It was a game against the SEC’s premier team, so there couldn’t have been a lot of expectations for Arkansas on the road at Alabama on Saturday. True, the Tide was playing its backup quarterback, but that only seemed to rally the troops.

In any case, the Hogs went down in a big way, 48-7, to fall to 2-6 for the season. They must win all four remaining games to become bowl-eligible but just one to improve upon last season’s 2-10 record. Baby steps.

There wasn’t much to like about the loss. Here are three things I came up with, while I narrowed it down to five things I didn’t like about it.

Things I liked

1. John Stephen Jones

The redshirt freshman was perhaps the lone bright spot for Arkansas. The grandson of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones replaced starter Nick Starkel to open the second half. He drove the Razorbacks 85 yards in 13 plays to get them on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter.

Jones rushed four times for 24 yards on the drive and completed all four pass attempts for 29 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown pass to Cheyenne O’Grady.

2. Rakeem Boyd

The Razorbacks running back accounted for 105 yards against the Alabama defense. He displayed his versatility, running for 50 tough yards on 12 carries and adding another 55 yards on four receptions. Along with Jones, Boyd was one of the few positives to come out of the game.

3. Joe Foucha

The Arkansas free safety had plenty of opportunities to make tackles, and he put up the stats. Foucha came up with a team-high 13 tackles, including nine solo stops in addition to one pass breakup.

Things I didn’t like

1. Turnovers

The last thing the Razorbacks needed to do against the top-ranked team in the nation was to turn the ball over. But Arkansas handed it over in spades, turning the ball over on four of its eight first-half possessions. There’s no chance to beat a team the caliber of Alabama with that kind of futility.

2. No defense

Granted, the defense was on the field far more than it should have been (see above, turnovers), especially in the first half, but it put up little resistance against the Tide. Alabama scored on its first five possessions and seven of its first eight. The Razorbacks had no answer for the potent Tide offense.

3. Starkel’s ineffectiveness

Starkel won back his starting job, but the Arkansas quarterback had to be replaced in the second half by Jones. Starkel completed just 5 of 19 passes for 58 yards and threw three interceptions. He was completely ineffective after starting the game 3-for-6 for 52 yards.

4. Third-down conversions

The Razorbacks really didn’t give themselves a chance, converting just 3 of 12 third-down opportunities. Add to that four three-and-outs, and the Hogs possessed the ball only 25:26. That doesn’t leave a lot of opportunities to put points on the scoreboard, and it’s no wonder they could muster just the lone touchdown drive.

5. Punting

In a game in which field position could have helped force Alabama to drive farther down the field with each possession, punter Sam Loy didn’t do his part. While he did knock two punts inside the 20-yard line, Loy averaged just 39 yards on six attempts.