TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Georgia knocked the giddy out of Arkansas' early season excitement last week, and now it's time to see if the Razorbacks have any giddyup left.
Arkansas (1-1, 0-1 SEC) continues its march through a brutal stretch of the schedule today when it plays its road opener against No. 3 Alabama (3-0, 0-0) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Crimson Tide are a 17 1 /2-point favorite going into today's 2:30 p.m. game, which will be televised nationally by CBS.
"We're all excited," Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams said. "Nobody is scared. The courage of this team is lights years from where it was last year."
The game pits a Razorbacks offense piling up huge passing numbers in its second season under Bobby Petrino against a Crimson Tide defense led by thirdyear Coach Nick Saban.
"I think it's a classic matchup, two awesome coaches," Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas said.
"This game really crystallizes why this conference has exploded and gotten tougher and tougher," said CBS Sports analyst Gary Danielson, who will work the game with Verne Lundquist. "Bobby Petrino, who is a national expert in the passing game ... against the No. 1 guy in defending the pass in NickSaban."
Both coaches left NFL head coaching jobs to return to the SEC, and both praised the other's schemes this week.
"It's really a pro-style offense, what you see pretty much every week in the NFL," Saban said. "It's a greatsystem. They do a great job of teaching it, and he always has. That's what makes him a very good coach, and particularly a very good offensive coach."
Petrino said the Crimson Tide have good players and a great scheme.
"They challenge you, and they come up and try not to give you anything easy," he said. "They make you earn it. They have great schemes to attack your pass protection.
"I've got a tremendous amount of respect for what they do defensively and, you know, what he's always done defensively."
Ryan Mallett passed for 408 yards and five touchdowns, both school records,in Arkansas' 52-41 loss to No. 23 Georgia last week. Sophomores Jarius Wright and Greg Childs rank first and second in the SEC with 123.5 and 95 receiving yards per game, respectively.
The Razorbacks rank No. 2 in the nation in passing and total offense, and No. 8 in scoring with 44.5 points per game.
"They score a lot of points, but they haven't played us," Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain said. "We do a good job of stopping people from scoring. ... We're not overwhelmed by the points they scored."
The Alabama defense allows just 185.3 total yards and 42 rushing yards per game torank third and second nationally in those categories.
Mallett has been a part of three record-breaking performances in his first two games as a Razorback, and he said he isn't surprised by his 717 yards and five touchdown passes.
"You've got playmakers out there, and you just have to get them the ball and let them do their thing," he said.
The Razorbacks would also like to get tailback Michael Smith in a groove after the senior carried only 12 times in the first two games.
"I know things will turn around and there will be games I have a heavy workload, and there may be games I won't have such a heavy workload," Smith said.
Arkansas, which has a 4-4 record in Tuscaloosa, must tighten up a defense that allowed 530 total yards - including 375 through the air - against Georgia.
"Arkansas has a good defense, they really do," Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said. "There are a couple of cover schemes that give up some things deep. That was just things Georgia capitalized on."
The Crimson Tide has hardly missed a beat in replacing four offensive line starters, including NFL Draft picks Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell, and pounds the ball with tailbacks Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson.
"They are athletic as heck and do a great job of getting hats on hats, and it really complements their play-action pass," Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said.
"We have to do a better job on third down, stoppingbig runs, tighten up on the passing defense a little bit, run defense as well," middle linebacker Wendel Davis said. "We just have to play a whole lot crisper than we did, and I think we will."
Alabama is expected to have 6-4 receiver Julio Jones back after the preseason All-SEC sophomore missed last week with a bruised knee.
"Julio Jones is a great receiver, but we've got great defensive backs and a great secondary," Arkansas cornerback Ramon Broadway said. "I'm not a guy who believes in hype. I'm the type of guy who believes in action, so he's got to come out and show me."
The weather forecast does not paint a pretty picture for central Alabama today. The forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms.
Sports, Pages 21, 24 on 09/26/2009