The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Alabama 49, Arkansas 26

The final word on the Crimson Tide's first win against an SEC West opponent this season, and on the road.

Author:
Christopher Walsh
Publish date:
Oct 2, 2022 12:00 PM EDT

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

Weird game for the Alabama Crimson Tide?

Yeah, a little.

Okay a lot.

Arkansas had 10 more first downs (27-17), a significant edge in time of possession (33:22 to 26:38), and completed six more passes than the Crimson Tide, yet lost by 23 points, 49-26 at Razorback Stadium.

Alabama played most of the game without the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, built up a 28-0 lead, gave up 23 unanswered points, and then dominated the fourth quarter.

Moreover, the player Bryce Young was trying to avoid when he suffered a sprained shoulder was former Crimson Tide linebacker Drew Sanders.

"The way we fought back in the game, a lot of teams struggle to do that, especially against Alabama," Sanders said about the Razorbacks' comeback. "I thought the way we did it was, I mean, we definitely had some fight in us. I was just glad to see us fight."

The former roommate of Will Anderson Jr. had a game-high 12 tackles and a sack, but saved any pleasantries until after the game was over.

"When I'm in game-mode, I'm in game mode," Sanders said. "I'm not out there to make friends, I'm out there to play the game.

"After, it was great seeing all the guys. I talked to them a little bit. But when it's game time, it's game time."

Player of the Game: Running back Jahmyr Gibbs had a career-high 206 rushing yards and a pair of touchdown runs. Both of his scores came in the fourth quarter when he scored from 72 yards and 76 yards to put the game out of reach.

Play of the Game: Jaylen Miloe's 77-yard scamper on third-and-15 at the Alabama 20, was the turning point of the game.

"It was huge," Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. "That was a big, big play."

Statistic of the Game: Alabama had 242 rushing yards on just 12 carries in the fourth quarter, an average of 20.2 yards per attempt. It had 75 rushing yards the rest of the game.

The Good

• Alabama won on third downs. It converted nine of 14 opportunities for 64.3 percent, while Arkansas was 5-for-17 (29.4).

• Even though Young got hurt, on a play that he should have thrown the ball away, Alabama's offensive line had a game to remember. Not only did it give up just one sack against the defense that led the nation, but averaged 7.4 yards per play on the ground.

• Kool-Aid McKinstry returned three punts for 77 yards, including a 45-yarder, made six tackles and broke up two passes. He also filled in at star for a series when Brian Branch was hurt and Malachi Moore cramped up. Consequently, maybe Saban will go easy on him for the pass-interference call that helped lead to Arkansas' fourth-quarter field goal.

The Bad

• The penalty problems were back. Alabama was flagged 10 times for 101 yards.

• The young receivers were hit-and-miss. Granted, they made some big plays, but also had numerous missed opportunities.

• Alabama fans are getting sick of seeing quarterbacks, current or those in the NFL, get hurt.

The Ugly

• What happened on that long-snap on the punt? The guess here is that there was a miscommunication on the call, but it essentially handed Arkansas seven points and made it a one-touchdown game. Special teams also got burned by an onside kick, and missed a field goal (albeit a 53-yard attempt).

5 Other Things We Noticed

The Tide defense has allowed 45 points in two road games compared to just 10 points in three home games. Granted, the opponents where Texas and Arkansas, but still ...
Six different players scored: Bryce Young, Jalen Milroe, Jase McClellan and two from Jahmyr Gibbs on the ground, plus Kobe Prentice and JoJo Earle in receptions).
Safety DeMarcco Hellams’ fumble recovery in the second quarter was Alabama's first of the season
The intended receiver, Traeshon Holden, got drilled on the play Young realized how badly he had been hurt. The wide receiver was targeted two more times after that point, but didn't have another reception.
For the first time this season, an opposing player topped 100 rushing yards. Raheim "Rocket" Sanders finished with 101 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown. The Crimson Tide hadn't yielded more than 79 yards to any team this season, including just 14 to Vanderbilt last week.