Arkansas Razorbacks Lose Sloppy Game to Alabama

As irony would have it, the Arkansas Razorbacks played in one of the sloppiest games in recent history on a day where the perfect team of 1964 was honored. Arkansas “striped out” Razorback Stadium and welcomed ESPN’s SEC Nation to Fayetteville but after a hard-nosed battle, it was Alabama who took the 14-13 win.

Fresh off their upset at Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide rolled into Fayetteville looking to hand the Arkansas Razorbacks a 15th consecutive SEC loss. Alabama struggled to generate much offense as the Razorbacks boasted an amped up and very physical defense. Turnovers also continued to plague the Tide as four fumbles saw Nick Saban stew on the sidelines throughout most of the game.

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The Arkansas Razorbacks had all the opportunity in the world to take the game early. A pair of muffed punts gave the Hogs the ball within their own half of the field but a Kody Walker fumble on the goal line and a missed field goal opportunity left Arkansas empty-handed. Alabama opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Blake Sims to T.J. Yeldon about halfway through the 2nd quarter. The Razorbacks would answer with Jonathan Williams’ 3-yard touchdown run near halftime; however, a missed extra point try left Arkansas down by one at the half.

The Razorbacks took the lead in the 2nd half when Brandon Allen found A.J. Derby on a 54-yard strike. Derby broke several tackles on his way to the end zone and gave the Hogs a 13-7 lead. Alabama responded a few drives later when Blake Sims found a wide open DeAndrew White for a touchdown that put the Tide back ahead 14-13. Alabama abruptly stifled the Razorback offense from there, holding the Hogs to just 30 yards of offense in their final five possessions.

Arkansas’ defense held Alabama to 227 yards of total offense that included only 66 yards on the ground. For the Razorback offense, 335 yards and 34:13 of possession time dominated the box score but wasn’t enough to secure the win. The Hogs have now lost their 8th straight to Alabama and while there’s a collective let down in Fayetteville this evening, there is a satisfaction in realizing the program is good enough to play with any team in the country.

The Razorbacks (3-3, 0-3) will host No. 13 Georgia at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium next weekend.