Tide push past Hogs with dominant 4th Quarter
A Young'-less Alabama pulls away from Arkansas to win 49-26 in Fayetteville.
By: Dave in Tuscaloosa
Jahmyr Gibbs runs through a massive hole on Saturday. Photo via @AlabamaFTBL
Following a dominant first half and a disastrous 3rd quarter that almost reached epic propositions, 2nd ranked Alabama rode the wave of a breakout 4th quarter of almost legendary status on their way to a 49-26 victory over 20th ranked Arkansas in an SEC West showdown in Fayetteville. The Tide played most of the game without their Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Bryce Young, who exited the game early in the second quarter with an AC shoulder sprain.
Led by backup quarterback Jalen Milroe (4 for 9, 65 yards, 1 touchdown and 91 rushing yards on 6 carries and a touchdown) and tailback Jahmyr Gibbs (a career high 206 rushing yards and two long 4th quarter touchdown runs), Alabama survived a horrific third quarter to remain unbeaten on the season heading into next Saturday’s tussle with a struggling Texas A&M squad. The Razorbacks were kept in check by a strong Bama D, which held dynamic junior quarterback KJ Jefferson to 155 yards passing and 38 yards on the ground. Standout Hog running back Rocket Sanders had some success, picking up 101 yards on 22 carries and scored a touchdown on the ground. In addition, Arkansas’ powerful front seven was controlled most of the day by the Alabama offensive line, which is suddenly turning into a team strength. Saturday marked the 16th straight victory for the Tide over the Hogs.
Despite several drops by usually reliable receivers and an early interception off of a tipped pass, Young started strong, going 7-13 for 173 yards and one touchdown pass to Kobe Prentice, a beautiful slant as the Hog secondary crept up to blitz on a 3rd and 3 from 47 yards out that opened the scoring. The Tide would tack on another touchdown later in the quarter, a Young 7 yard stroll for 6 that capped off a 7 play, 80 yard drive that put the Tide up 14-0 heading into quarter #2. The play of the drive was a Young to Isaiah Bond 53 yard downfield strike. With 13:58 left in the 2nd and Alabama driving, the Hogs recorded their only sack of the game as Tide transfer Drew Sanders forced Young out of bounds on a third and 6. Young landed awkwardly on his throwing shoulder. Will Reichard would miss his first field goal of the season, a 53 yarder, yet Arkansas would fumble on the ensuing drive, setting up the Tide offense at their own 40.
Young reentered the game and would throw one pass, dropped by Traeshon Holden, before exiting the game for good. The Bama defense, who finished the game with nine tackles for loss, dominated the Hogs throughout the first half and forced Arkansas to punt again. Kool-Aid McKinstry returned the punt to the Hog 15 yard line and backup quarterback Jalen Milroe would take it into the endzone from 3 yards out to give Bama a 21-0 advantage with 8:29 left in the half. After Arkansas went 3-and-out, the Tide capped off a 10 play, 59 yard drive with a Milroe to JoJo Earle 22 yard screen pass to put the Tide up 28-0. Arkansas and Jefferson would respond with their best drive of the day, going 75 yards in 9 plays that ended with a Ketron Jackson 6 yard touchdown catch to end the half with the Tide up, 28-7.
In my close to 40 years watching Alabama football, I do not believe I have ever seen the Tide experience a quarter meltdown quite like what I saw in the 3rd against Arkansas. It was plain and simply a disastrous 15 minutes that almost cost Alabama the game. It started with KJ Jefferson marching the Hogs 78 yards in 7 plays on Arkansas’ second possession of the 3rd, culminating in an A.J. Green 13 yard run that cut the Bama lead to 28-14 at the 7:47 mark of the quarter. The Hogs caught the Bama kick unit sleeping and recovered an onsides kick, and Arkansas would drive to the Tide 4 yard line before settling for a 22 yard field goal by Cam Little to cut the Tide lead even further to 28-17 with 1:38 left in the third. After a Bama 3-and-out, Tide long snapper Kneeland Hibbett completely missed punter James Burnip with a snap and the ball was downed on the Tide 3, giving the Razorbacks a first and goal. Rocket Sanders would capitalize on the next play, and after a failed 2 point conversion, a 28-0 late second quarter lead for Alabama evaporated in the span of a little over 15 minutes and The Hogs entered the 4th quarter with all of the momentum, only trailing 28-23. For the quarter, Arkansas would gain 141 total yards while the Tide was limited to -1.
Perhaps a lesser team would have folded, but the 2022 Tide dug deep and found what they needed to produce a dominant 4th quarter that quieted the raucous “Red-Out” crowd at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. It started with a 3rd and 15 from the Bama 20. Milroe calmly escaped pressure in the pocket and showed his speed and athleticism, scampering 77 yards to the Razorback 3 yard line, which set up Jace McClellan’s touchdown run two plays later to give Alabama some much-needed breathing room and increased the score to 35-23 with 14:09 to go in the game.
Arkansas would punt four plays later, and the game would become the Jahmyr Gibbs show. The junior transfer from Georgia Tech would go 72 yards untouched to increase the Tide lead to 42-23 with 12:17 left in the contest. Jefferson would engineer a nice 13 play, 59 yard drive that was aided by three costly, and foolish Crimson Tide penalties that ended in a Little 34 yard field goal that cut the lead to two scores, 49-26. Two plays later, Gibbs would sprint 76 yards for his second long touchdown run of the quarter, sending much of the red clad Arkansas fan base to the exits as the Bama lead increased to 49-26 with 6:55 left to play. For the game, Alabama would outgain Arkansas 555 yards to 377 while picking up 26 first downs compared to 17 for the Hogs. Bama would hit on 9 of 14 third downs while Arkansas picked up 5 out of 16 attempts. For the game, Arkansas was limited to one sack while the Tide recorded three of their own. Penalties were a problem for Alabama once again, as they were flagged 10 times for 101 yards.
This was a huge win for Alabama, as they beat an excellent team at the start of a challenging stretch that continues next week against a down but far from out Texas A&M squad at home. On Saturday, the contest was won not only due to a monster first half and three huge 4th quarter plays, but also on both lines of scrimmage as the Bama big men had their way most of the day. There have been questions on offense about the line, the running game, and the downfield passing game, as Tide quarterbacks completed 6 passes of 17 yards or more. All three have been answered in the affirmative the last two weeks. In addition, as it should be, there will be a lot of attention given to Young’s injury and he is presently listed as day to day heading into the A&M game. Yet, Alabama showed they are more than just a Bryce Young team in the win over the Hogs. The Tide had players step up all over the field and the team remains as deep and talented as ever, including at the quarterback position where Milroe and true freshman Ty Simpson are both talented and capable of making positive plays. In addition, the Bama defense continues to impress, as they too are deep, talented, and are making plays. There is still much to clean up, yet Bama Nation has to feel good about this team and it appears AP voters agree, as Alabama narrowly (2 total points) reclaimed the #1 spot from Georgia following the Dawgs' escape against Missouri.
Bigger challenges await the Tide, but for now, all attention will be on avenging last year’s only regular season loss, which came at the hands of the Aggies from College Station.