It’s not every week that a team runs into a Heisman Trophy candidate, but that’s exactly what will happen to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.

Or more to the point Arkansas’ Darren McFadden will run into the Crimson Tide.

Slowing down the Razorbacks’ 6-3, 215-pound All-American and 2006 Heisman runner-up is a key concern for Bama, according to head coach Nick Saban.

McFadden’s talent is unquestioned, but there are many talented runners in the SEC. Few players in the nation, however, are as versatile as the junior from Little Rock.

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Saban said when McFadden lines up at quarterback, the Razorbacks morph into a different team.

“ Obviously, it would be better if he couldn’t pass it and we didn’t have to worry about it, ” Saban said Monday. “ The way you have to play, especially when he is at quarterback, they are basically out of a Spread offense but running a lot of wishbone principles.

“ We need run support on both sides. That’s not always easy to do without loading the box. When you load the box, that obviously gives them some opportunity to throw the ball. He does it off hard play-action... It really complements what they do. It makes it much more difficult. They make big plays doing it. ”

The challenge of defending McFadden and Arkansas’ var ious for mations has Saban’s juices flowing. Alabama’s first-year coach has coordinated his own defenses as a head coach in the past and though Kevin Steele heads his defense for the Tide, Saban’s hand is still in the mix.

“ Excite me, ” Saban said. “ It’s challenging, I’ll say that. They’re good. When you’re a competitor and you’re competing, you always look at the next game as a challenge... That’s part of the fun of it. ”

The Crimson Tide are 2-0 after crushing Western Carolina 52-6 in their opener and defeating Vanderbilt, 24-10, at Nashville last Saturday.

Alabama has a potent running game of its own this season, starring a freshman. After rushing for 134 yards in the Tide’s opener and punishing Vandy for 173 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, Terry Grant has already become one of the league’s premier backs.

While Saban is proud of his back, he doesn’t want anyone to overlook the job the Tide’s offensive line is doing.

“ Our guys up front did a good job opening things up, ” Saban said. “ Terry Grant got Freshman of the Week, but he got those yards thanks to the men up front doing their job.

“ We ran the ball effectively. We were good in goalline situations. We made 11 explosive plays, but we have to continue to improve our efficiency in the passing game and at scoring when we get into the red zone. ”

Bama receiver D. J. Hall caught three passes for 67 yards, which pushed him over the 2, 000-yard mark in his career. Junior quarterback John Parker Wilson had an up-and-down performance, completing 14 of 28 passes for 150 yards as the Tide finished with 371 total yards (221 rushing, 150 passing ).

Javier Arenas added some spice to the Crimson and Cream’s attack with a 69-yard punt return to the Vandy 1 to set up Bama’s first TD.

Kicker Leigh Tiffin kicked 3 of 4 field goals, while the Bama defense held the Commodores to just 101 yards of offense through three quarters.

Saban is no new face to the Razorbacks’ coaching staff. Prior to spending two uneventful seasons as the Miami Dolphins head coach, Saban built LSU to prominence in his five seasons at the Tigers’ head coach. LSU won a share of the national title in 2003 with a 13-1 mark.

The Razorbacks went 2-3 against Saban’s LSU squads, winning 14-3 in 2000 and 21-20 in the Miracle on Markham in 2002. The Tigers topped the Hogs in a 41-38 shootout in 2001 and pounded the Razorbacks, 55-24, in 2003 and 43-14 in 2004. Two of the three losses were at Baton Rouge, La., while the Razorback wins were at Little Rock.

“ I have a tremendous amount of respect for Houston Nutt and the job he does there, ” Saban said. “ They have some outstanding players and they do a great job of coaching them on both sides of the ball and special teams.

“ As I said after the game, he does as much with the players he has and gets as much production from them as anyone in the league. I think he does an outstanding job. ”