Film Room: 5 Observations from Arkansas-Alabama

Alabama's Damien Harris runs away from an Arkansas defender during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Samantha Baker)

— A trip to the film room for five observations from No. 16 Arkansas’ 49-30 loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday.

— Poor fits, tackling lead to big plays

Arkansas’ defense struggled to limit chunk plays its first five weeks, giving up 25 gains of 20 or more yards, 14 of 30 or more, nine of 40 or more and four of 50 or more.

That paled in comparison to what the Hogs gave up Saturday.

They allowed eight plays of 20 or more yards, six of 30 or more and four (four!) of 50-plus yards — two passes and two runs. Alabama’s speed edge was evident outside the tackles as the Crimson Tide repeatedly gashed Arkansas for chunk plays in the run game, making the Razorbacks look slow. Damien Harris broke free for a 57-yard run, while true freshman Josh Jacobs had a 56-yarder, both in the first quarter.



On Jacobs’ run, linebacker Dre Greenlaw takes a step up and effectively takes himself out of the play, creating a lane for Jacobs, who ran through a weak arm tackle by safety Josh Liddell. On the second, Arkansas forces the cutback, but several players, Liddell included, can’t get off blocks, while the rest of the defense is too slow to make a play.

Too often, Arkansas either couldn’t set the edge or set it too far outside, creating cutback lanes for Alabama running backs. That set the stage for poor tackling and a showcase of the difference in team speed.

The Crimson Tide walled off the Hogs’ linebackers and the safeties were consistently either late to fill, took poor angles or didn’t wrap up. Liddell had a number of crucial missed tackles.


The poor tackling was on prominent display on a dump off to Harris midway through the second quarter when the Crimson Tide picked on Arkansas true freshman linebacker De’Jon Harris, who was thrust into action for the injured Dre Greenlaw. Harris gets caught up in a block, leaving Damien Harris wide open for a swing. Solid play call that should’ve netted 15 yards or so. Instead, De’Jon Harris and Liddell each miss tackles, allowing Damien Harris to waltz down the sideline for a 57-yard score.


Here, Harris gets walled off quickly, as Alabama gets the edge and breaks another long run. Harris is a physical, instinctive player with a high ceiling, but he’s only a true freshman and was thrown into the fire Saturday after barely playing any snaps the first five games, an interesting decision by the coaching staff which may have backfired.

Most of the night, the defense’s fits were poor, which gave Alabama the space to make Arkansas’ overall lack of speed on the defense apparent. Arkansas’ safeties have all-too-often been unable to clean up mistakes made by the rest of the defense this season, playing a step too slow and/or not wrapping up when they arrive.

— Bama takes advantage of middle of field

Arkansas didn’t make life particularly difficult for Alabama true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Hurts did throw a third-quarter interception with the game already well in hand, but was otherwise near-perfect throwing the ball, a feat made easier given the wide-open receivers he was able to target.




On the last video, interesting to track Henre’ Toliver, who winds up just jogging nonchalantly down the field after the catch. Not a great sense of urgency there.

He finished 13 of 17 for 253 yards, repeatedly burning the Arkansas secondary over the middle of the field for big gains. Three of his four completions that went for 20-plus yards were on plays over the middle of the field as uncovered receivers found open turf in between the hashmarks. At least one of the plays was a bust by a safety, Bret Bielema said.

Weekly edition: Austin Allen nearly decapitated

Austin Allen earned national attention and respect for withstanding the beating he took in a 45-24 loss to Texas A&M.

He got hit 15 times in that game. Entering the Alabama game, he’d been pressured on 40 percent of his dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the nation according to profootballfocus.com. He was hit 21 times on Saturday as the offensive line again struggled mightily in pass protection, allowing six sacks.

Sophomore left guard Hjalte Froholdt, in particular, had several egregious whiffs.





Froholdt is still a young, learning player whose strength and size give him upside, but when he misses a block, he misses badly. That was the case way too often Saturday, with Froholdt lunging and missing on a number of blocks that led to Allen being drilled. Former offensive line coach Sam Pittman used to voice that he wanted and needed more scholarships. As is, he didn’t sign linemen in great numbers. There are tools to be built on with Froholdt, but the learning curve has been steep at times and he has been the unquestioned starter at left guard since the spring after transitioning from the defensive line.

Froholdt wasn’t the only guilty party Saturday. Far from it. Each member of the offensive line had their struggles and gave up hits on Allen. Tight end Jeremy Sprinkle was also beaten badly in pass pro on several plays, leading to big hits on Allen.



There were a few coverage sacks and hits resulting from superb coverage, but the offensive line was beaten off the ball too quickly, far too often.

For the first time, there was collateral damage to all the hits. Allen, who had previously displayed an admirable ability to step into throws even while knowing he’d be hit in the mouth, threw off his back foot on two of the three interceptions. The hits appeared to take their toll, more than in the past.

Allen still made his share of big throws, sticking in the pocket under duress. He passed for 400 yards and three touchdowns. But for the first time, a chink in the proverbial armor showed. Hard to fault him for it. He’s far exceeded expectations this year. He needs more help from his pass protection.

Hogs eschew running game

Arkansas is averaging just 2.5 yards per carry in SEC play while giving up 8.5 yards per attempt.

That’s a shocking disparity for a team built on physicality on the offensive line and with a defensive line touted as the deepest Bielema has had.

Obviously Arkansas’ two yards-per-carry Saturday reflects the six sacks for a loss of 49 yards.

But Arkansas’ run game was largely abandoned after falling behind big. When the Hogs did run, they were ineffective against Alabama’s starters. Rawleigh Williams had just 14 yards on six carries through three quarters. The Hogs’ top three backs totaled 50 on 15, a pedestrian 3.3 yards per carry.

The Razorbacks needed 40 attempts to run for 120 yards against Texas A&M. Arkansas has had the good fortune (sarcasm) of starting SEC play against two teams with a combined 12-0 record, but Bielema’s fourth team has featured his worst offensive front yet to date.

The Razorbacks struggle to impose their will running the football and have been particularly bad in short-yardage situations. As a result, they have to pass with an offensive line ill-suited for pass protection at this point. It’s a catch-22.

Bielema vs. the refs

Bret Bielema drew the rare unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by a head coach in the second quarter Saturday after Adam McFain hit a 25-yard field goal.

Bielema was flagged by multiple officials after nearly making it to the hash mark nearest the home sideline in an effort to argue a holding call on right tackle Brian Wallace with the official who called the penalty. The holding call was iffy and negated a touchdown pass to Drew Morgan that would've cut the deficit to 28-14, forcing the Hogs to settle for McFain's field goal.



Bielema said post-game that the call was out of the official’s area to make (should be guards and in), sarcastically saying he wanted to congratulate the ref on doing a good job, going above and beyond his responsibilities.

It was a rare display for the typically calculated, laid-back Bielema. As soon as the first half ended, he conferenced with the head referee on the field for several minutes.

Those weren’t his only confrontations. After the game, a male fan was handcuffed after berating Bielema from the front row near the entrance to the Broyles Center. The fan ended his tirade with a “F--- you” and was quickly led out of the stadium in handcuffs.

Sour end to a disappointing night in Razorback nation.