It was a night for Alabama to honor the great Kenny Stabler and play LSU, yet weather conditions and Arkansas football found a way to enhance everything. The Razorbacks took on Mississippi at 2:30 p.m. CT, courtesy of CBS Sports.
Many thought it would be LSU or Mississippi State to beat the Rebels, but head coach Bret Bielema and the Hogs provided a shootout in Oxford, Miss.
Senior quarterback Brandon Allen has been through so much at Arkansas. He’s played through injuries and mediocre seasons; however, the senior became a legend Saturday night.
He outplayed Ole Miss’ quarterback Chad Kelly, tossing for 442 yards and six touchdowns.
Allen’s scrambled on Arkansas’ two-point conversion was toughness personified, and it would end up giving the Razorbacks a 53-52 victory in overtime. A win that put Alabama in control of the SEC West. Alabama answered the bacon’s gift with a stellar performance of its own, defeating LSU 30-16.
Its defensive front stifled LSU’s Leonard Fournette.
He entered the contest averaging 7.7 yards per carry and 193.14 rushing yards per game. Alabama limited him to 31 yards on 19 carries, netting an average of 1.6 yards.
Fournette was the talk of the week, but Alabama’s Derrick Henry may have emerged as the new Heisman frontrunner.
The junior tailback totaled 210 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He has tied former Southeastern Conference player Tim Tebow for the most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (14). Henry recorded 38 carries and averaged 5.5 yards per tot.
It was a difficult night for LSU’s sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris. He did account for a touchdown pass to Travin Dural, yet Alabama held him to six of 19 passing.
Alabama’s senior quarterback Jacob Coker quietly put a good game together at home. He did not turn the ball over, and completed 75 percent (18 of 24) of his throws for 184 yards.
Even Alabama’s offensive line has some good moments.
It blocked for 434 total yards, with 250 coming on the ground. The Crimson Tide got 28 first downs and converted seven of 15 third downs. Temperatures may drop, but three good things happened this weekend: an honor for Stabler, an Alabama win and an Ole Miss loss.
Alabama will face Mississippi State next week, but for now, it is back atop of the SEC. The Crimson Tide improves to 8-1.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @ESPN_Future.
