play at any minute.
“Whoever we have at running back, we feel confident they can make an explosive play for us,” McCarron said. “The biggest thing for the two guys who have been rotating in – Kenyan and T.J. – is they do a good job when they’re supposed to, catching balls. They did a good job [Saturday] on some check downs. It helped us move the ball.”
Amari Cooper scores first touchdown of season
Sophomore wide receiver Amari Cooper has been hampered by a toe injury this season and hasn’t been the big-play threat he was a season ago.
But against Arkansas, Cooper led the team in receiving yards and caught his first touchdown of 2013.
He pulled in three catches for 65 yards and was on the receiving end of a 30-yard touchdown pass from McCarron in the second quarter.
The toe doesn’t seem to be bothering Cooper any longer.
“I think Amari’s doing fine,” Saban said. “He had a really good week of practice; he didn’t have any setbacks. I would have actually liked to thrown the ball a little bit more [Saturday] to get more guys involved in the passing game.”
