Maybe the smart folks at FanDuel will ultimately be right.

Maybe 2nd-ranked Alabama will strut into Razorback Stadium on Saturday, take one collective, dismissive look up at the first-of-its-kind “Red Out” and get on with the business of taking down Arkansas for the 15th time in a row in the series.

Maybe all of this business about Bama’s true road game struggles has been overblown, because life on the road in the SEC, and in general, is hardly ever supposed to be easy.

Maybe Texas is really pretty good, despite last Saturday’s overtime loss at Texas Tech that booted it right back out of the Top 25, and the Crimson Tide squeaking out that 20-19 Week 2 win in Austin was more of a gallant gut check than a shameful gut punch.

Maybe the Tide will meet the moment as it usually does and the Razorbacks will shrink from it, as they’ve often done in recent years and did just last Saturday night at Jerry’s World in a crushing loss to Texas A&M that dropped them to No. 20 in the AP poll.

Maybe all of this and then some will prove out, and Bama will head back to Tuscaloosa to play A&M on Oct. 8 with a 5-0 record and its world totally intact.

We could see all of that happening. But we also see some possible red flags amid that “Red Out” backdrop that promises to be stunning if not so effective for the home team.

Red flags don’t necessarily mean a red alert, but there are a handful of reasons to believe Bama might be walking into a problem on Saturday. So without predicting doom or even a down-to-the-wire stress fest, we’ll break down 5 reasons the Crimson Tide could merely be on Upset Alert in Fayetteville.

1. KJ Jefferson

Facing dual-threat quarterbacks when playing in hostile environments is always a tricky proposition, and the Tide will be in that exact situation on Saturday. The junior Jefferson is already a load to deal with at 6-3, 242 pounds, and when you add in a deafening home crowd like the one waiting to cheer his every move, you get one giant challenge.

Jefferson is the leading rusher among SEC quarterbacks going into October, as he piled up 274 yards on the ground in 4 September games with 4 touchdown runs. Jefferson ran for 664 yards last season, although the Tide contained him pretty darn well when he came to Tuscaloosa last November, holding Jefferson to 22 yards on 13 carries.

But then there’s that multi-threat factor with Jefferson, and when he got shut down by Will Anderson Jr. and company last season with his legs, he found a way to scare the daylights out of the Tide with his arm. Jefferson kind of picked Bama apart, finishing with 326 yards passing and 3 touchdowns without being intercepted. He did everything he could to keep the Hogs in that game, but his team ultimately lost 42-35 because a guy named Bryce Young was simply a little better with 559 yards passing and 5 TDs.

We will be treated to the same dazzling and probably dizzying quarterback battle on Saturday in Fayetteville, a showcase of QBs who can beat you in multiple ways. And while Jefferson’s passing totals in 2022 don’t blow you away right now, they’re rock solid. He has 941 yards passing with an impressive 69.1 completion percentage, 8 TD passes and just 1 interception, so he’s not beating himself while defenses try to beat him.

Jefferson’s passer rating in 2022 is at 175.7, better through 4 games than his 164.7 clip from 2021, so he’s showing overall maturity and growth, and he’ll be a handful for defensive coordinator Pete Golding on Saturday. Tide star linebacker Henry To’o To’o said this week that dealing with Jefferson again will be a “huge challenge.” And the defense knows meeting that challenge and even somewhat containing Jefferson is the golden ticket to a big road victory.

2. Raheim Sanders

Herein lies the dilemma for the Tide’s defensive front on Saturday.

It has the dual-threat dynamo to deal with in Jefferson and, oh by the way, will be tasked with corralling the SEC’s leading rusher in Sanders. The sophomore almost surpassed his 1st-year rushing total in just 4 games. He had 578 yards on the ground as a freshman in 2021 and has piled up a conference-high 508 yards rushing this fall in 31 fewer carries. Sanders also has 3 rushing TDs in 2022 and will be a certifiable headache for the Tide merely because of the attention devoted to Jefferson.

Sanders already has 3 100-yard games this season, 2 more than the Tide has as a team, and although he was finally held under 100 in last Saturday’s loss to Texas A&M, Sanders still managed 68 yards and averaged 4 yards per carry. For the season, he’s averaging a robust 6.1 yards per rush, 1 full yard ahead of his freshman year pace.

Sanders is already one of the SEC’s young stars, and he would be a big problem for the Tide even if the Hogs had a traditional drop-back passer.

But they don’t. They have Jefferson, who can be just as big a running threat as his top running back is. The Crimson Tide’s stellar group of linebackers led by Anderson and To’o To’o is going to have to be stellar on Saturday, not to mention a defensive line that will likely be missing starting defensive end Byron Young, who sprained his ankle against Vanderbilt last week.

Limiting Sanders even somewhat means the Hogs can’t control the clock and can’t keep Young and Co. off the field. If Sanders gets into a rhythm and Arkansas controls the flow of the game with its physical offensive line, well, then that upset alert will start flickering in Fayetteville.

3. Will the road rules change?

With all due respect to Jefferson and Sanders, this is the one that’s likely going to decide whether or not it’s a white-knuckle day for Tide fans. For those who dispute Bama’s road struggles in 2021 and at Texas in Week 2, they are real. The Tide have had a split personality since the start of last season, and while most teams play much better at home, the dropoff on the road for a powerhouse like Bama is confusing and concerning.

So Saturday is another road litmus test for the Tide. Will it struggle for long stretches and let the home team dictate the flow, as it did in Austin earlier this month, or will it serve notice early and often in those wonderfully plain road white jerseys? If we don’t finally see the latter personality in a big road spot like Saturday, then there most definitely is Upset Alert potential waiting.

4. What if running game stalls again?

You can get by without a consistent running game at home and against lesser foes, as Bama has this season against Utah State, Louisiana-Monroe and Vanderbilt. But to win on the road, against good teams like Arkansas, and to win championships, you need to at least have that threat to dominate on the ground.

And so far, Bama doesn’t have it, at least not enough of it. And that could cost the Tide in a situation like Saturday.

Sure, there have been moments of ground game brilliance, like Jase McClellan’s 81-yard TD gallop at Texas. But McClellan didn’t even crack 100 yards that day, and he doesn’t have any 100-yard games this season. No Tide running back does, and that’s a red flag no matter who Bama is getting ready to play.

Young has the Tide’s only 100-yard rushing game this season — barely. He got to exactly 100 yards in the season opener, so even that felt like a long time ago. Georgia Tech transfer Jahmyr Gibbs had 93 yards in the opener, and he has shown flashes of dominance on the ground (and through the air), but nothing consistent, nothing to hang your hat on. It’s the polar opposite of what Arkansas enjoys with Sanders and Jefferson.

If the run game struggles again on Saturday, even Young’s improvisational skills with his legs might not be good enough. Saturday would be a good day for that first 100-yard game by a running back to arrive. If it once again does not, then look out for that alert.

5. Will the odds catch up with Bama?

The one thing everybody knows about streaks in sports, the good ones and the bad ones, is that each and every one of them ends, eventually.

That doesn’t mean Alabama’s dominance over Arkansas will suddenly dissolve in the afternoon sun at Razorback Stadium out of some pity for the Hogs.

What it does mean is that 14 wins in a row is a lot over one opponent, and there are a few factors that set up well for Arkansas to finally slay its nemesis.

It is at home, whether there’s a Red Out or not.

It is coming off a stinging loss and is desperate to not disappear from the SEC West race.

It is a solid 3-1 team, a ranked team (for now), with stars like Jefferson and Sanders who could potentially put the team on their back for one heroic afternoon.

And it is playing a Bama team that is immensely talented and capable of great things but also not without flaws.

All the stars are aligned for the unexpected to happen on Saturday.

Unless FanDuel and that fat point spread are right, and the Red Out turns into a flameout.