TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Add another frenzied chapter to the history of Arkansas-vs.-Alabama football.

No. 16 Arkansas rallied from a three-touchdown second-half deficit at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the second time in four years to take a fourth-quarter lead, but this wild, wild SEC-West shootout went to the home team.

Alabama scored on its final two possessions, including John Parker Wilson’s 4-yard touchdown throw to Matt Caddell with 8 seconds remaining as the Crimson Tide snatched a 41-38 thriller away from the Razorbacks.

“You’ve got to give Arkansas a lot of credit for coming back in the second half,” Alabama Coach Nick Saban said. “They never threw in the towel.”

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Alabama (3-0, 2-0 SEC ) made the first significant bid to contend with LSU in the SEC West by rallying in the closing minutes with the aid of a wall of sound provided by a sellout crowd of 92, 138.

Arkansas (1-1, 0-1 ) trailed by 21 points in both halves, but stuck to its game plan and fought back to take the lead.

“I really thought this was our game here,” Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said. “We felt like we had them very, very tired. We should have won the ballgame, no question about it. They were very fortunate.”

Arkansas was victimized by longtime nemesis DJ Hall, who caught 6 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Hall has four scores in 2 games against the Razorbacks in Tuscaloosa.

Heisman Trophy candidate Darren McFadden put up another huge night with 195 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but the Razorbacks star was knocked out of the game with a concussion on the Hogs’ go-ahead touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter and did not return.

Arkansas also made great use of the play-action pass, taking advantage of Alabama’s eagerness to stop the run. Casey Dick had the second three-touchdown-pass game of his career, with scoring throws of 40 yards to Crosby Tuck, 2 yards to Andrew Davie and 7 yards to Peyton Hillis all coming on play-action.

“That’s just something that’s going to come when you have those great backs back there,” said Dick, who completed 11 of 23 passes for 145 yards with 1 interception.

Not having McFadden was costly in the closing minutes. Arkansas tried to melt the clock on its final possession, but managed only one first down before having to punt with 2: 13 remaining while holding a 38-34 lead.

“We had 4: 20 to put the game away and we didn’t get it done,” Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs said.

Alabama drove 73 yards for its gamewinning score, with Wilson connecting on 7 of 9 passes for 56 yards and throwing his fourth touchdown pass. The Crimson Tide benefited from two pass interference calls during the two-minute scramble, the last coming on a deep pass for Keith Brown down the left sideline against Kevin Woods on a ball that flew over both players’ heads by several yards.

“I thought it was going to be an incomplete pass. The ball was pretty well overthrown,” Nutt said.

“Ask the referees. I don’t know,” defensive coordinator Reggie Herring said. “I thought we had things under control in the second half. We didn’t get it done on the last drive. At the end of the day they outexecuted us and got it done in the end.”

Wilson completed 24 of 45 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns, his first scoring throws of the season.

Alabama’s game-winning drive also included a key stoppage of play to measure a 9-yard pass play over the middle to Brown. The clock stopped with 21 seconds remaining and the Tide out of timeouts to measure the gain, and when the clock restarted, Alabama already was lined up and ready for a play.

Down 21 points in both halves, Arkansas did not fold with a massive crowd roaring in its ears.

The situation looked most dire for the Razorbacks midway through the second half. The Crimson Tide had scored 10 consecutive points, including a 2-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to tight end Nick Walker on the play after Javier Arenas’ 58-yard punt return.

Also during that stretch, Arkansas defensive tackle Ernest Mitchell lost his head, snatching off the helmet of Alabama guard Justin Britt and hitting him with it, leading to a personal foul and ejection.

But Arkansas did not panic. Sticking to their game plan, and getting a little help with a couple of giveaways from Wilson, the Razorbacks went on a rampage.

A 36-yard run from Felix Jones set up Dick’s scoring pass to Davie, the tight end’s first catch of the season.

Wilson lost a snap on the Razorbacks’ next series and Matt Hewitt recovered at the Alabama 42. Consecutive runs of 11 yards by McFadden and 18 yards by Jones gave Arkansas first-and-goal at the 3. On the first play of the fourth quarter, McFadden’s 1-yard run over right guard pulled the Razorbacks within 31-24.

On the first play of Alabama’s ensuing possession, pressure from Arkansas defensive end Antwain Robinson forced Wilson into a huge error. Wilson flipped a floater into the right flats that soared into the arms of Arkansas cornerback Jerell Norton for an easy interception.

The Razorbacks powered to their next score, with McFadden running four times for 31 yards, including the 5-yard touchdown.

When Arkansas drove 64 yards for the Dick-to-Hillis go-ahead touchdown, a score that was set up by Jones’ weaving 32-yard run, the air seemed to go out of Bryant-Denny.

“We were very excited right there,” McFadden said. “We thought we had it. Even after they kicked the field goal, we thought we had it.”

“I thought that last touchdown drive we were going to win,” Nutt said. “We should have been singing tonight, but we didn’t.”