TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Five observations, with video, from Arkansas' 41-9 loss at No. 1 Alabama.
— Early punches end it
The game felt like it ended 15 seconds in, when Damien Harris cut back and went 75 yards untouched for a touchdown on the first offensive snap of the game.
Arkansas overran the play, leaving a huge cut back lane and allowing Harris to turn on the burners. It got embarrassing quick for the Hogs and stayed that way for a while.
Yikes. The rout was on.
Arkansas competed the remainder of the evening, but the early damage was done and the Crimson Tide spent the rest of the night in complete control after flashing their muscle quickly.
Alabama is too much for most teams and Arkansas is among those unable to physically match up with the Tide. That was abundantly apparent.
— Shakeup up front
Kurt Anderson sits down on Friday nights and finalizes his offensive line game plan and ideal rotation for the following day.
He spent this most recent edition putting the finishing touches on quite the switcheroo with Arkansas heading into a matchup against one of the best defenses in the nation, on the road and with a redshirt freshman quarterback making his first start.
Johnny Gibson slid from right guard to left tackle, replacing Colton Jackson, who’d started the first five games but struggled. Zach Rogers made his first career start at center, with Frank Ragnow shifting to right guard. Brian Wallace, back from the abyss, replaced Paul Ramirez at right tackle, his first start this year after starting the final 10 games last season.
The Razorbacks started implementing the change Monday. It was an interesting time to make the switch, but the odds for success were decidedly not in Arkansas’ favor no matter what line the staff trotted out against a formidable Crimson Tide defense. Throwing a new unit out there in week six against the No. 1 team in the nation is a decision that comes with the acceptance of likely growing pains.
Predictably, said pains were there. Arkansas ran for 27 yards on 29 attempts against the top-ranked run defense in the country. It took until the third quarter for a running back to log a rush of more than 3 yards.
Pass protection has been an issue all year and was again Saturday. Kelley was sacked five times and unofficially hurried 11 more. Alabama came after the young quarterback.
Some pressures were the result of apparent miscommunication, not a huge surprise given the makeshift nature of the group and the different places the Crimson Tide sent pressure from.
On the first play, Wallace and Ragnow wind up blocking the same player, leaving a free rusher. On the second example, Ragnow appears to pass off Da'Ron Payne to Wallace, but Wallace is already tied up with another defender, giving Payne a clear path to Kelley. On the third, Froholdt is slow to pick up on a stunt. On the fourth, Raashan Evans' late blitz off the edge goes unseen with Gibson chopping his feet and looking upfield.
Alabama also had success beating Arkansas running backs to get pressure on Kelley.
Froholdt has been much improved in year two at left guard, but struggled mightily at times against the Crimson Tide.
Sometimes, everything broke down.
Still, you have to grade teams on a bit of a curve against Alabama. It isn’t all that hard to envision a line with Jackson and Ramirez manning the tackle spots struggling more. The new-look line is physically superior to its predecessor and held up well in spurts, affording Kelley time to scan the field and get rid of the ball at times.
Rogers was a highly touted recruit who’s been stuck behind Ragnow, one of the great linemen in school history. Sliding Ragnow to guard freed up Gibson to move to tackle, where the Razorbacks have struggled mightily this year. Bielema routinely describes Wallace as the most physical lineman on the roster, but apparent struggles with the playbook meant the staff hadn’t trusted him this year, until Saturday.
The line wasn’t great Saturday. No iteration on this team was likely going to be against this caliber of opponent.
But it didn’t look much worse than it had in previous weeks despite playing a far superior opponent. Auburn is up next, another tough matchup, but it stands to reason the staff wouldn’t make such drastic changes without being willing to give the new group a few weeks to play together.
— Hello, Cole
Apparently, to be an Arkansas quarterback nowadays, odds are you’ll have to make your first start against Alabama.
Brandon Allen did it in 2012. Redshirt freshman Cole Kelley did it in place of the other Allen, Austin, on Saturday.
Tough spot to be in, with a new offensive line, no less. Arkansas had no running game to speak of to help relieve some pressure and Alabama brought the heat to try and rattle Kelley.
It wasn't a performance for the ages, to be sure, but there was a lot to like about how the 6-foot-7, 268-pounder carried himself. He generally looked cool and collected, moving well in the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield and generally making the right decision.
He finished 23 of 42 for 200 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Not a great game, but he showed impressive moxie. Some of his coolest plays, including this perfectly placed 46-yarder to Jordan Jones late in the first half:
He didn't back down on this third-and-long scramble, taking out a 'Bama defender in the process.
He is still learning he doesn't have to unleash the fastball every time.
His interception came on an ill-advised throw into coverage, but it was on the heels of being sacked three times and running a draw during the previous seven plays. 'Bama increasingly doled out punishment as the night went along.
Still, the moment didn’t appear too big for Kelley. It was an encouraging first start given the circumstances and there were some aspects the coaching staff no doubt feels it can build on, like the play of the young receivers in the quick passing game and the offense's success in the no-huddle.
— Run ragged
There was good and bad Saturday for Arkansas’ defense. Unfortunately for the Hogs, the good was largely confined to the second quarter.
But let's start there.
Before giving up a touchdown on Alabama's final drive of the first half, the Razorbacks stopped the Tide on four straight possessions, doing so while playing in the backfield better than they had all year, given the competition.
Entering Saturday, Arkansas ranked 98th in the nation in sacks (8) and 123 in tackles-for-loss (21). The Razorbacks recorded 4 tackles-for-loss against a team leading the SEC and ranked No. 7 in the nation in rush offense, while sacking Hurts twice and pressuring him several other times. Alabama entered the game tied for 26th nationally in sacks allowed, giving up just 1.17 per game.
Most of these disruptive instances took place in the second quarter.
Scoota Harris played a big role, finishing with 12 tackles, including 7 solo and 2 tackles-for-loss. He was quick to the ball and maintained his recent stretch of strong play, giving him 38 tackles over the course of his last 3 SEC games.
But while the second quarter was good, the other three were shaky. The Hogs generally did a good job trying swarmed to the football, but that opened up some cutback lanes for ‘Bama backs, the most egregious of which occurred on the first-play tone-setter.
And while Arkansas just couldn't consistently stop Alabama's big-boy run game, a lot of the Razorback issues stemmed from misplaying zone reads and allowing quarterback Jalen Hurts to get loose on quarterback runs. When the Razorback linebackers misplayed a snap, Alabama made them pay.
Harris’ first run set the stage for Alabama’s big night on the ground as it ran for 308 yards and averaged 7.3 yards per carry. Despite the stingy second quarter stretch, Alabama mauled the Razorbacks for the better part of 3 quarters.
— Martin emerging
Kelley’s insertion into the lineup has conicided with the emergence of sophomore receiver Brandon Martin.
The junior college transfer, ranked the No. 1 JUCO receiver in the nation last year, was hampered by injuries both in fall camp and early in the season and didn’t catch his first pass until hauling in a 15-harder from Kelley last week.
Martin was a big part of the game plan this week, playing more against the Crimson Tide than he had the rest of the season combined. And he responded well, producing 4 catches for 34 yards on 6 targets.
The 6-foot-4, 219-pounder brings a size component the rest of the receiving corps don’t have. Continuing to integrate him into the rotation should help improve the passing game.