FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — “Slop” is the word you may have been thinking of Saturday night, and not because the University of Alabama football team was playing an opponent nicknamed the “hogs.”
By its own admission, the Crimson Tide’s offensive line didn’t play well. The running game tallied only 66 yards, the passing game wasn’t much better, and special teams were again horrendous with two more lost fumbles.
Yet somehow No. 7 Alabama found a way to pull out a 14-13 victory at Arkansas, which was the part that Nick Saban focused upon afterward.
“We had a lot more energy and enthusiasm out there today than we did last week. That’s what won the game,” he said. “We played a lot harder in this game, I think, and we competed well in the game.
“The players really wanted to win the game, and I was proud of that. I never saw that spark … at Ole Miss and we played too much like a team that was trying to keep from being beat rather than being aggressive, going out and making plays and doing the things that you have to do to win.”
Led by junior linebacker Reggie Ragland with a career-high 12 tackles, the defense had no problems with that, especially when the game was on the line. After Arkansas scored to go ahead in the third quarter, the Razorbacks notched only one first down thereafter, which occurred on their final possession.
They went three-and-out, three-and-out, four-and-out thanks to a big stop on fourth-and-1, three-and-out and then junior safety Landon Collins essentially sealed the win with an interception with 1:59 remaining.
Alabama still had trouble running out the clock thanks to three of its four penalties, but eventually did.
“I like it,” senior linebacker Trey DePriest said about the way the Crimson Tide won. “It just proves that you can overcome adversity and that’s what Coach Saban preaches all the time.
“For us to do that as a defense, that’s one step closer to where we want to be.”
It didn’t look that way early on at cold and rain-soaked Donald W. Reynolds Stadium, where Alabama got off to a horrendous start. With senior Christion Jones botching the first punt return and the ball hitting freshman Maurice Smith on another, the Crimson Tide ran just six plays for 7 yards in the first quarter when it had the ball for 2 minutes and 5 seconds.
Consequently, Arkansas finished with huge advantages in most of the statistical categories that usually translate to a win, including first downs (18-10) and total yards (335-227). The Razorbacks executed 79 plays and had 19 third-down situations en route to a time of possession edge of 34:13 to 25:47.
But Arkansas also failed to score a single point the first two times it had the ball within the Alabama 30. It had a fumble forced by DePriest go through the end zone for a touchback, a bad snap on a field-goal attempt.
Alabama’s defense eventually set up the first score in the second quarter following a rare fumble recovery, when sophomore defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson knocked the ball lose from Arkansas running back Alex Collins and linebacker Ryan Anderson recovered. Three plays later senior quarterback Blake Sims found running back T.J. Yeldon for a 22-touchdown.
Arkansas quickly answered with the longest scoring drive of the game, going 81 yards on 10 plays and running back Jonathan Williams notching a 3-yard touchdown. However, it failed on the crucial conversion that was blocked by sophomore defensive end Jonathan Allen.
“Brandon Ivory and A’Shawn, they got a great push up front, which allowed me to get inside and get my hands up,” Allen said about the point that would be the difference on the scoreboard.
Arkansas (3-3 overall, 0-3 SEC) took the lead in the third quarter on one of the night’s few big plays, on third-and-7 when tight end AJ Derby broke into open field and avoided cornerback Eddie Jackson’s efforts to push him out of bounds for 54-yard touchdown.
Yet the game came down to whether Alabama’s offense would have an answer and it finally did with an eight-play, 56-yard drive that was keyed by two third-down conversions and a clutch 15-yard catch by freshman wide receiver by Cam Sims.
With Arkansas coach Bret Bielema racing on to the field to try and call time out, Sims connected with senior wide receiver DeAndrew White for a 6-yard touchdown.
“I remember our guys saying, ‘Hey. Let’s put our feet down, man. Let’s go score. It’s all or nothing. We’re going to play together or we’re going to die together,’” said Sims, who completed 11 of 21 passes for 161 yards, but could have easily had a couple of attempts intercepted.
But he didn’t, and despite Arkansas scoring its first points against Alabama since 2011, the Crimson Tide (5-1, 2-1 SEC) kept its season from becoming synonymous with mud.
“I’m only going to say it again, for the 15th time, I’m really proud of the way our players competed in the game, how they hung in there at the end,” Saban said, while DePriest called it anything but pretty.
“It’s a win,” White concluded.
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
