SEC FOOTBALL NO. 1 ALABAMA 65, ARKANSAS 31

Hogs pointing up: Offense holds its own, but Tide’s mastery alive

Arkansas quarterback Ty Storey is hit by Alabama linebacker Christian Miller during a game Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas quarterback Ty Storey is hit by Alabama linebacker Christian Miller during a game Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Things looked dire for the University of Arkansas when No. 1 Alabama scored on the first snap of the day and raced to a three-touchdown lead less than 10 minutes into the game Saturday.

Yet the Razorbacks did not fold.

Showing more pluck and imagination on offense than they have all season, the Razorbacks racked up 405 total yards and managed to turn the game into a mini shootout before falling 65-31 before a crowd of 49,273 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC), playing Arkansas as the No. 1 team for the third consecutive year and sixth time in the past nine years, dissected the Hogs for 639 total yards while stretching its winning streak in the series to 12 games. The Crimson Tide also extended their national record for consecutive victories against unranked opponents to 78 games.

Arkansas (1-5, 0-3 SEC) is off to its worst start since Frank Broyles' first team opened 0-6 in 1958.

"Our message for this football team moving forward is we're going to come back in here tomorrow and hit reset," said Arkansas Coach Chad Morris, who thanked the fans for sticking around and cheering the Razorbacks off the field. "It's a six-game season, and we're going to focus on us."

The Crimson Tide turned three takeaways into 21 points, including a 44-yard pick-six by Shyheim Carter and a 99-yard drive after recovering a Ty Storey fumble at the 1 in the second quarter when Alabama's lead was 21-7.

"I would have loved to see what it would've looked like at 21-14 right there," Morris said.

Arkansas did not force a takeaway for the second time in three SEC games, though it took a replay review to overturn what was ruled a forced fumble and recovery by Santos Ramirez early in the second quarter. Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa hit Jerry Jeudy with a 42-yard touchdown pass on the next play to give Alabama a 28-7 lead.

The Tide's point total equaled the most scored by an SEC opponent against Arkansas, tying Auburn's output in a 65-43 victory in 2010.

"I thought we did an outstanding job on offense," Alabama Coach Nick Saban said. "We had a lot of explosive plays, a lot of big plays. We controlled the line of scrimmage pretty well."

Tagovailoa completed 10 of 13 passes for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns, and he came out after one series in the third quarter. His efficiency rating was 394.3, and the Razorbacks not only didn't sack him but also registered just one quarterback hurry against the left-handed sophomore.

Tagovailoa went 10 of 12 in the first half and had touchdown passes covering 76, 12, 42, and 60 yards. Two of those touchdowns came on the first snap of a series, including a 76-yard catch-and-run score by tight end Irv Smith on the first offensive play of the game. Alabama also scored on the first play of the game in last year's 41-9 victory over Arkansas.

"Alabama's the best team in the country for a reason, and I think they showed it," Morris said. "I think they had speed all over the field."

Tagovailoa was given credit for a 12-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs III, who actually recovered a Smith fumble forced by Ryan Pulley at the 12 after a 47-yard catch and run.

Alabama amassed 246 rushing yards, led by 111 from Damien Harris, and 393 passing yards to pile up its 639 yards, the fourth-highest total in a game against the Razorbacks.

"This is one of the best offenses I've seen since I've been here," Arkansas linebacker De'Jon Harris said. "Tua is a really good quarterback. He makes them go, and he has some nice wide receivers that can run and and their backfield is loaded and their tight ends. They're hitting on all cylinders."

The speedster Jeudy caught 4 passes for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Smith caught 2 passes for 123 yards, all in the first quarter.

Arkansas put together its strongest offense effort under Morris against a Power 5 opponent with 233 passing yards and 172 rushing yards, including 102 by sophomore Rakeem Boyd.

"I don't think you beat the other team when you give up 31 points like we did today, from a defense perspective," Saban said. "We're going to play a lot better offensive teams.

"We have to have a lot of guys have a little more discipline, a little more focus and give Arkansas a lot of credit for the way they kept fighting. They are a lot better team on offense."

Arkansas' offensive game plan included the use of middle screens to the tight ends behind the powerful Tide pass rush that helped slow the Alabama defense.

Arkansas' three touchdown passes, two by Storey and one by Cole Kelley on a play-action strike to Cheyenne O'Grady, was half as many as Alabama had given up all season.

"The offense continues to get better," Morris said. "It's the best we've played against the best team we've played. Three turnovers and 21 points, that's hard. A team like Alabama, they don't need any help."

Storey completed 25 of 39 passes for 230 yards, with 2 touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked only once.

"You've got to give credit to the coaches, the way we schemed them up," Storey said. "I thought we had a lot of great stuff going in and just being able to have guys calling those plays and guys being able to run open.

"That's hard to do against anybody, especially somebody like Bama."

O'Grady caught seven passes for 48 yards, including touchdown throws from Storey and Cole Kelley.

Boyd is the first Arkansas back to break the 100-yard barrier against Alabama since Darren McFadden ran for 195 yards in a 41-38 loss to the Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., that started the current 12-game losing streak.

Trailing 21-0, the Razorbacks put together a 75-yard touchdown drive. Storey capped the sequence with an 8-yard scoring strike to O'Grady on third and goal, which was O'Grady's third catch on the drive for 35 yards.

Arkansas linebackers Harris and Dre Greenlaw stuffed Harris for no gain on fourth and inches from the Alabama 43 on the third play of the second quarter, giving the home fans a reason to cheer.

The energy level increased more when Boyd ripped off a 32-yard run to the Crimson Tide 5 two plays later. Storey kept for 4 yards on the next play, but a helmet strike by linebacker Dylan Moses dislodged the ball and Deionte Thompson recovered at the 1.

"I've got to hold on to the ball going in," Storey said. "That was a key moment. I don't exactly know what happened, but I have to hold on to the ball better."

Kelley proved effective in limited duty. He had a 3-yard run that set up his touchdown throw to O'Grady in the second quarter to make it 28-14. He added a 1-yard touchdown run late in the game after De'Vion Warren's 78-yard kickoff return.

Alabama scored twice in a span of 1:11 late in the half to put the game away. Harris' 2-yard run capped a 74-yard drive with 2:49 left in the second quarter. Then Jeudy turned a short crossing route into a 60-yard touchdown with 1:38 remaining.

Sports on 10/07/2018

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