FAYETTEVILLE -- Senior quarterback Austin Allen could be out up to three more weeks for the Arkansas Razorbacks while recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered at South Carolina on Oct. 7.
Allen did not suit out for Saturday's 41-9 loss at No. 1 Alabama on Saturday and did not work his injured right shoulder as he warmed up with teammates while throwing left handed.
Allen got good news on Monday that an MRI revealed no structural damage or anything that would require surgery but he still could miss one or more games.
"it's a swelling issue," Coach Bret Bielema said. "There's no ligament. It's not anything that has to be corrected through surgery. So it's really just a matter of how fast his body heals."
Bielema said he wasn't trying to "play smoke screen" during the week when he said Allen was day to day and had a chance to play against the Crimson Tide as recently as his weekly radio show on Thursday night.
"On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, there wasn't a 'Ruled out, he can't go.' I just didn't know if he did get to go if we were going to be able to say, 'Hey, he can go out there and play a winning football game.'"
Speed ball
The Arkansas Razorbacks adapted their offense to youthful quarterback Cole Kelley on Saturday by picking up the pace late in the first half in their 41-9 loss at Alabama.
"I feel like we started doing some things when we started going uptempo a little bit," Kelley said. "We got them on their heels a little bit."
Kelley, a 6-7 redshirt freshman, put in an admirable performance in his first career start against the No. 1 team before a crowd of 101,821 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Kelley was 23 of 42 passing for 200 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
"There's a lot of positive and some things we can build off of," Coach Bret Bielema said. "At halftime, I said let's just keep going two minute. I thought his poise was good and his confidence level was there. We thought we could limit what they were doing a little bit defensively. We stayed within our same personnel group and tried to go as fast as we could."
Defensive dings
End McTelvin Agim, defensive back Kevin Richardson and linebacker Dre Greenlaw all got knocked out of the game on Saturday but returned.
Richardson went down twice, once on either side of his diving interception, but he returned to action after each.
Arkansas quarterback Cole Kelley put the hurt on Alabama defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs midway through the third quarter. Kelley, facing a third and 12 from the Alabama 25, dropped back and rolled to his left before taking off. Kelley spun near the Tide sideline just as Buggs was arriving at the end of his 13-yard gain.
Going all out
Several Razorbacks said the vibe on the sideline and in the huddles was stronger than in last week's loss at South Carolina.
"I think guys kept fighting until the clock hit four zeroes," senior defensive tackle Bijhon Jackson said. "We finished stronger. The big thing was, 'Don't go out like we did last week.'"
Stretch run
Damien Harris broke through the middle of the Arkansas defense on the game's first offensive snap for a 75-yard touchdown.
"The way we started defensively was very disheartening," Coach Bret Bielema said. "Just a routine stretch play to our left and had some people just get caught up in the moment, get a little overzealous in their pursuit. They cut it back and it goes for a score."
Defensive tackle Bijhon Jackson said, "We just can't give up stuff like that on defense. Coach Rhoads did a good job of making sure we stayed level leaded and didn't let that get to us.
"We kept fighting. We got a lot of key stops, especially in the first half. I felt like it didn't affect our mentality."
Big Brandon
Brandon Martin followed up his first catch at a Razorabck last week with his best game, four catches for 34 yards, against the Crimson Tide.
"I was excited to get B. Martin in there," Coach Bret Bielema said. "This was his first full week of practice. ... He was definitely a guy you see belongs out there."
Whose answer?
Coach Bret Bielema said one of the last things he told the team in the postgame locker room was where the team's turnaround had to come from.
"The only thing I shared with the guys there at the end, the only people who can change this answer is here in this room," Bielema said. "Everybody on this team, the coaches, all the people involved can change the answer in a hurry. ... It was a solemn, quiet locker room, but one that we'll get back and strap on and play."
Hard to 100
The Razorbacks have not rushed for 100 yards against Alabama since posting 165 yards on 39 carries in a 52-0 loss in Tuscaloosa in 2013.
Arkansas has rushed 129 times for 233 yards in its past four games against the Crimson Tide, including 29 runs for 27 carries on Saturday. Take out the sack yardage against Cole Kelley, and the Razorbacks ran 24 times for 63 yards.
Hot Tigers
Auburn fell 11 spots to No. 21 in the Associated Press poll after blowing a 20-0 lead Saturday and losing 27-23 at LSU. The Tigers dropped 10 spots in the USA Today Coaches poll to No. 21, the biggest drop among all teams in the poll.
Auburn (5-2, 3-1 SEC) travels to Arkansas for a 6:30 p.m. game on Saturday. The Tigers lost 54-46 in four overtimes at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in their last visit to Fayetteville.
Extra points
• Tight end Will Gragg had his first career catch, an 11-yard grab to convert a fourth-and-7 play during Arkansas' fourth-quarter touchdown drive.
• Deon Stewart called for a fair catch with no defenders within 15 yards in the second quarter.
• Junior-college transfer Gary Cross had his first touch as a Razorback on a 21-yard kickoff return in the second half.
• Alabama Coach Nick Saban won his 100th regular-season SEC game on Saturday. He is 72-12 in 11 seasons at Alabama and 38-12 in 5 seasons at LSU.
• Alabama held Arkansas to 227 total yards, marking the 93rd time in 144 games under Nick Saban that the Tide held an opponent to less than 300 yards.
• The kickoff time for Arkansas' road game at Ole Miss on Oct. 28 will be announced today unless CBS exercises a six-day option.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense
QB Cole Kelley
Kelley, a redshirt freshman from Lafayette, La., completed 23 of 42 passes for 200 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
Defense
LB De'Jon Harris
Harris, a sophomore from Harvey, La., posted 12 tackles, 7 unassisted and 5 assists. Harris had 2 tackles for loss, including a 12-yard sack.
Sports on 10/16/2017