Sling, snag, stomp

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Arkansas kept the encroaching Crimson Tide at bay behind an opportunistic defense for most of three quarters Saturday.

Then Alabama quarterback Jake Coker hit freshman Calvin Ridley with an 81-yard touchdown pass to take the lead and steal the momentum late in the third quarter.

No. 8 Alabama (5-2, 2-1 SEC) dominated in the final period with a series of big plays and dealt the Razorbacks a 27-14 loss before a homecoming crowd of 101,821 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Alabama extended its on-the-field winning streak to nine games in the series over the Razorbacks (2-4, 1-2 SEC), matching Coach Nick Saban's tenure with the Crimson Tide.

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema gambled and called a fake punt after Alabama took a 10-7 lead on Ridley's big play. It didn't pay off, as Toby Baker's was stopped 3 yards short of the first down on a fourth-and-5 play from the Razorbacks' 41. The Crimson Tide capitalized with a 43-yard drive that was capped by Richard Mullaney's 3-yard touchdown catch to take control at 17-7.

"The big play in the game was stopping their fake punt thing, which we knew they had," Saban said.

"We really didn't want to go to it unless we just couldn't get anything going, and we just continued to stall out offensively," Bielema said. "I could feel that momentum starting to slide the other way."

The Crimson Tide ended junior running back Alex Collins' streak of three 150-yard rushing games by holding Collins to 26 yards on 12 carries. Alabama outrushed Arkansas 134-44.

"Offensively, the story of the day was we just couldn't do anything with any consistency," Bielema said. "Couldn't run it, couldn't throw it, couldn't convert the third downs the way we needed to, and that ended up forcing our hand on a couple of issues."

Saban said Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen picked apart the Crimson Tide's blitzes last year with short crossing routes, so he kept Alabama in a base defense to defend the run and forced the Hogs into a lot of third-and-long situations.

"They've got a pretty good offensive line," Saban said. "Our guys are always up for a challenge when we play a good running team."

Arkansas struggled to sustain drives in the first half, but led at halftime thanks to a Santos Ramirez interception and return to the Alabama 24.

From there, Arkansas cashed in with Allen's 4-yard touchdown throw to Drew Morgan on a third-and-2 play-action pass to stun the crowd with a 7-3 lead.

Arkansas maintained its lead even though the Crimson Tide were establishing the run and pass better and controlling the clock, until Ridley shook free with a double move against Ramirez.

Alabama finally meshed its hard-hitting defense with production on offense in the final quarter after being stymied in the red zone by the Arkansas defense and frustrated by poor field-goal kicking in the first half.

The Crimson Tide outgained the Razorbacks 390-220, and Arkansas' total was aided by Allen's late 54-yard touchdown throw to Dominique Reed with 1:37 remaining.

Allen completed 15 of 32 passes for 176 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, but he was sacked a season-high three times by the relentless Tide, .

Coker threw two second-quarter interceptions as the Arkansas pass rush hit him a few times. He finished 24 of 33 for 262 yards with 2 touchdowns. Derrick Henry, Alabama's 240-pound tailback, had 95 yards on 27 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown to cap a 16-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

The Razorbacks were held to 25 first-half plays compared to 42 for Alabama, and rushed 11 times for 24 yards.

Alabama had an 11:06-3:54 advantage in time of possession in the first quarter, and rushed 21 times for 78 yards in the first half. But the Crimson Tide struggled to throw anything deep as the pressure from the Hogs' front four started getting to Coker as the half wore on.

Alabama combined quick throws on the perimeter with runs from Henry and Kenyan Drake on its first possession. ArDarius Stewart shook free on a receiver screen for 37 yards down the left sideline to push the Tide to the Arkansas 10.

Henry gained 5 yards on first down, but linebacker Brooks Ellis broke through to throw Henry for a 2-yard loss on second down, and after Coker threw incomplete the Crimson Tide had to settle for Adam Griffith's 24-yard field goal.

Arkansas managed 14 offensive snaps and 2 first downs with its first 4 possessions. The Razorbacks' defense kept the game close by clamping down on the Crimson Tide in the red zone and heating up its pass rush on Coker.

Griffith missed a 25-yard field goal at the end of Alabama's second series, a 60-yard drive to the Arkansas 8.

Pressure from Arkansas defensive tackle Armon Watts forced Coker to throw earlier than he wanted from the Alabama 39 early in the second quarter, and safety Josh Liddell intercepted. The Hogs couldn't do anything with that takeaway, but they did a few minutes later when Alabama receiver Richard Mullaney tipped a high pass and Ramirez came down with the interception. Ramirez returned the interception 18 yards to the Tide 24, and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson moved the ball to the 12.

Collins gained 2 yards on first down, Allen kept for 6 yards, and Allen executed a play-action pass and found Morgan uncovered on a crossing pattern from the right slot for a 4-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead.

The Crimson Tide reached the Arkansas 29 just before the half, but Griffith misfired wide right on a 48-yard field goal as time expired.

Sports on 10/11/2015