Flawed but still winning, Alabama leads SEC West heading into game with sliding Arkansas
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This article was published 12/10/2023 (1080 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Flawed and hindered at times by sacks and penalties, Alabama is nevertheless winning again and leading the SEC West.
Arkansas has been afflicted with similar issues but unable to overcome them.
The 11th-ranked Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0 SEC) have worked its way to the top of the division and kept the team’s national championship hopes alive with a three-game winning streak. They are sizable favorites to keep those winning ways going when the Razorbacks (2-4, 0-3) visit Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday trying to halt a four-game skid.
Alabama has been trending upward since a loss to Texas, especially offensively. But games like last week’s 26-20 victory over Texas A&M have kept the Tide humble enough to know the team is “nowhere near a finished product,” as quarterback Jalen Milroe put it. Alabama won despite giving up six sacks and committing 14 penalties.
“We’re nowhere near the finish line, there’s no wall that we can’t cross,” said Milroe, whose improvement has been a big factor in the resurgence. “That resonates in the locker room. It’s very key for us to be successful in the future. But another thing too, (is) that we have a hungry group of guys, not just one particular position, all the positions.”
Three of the Razorbacks’ losses this season have come by a touchdown or less. The last three defeats have come against SEC West competition: No. 22 LSU, Texas A&M and No. 13 Mississippi. The Razorbacks are the league’s most penalized team and rank 12th in the SEC in sacks allowed, ahead of only Alabama and South Carolina.
“We’re close,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “To the outside world, it doesn’t look like we’ve got a very good football team. I think we do. We’ve just got to find a way to win in the end.”
INJURY REPORT
Both teams could be missing key starters due to injury.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said safety Malachi Moore and punter James Burnip both figure to be “gametime decisions.” “We’re preparing as if neither guy would be able to play, but I can’t say that emphatically,” he said.
Arkansas had four defensive starters leave the Mississippi game with injuries: Defensive lineman Cam Balli, linebacker Chris Paul and defensive backs Al Walcott and Jaylon Braxton. Pittman said midweek he wasn’t sure of their status yet.
MILROE’S MEMORIES
Milroe had quite a memorable game against Arkansas last season after replacing an injured Bryce Young. Milroe had a 77-yard run and ran and passed for a touchdown, leading Alabama to TDs in five of eight drives.
Milroe said he was “all full of emotion” at the time but his first priority was concern for Young.
“It was a learning experience for me, first SEC game that was able to go to and it was on the road with a tough environment that we were in,” he said. “So I was just full of emotion for that game.”
GROUNDED
Both teams have had much-criticized offensive lines and atypical issues running the ball consistently. Arkansas has produced just 78 yards on 68 rushes the last two games. That works out to 1.1 yards per rush, counting the 12 sacks.
“I still think that they’re a good running football team,” Saban said.
Alabama’s tailbacks, Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams, combined for 54 yards on 18 carries against Texas A&M while Milroe and the passing game took over.
STREAKING
Arkansas has never beaten Alabama since Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007. That streak has grown to 16 games. The Razorbacks ’ last win in the series came in 2006, a 24-23 double-overtime victory.
The Tide have also won 19 consecutive homecoming games.
PICK ARTISTS
Both teams have seven interceptions this season, with Arkansas returning three for touchdowns. Alabama’s seven picks matches the total from all of last season. Safety Caleb Downs has interceptions in each of the past two games.
Dwight McGlothern has also picked off two passes to lead the Razorbacks.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll