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Alabama travels to Fayetteville this week for the second top-25 showdown in Arkansas this season, and this time it’s a 3:30 p.m. ET tilt on the “SEC on CBS.”
With a win on Saturday, the Razorbacks would improve to 2-1 in league action for the first time since the 2011 campaign. Arkansas is trying to bounce back from a tough loss against Texas A&M, while Alabama is looking to win its fifth-straight game. Alabama has won 14 straight in the series, and leads the all-time series 22-8.
Nick Saban is 18-2 in his career against Arkansas, including an undefeated mark at Alabama.
One player for whom the game is likely to be especially emotional is Drew Sanders, who transferred to Arkansas from Alabama after last season.
Alabama vs. Arkansas: Prediction and preview
It’s Alabama stiffest test since the 20-19 win at Texas, and Nick Saban described it as psychologically the toughest challenge of the year. Barring any upsets, it begins a gauntlet of a stretch for the Crimson Tide. With Texas A&M next week, and Tennessee on Oct. 15, it’s expected to be the first time since 2016 that Alabama has played 3 straight AP Top 25 opponents in the regular season.
Arkansas’ Raheim “Rocket” Sanders is the Razorbacks’ leading ball carrier through 4 games, and the SEC’s leading rusher, with 508 yards on 83 carries (6.1 avg) with 3 scores on the ground. He leads the SEC in both rushing yards (508), rushing yards per game (127) and all-purpose yards (625) this season. Sanders, who has also caught 8 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, is the only FBS player with 500+ rushing yards and 100+ receiving yards for the season.
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CLAIM OFFERSaban earlier this week praised Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson, particularly throwing the ball. Jefferson has completed 67-of-97 passes (69.1%) for 941 yards and 8 touchdowns with 1 interception while he’s rushed for 274 yards and 4 scores. Jefferson, who has rushed for a touchdown in 5 straight games dating back to last season, is one of only 3 FBS quarterbacks to throw for 900+ yards and run for 200+ yards on the year.
“You can’t minimize the effectiveness of this guy as a passer,” Saban said. “He’s really, really good, he’s got a strong arm. Throws the deep ball well and they make a lot of explosive plays.”
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For his part, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman addressed what the Razorbacks must do to pull off the upset.
“You have to play a really clean game,” he said. “You can’t turn the ball over. You have to convert situational football. You have to score touchdowns in the red zone. … You can’t make mistakes. If you do, they’re like piranhas. They feast on that.”
Prediction: Alabama 35, Arkansas 27
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
