For a while Saturday night inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, it appeared Alabama wound defeat Arkansas 3-0.
Then it appeared the Crimson Tide might lose 7-3.
Then, with 1:39 remaining in the third quarter, Jake Coker connected with freshman phenom Calvin Ridley for an 81-yard touchdown pass that opened the floodgates for 24 consecutive points as Alabama pulled away for a 27-14 triumph. The Crimson Tide improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Southeastern Conference play, and they are No. 10 in The Associated Press poll and No. 9 in the USA Today coaches poll entering this week’s trip to undefeated Texas A&M, which is ranked ninth by the AP and and 10th by the coaches.
“This is when you find out who you are,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said in his news conference after Saturday’s game. “I thought the guys came out and responded really well in the second half. We didn’t play poorly in the first half. We just turned the ball over and didn’t finish drives in the red zone.
“The big play from Jake to Calvin was a big momentum-changer in the game. I think from that time on, we dominated pretty well until they hit the scramble pass at the end.”
Saban improved to 9-0 against the Razorbacks as Alabama’s coach.
Alabama capitalized on short fields after taking a 10-7 lead, stuffing an Arkansas fake punt and getting an interception by Eddie Jackson. The Crimson Tide took their largest lead with 2:44 remaining on a 1-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry, who put the final touches on a 27-carry, 95-yard evening.
Henry set a Crimson Tide record by scoring at least one touchdown in 11 consecutive games.
Though yards were tougher to come by for Henry than in previous weeks, it was nothing compared to the difficulties the Arkansas tandem of Alex Collins and Rawleigh Williams encountered. The two combined for 254 yards in last week’s 24-20 win at Tennessee, but Collins managed just 26 yards on 12 carries Saturday, while Williams was held to 10 on five.
“The story of the day was that we just couldn’t do anything with any consistency,” Razorbacks coach Bret Bielema said. “We couldn’t run it, we couldn’t throw it and we couldn’t convert the first downs the way we needed to.”
Said Saban: “All in all, I thought our defense played extremely well in this game.”
Alabama sophomore punter JK Scott regained the dominance he displayed as a freshman, averaging 50.0 yards on four attempts and placing two inside the Arkansas 20-yard line. Redshirt junior kicker Adam Griffith was a bit more erratic, making two field-goal attempts but also misfiring from 25 yards out.
Giffith’s miss occurred in Alabama’s difficult second quarter, when Coker threw his two interceptions.
After defeating Arkansas 52-0 in the 2012 and ’13 meetings, the Crimson Tide escaped Fayetteville last season with a 14-13 win. Saturday night’s game was headed in a similar direction until the Tide broke free, and Alabama players are hoping the same results can follow.
Last year’s win was the first of seven straight to close the regular season, and the Tide then thumped Missouri 42-13 in the SEC title game.
“Looking at last year, the Arkansas game turned the year around for us,” senior center Ryan Kelly said. “I think we are headed on the right path right now. We keep building on each week, and our attention to detail continues to improve. Putting in the effort to improve is one of the intangibles you need as a team, and we definitely have that.
“This was a great victory and a great stepping stone for us moving forward.”
Tide tidbits
Freshman nose tackle Daron Payne earned his first career start. Saturday marked Alabama’s first win after trailing at halftime since its 2010 victory at Arkansas. The Crimson Tide have held five of six opponents this season to fewer than 300 yards. Alabama’s defensive front leads the nation with 14 batted passes. The Tide opened Sunday as 3-point favorites over the Aggies.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.