Tide disrupt Mallett's flow

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It's a safe bet Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett won't be leading the nation in pass efficiency again this week.

Mallett, a sophomore transfer from Michigan, was atop the national statistics with a 193.49 rating after each of his first two games at Arkansas as he completed a combined 38 of 61 passes for 717 yards and 6 touchdowns without an interception against Missouri State and Georgia.

It was a different story for Mallett and the Razorbacks against No. 3 Alabama on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide held Mallett and the Razorbacks in check as Alabama rolled to a 35-7 victory.

"We didn't execute at all, and that hurt us," Mallett said. "You could see that throughout the whole game."

Mallett completed 12 of 35 passes for 160 yards and 1 touchdown and had his first interception of the season, on a tipped pass in the fourth quarter.

This was a week after he set school records with 408 passing yards and five touchdowns in the Razorbacks' 52-41 loss to Georgia.

Mallett had more passing yards (161) in the first quarter against Georgia than he did the entire game against Alabama.

Mallett had a promising start Saturday, hitting Joe Adams for a 9-yard gain on Arkansas' first snap, but struggled to establish a rhythm.

The Crimson Tide flustered Mallett with a variety of blitzes and coverages, often forcing him to throw before he was ready. He was sacked twice on corner blitzes by Alabama's Javier Arenas, and had two passes tipped at the line, plus one that went off an Arkansas player to the Crimson Tide's Justin Woodall for an interception in the fourth quarter.

Arkansas' offensive line often utilized maximum protection against the Crimson Tide's front seven, but Alabama defensive end Lorenzo Washington said keeping the 6-7 Mallett on the move was the key.

"We were still trying to push the pocket, collapse it, so he would release it earlier, or try to flush him out," Washington said. "He's thetype of passer who wants to release it quickly and he's not as accurate when he's out of his comfort zone. So we practiced on that this week and it translated to the game."

Mallett said Alabama brought some pressure packages the Razorbacks hadn't seen but that he wasn't confused. He repeatedly talked about a lack of execution by the offense.

"They played great defense, and we didn't execute," Mallett said. "That's all it's about. I'm going to keep telling you it's execution. That's what we've got to do."

Mallett's 18-yard touchdown pass to Greg Childs cut Alabama's lead to 14-7 with 10:45 left in the third quarter, but that's all the scoring theRazorbacks could muster.

"We came out good for the second half but didn't keep it up," Mallett said.

Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino was blunt in hisassessment of Mallett's performance.

"I didn't think he played very well," Petrino said. "He didn't set his feet. He didn't see things like he saw in the previous two games.

"You can't take anything away from their defense, because they are very good. They do a nice job of disguising and hitting the blitzes when they're supposed to. But he's very capable of playing a lotbetter than that."

Mallett managed a smile when asked if his struggles Saturday would cause him to lose confidence.

"No, it's never going to hurt my confidence," he said. "I'm going to keep my head up and the rest of the team is the same way.

"We didn't play well, we know it, and we're going to come back ready to go Sunday."