All of the concerns whether Alabama would be able to perform without Heisman Trophy candidate Tua Tagovailoa were put to rest.
Quickly.
With a solid game plan from offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, redshirt sophomore Mac Jones was able to thrive against the Arkansas defense. Showing tremendous poise and understanding Jones led the Crimson Tide to 41 first half points. As the game progressed so did Jones, he wasn’t afraid to push the ball down field a bit even connecting with Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith for 40 plus yard receptions.
Jones finished the game going 18/22 for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Receiving wise broke down as followed:
Jerry Jeudy: 7 catches 103 yards 2 touchdowns
DeVonta Smith (left the game with injury): 4 catches 67 yards
Henry Ruggs III: 4 catches 47 yards 1 touchdowns
Jaylen Waddle: 5 catches 39 yards
Younger brother Taulia Tagovailoa also saw some action as he played most of the second half finishing 6/8 for 0 yards.
But he wasn’t alone as running back Najee Harris and the offensive line pulled its fair share of the load. Harris made a number of smart gritty runs displaying his elite athleticism and was consistently running through dumpster sized holes from the offensive line. Freshman Emil Ekiyor Jr. subbed in for Evan Neal early in the game and performed quite well.
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At the start of the third quarter Harris appeared to be shaken up a bit and didn’t see much action afterwards. Harris ended the game with 13 carries for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns. Backfield mate Brian Robinson was also effective during the game rushing for 67 yards on 13 carries.
Seemingly for the first time all season the Crimson Tide played a complete game on both sides of the football as the defense also flexed its muscles throughout the contest. The big plays by Arkansas were much harder to come by as they were held to a total of 213 yards on the day. A lot of that had to do with the pressure Terrell Lewis and company was able to get on quarterbacks Nick Starkel and John Stephen Jones.
Lewis was in the backfield so often he and the quarterbacks are probably facebook friends by now. After so many months and games of dealing with injury, a healthy Lewis is now thriving. Another player Alabama is glad to see healthy is Trevon Diggs who set up “Diggs Island” on whoever lined up in front of him. Diggs was even able to add to the score board with a pick six right before halftime to break to spirit of the Razorbacks.
Turnovers were a big issue for Arkansas the whole game as they also had an early fumble which was recovered and returned by Christian Harris and another interception by Patrick Surtain.
The running issue the tide’s defense has had in the past is steadily improving along with Harris and linebacker Shane Lee who met members of the Razorbacks at or behind the line of scrimmage on multiple occasions. Defensive linemen Raekwon Davis and Phidarian Mathis also pitched in to help control the line of scrimmage.
If not for an untimely offsides penalty on a punt Pete Golding’s defense had a chance at pitching a shutout.
Notable defensive performers:
Shane Lee: six tackles two for loss one sack
Patrick Surtain: three tackles one for loss one interception
Terrell Lewis: three tackles one pass breakup six quarterback hits
Nick Saban’s and Alabama ended the game defeating Arkansas 48-7 and will now head into it’s second bye week of the season before hosting the undefeated LSU Tigers in quite possible the biggest game of the year.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
