Alabama's 13th consecutive win over Arkansas, like many expected, was a breeze.
The Crimson Tide entered the game as a 30-plus point favorite even without its Heisman Trophy-candidate starting quarterback and cruised to a 48-7 win over the Razorbacks at home.
Mac Jones, making the first start of his Alabama career in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa (high ankle sprain), filled in and did not skip a beat, completing 18 of his 22 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns.
"Definitely want to credit Alabama. They’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason," Arkansas coach Chad Morris said. "I think that they, as we knew they would, put a plan together for (Jones) that they felt comfortable in and getting the ball underneath in space and letting his athletes and his wide receivers get out in space. That’s been a challenge not just for us, it’s for every team that they’ve played.
"I thought they did a great job of that and I thought he came in and played well."
While Jones was efficient and placed the ball in the hands of his stable of playmakers in his two-plus quarters in charge of the Crimson Tide offense, the Razorbacks aided Alabama's explosive start with turnovers. Starting quarterback Nick Starkel, who was largely ineffective in the team's loss at Kentucky in his most recent start, showed no signs of improvement Saturday.
Starkel completed only 5 of 19 pass attempts for 58 yards and was intercepted three times in the first half before being pulled in favor of third-string quarterback John Stephen Jones, who had not seen the field in the first seven games of the season.
His third and final interception of the game was returned 84 yards for a touchdown by Trevon Diggs, who had a 100-yard fumble recovery against Tennessee last weekend. Starkel exited the game with 10 interceptions to his name this season - four in the red zone.
"I thought Nick did some good things," Morris said. "We’ve got to go back and study why we’re making some bad decisions with the football. And that’s on us as coaches to figure that out. Again, I know he’s got several of those throws he wishes he had back. Again, you can’t go out and spot a team of this caliber with a short field and expect to be in the ballgame and we weren’t.
"It got away from us early on in the first half and it was turnovers and short fields."
The junior also mishandled a snap that was a touch high from center Ty Clary, and Alabama linebacker Christian Harris recovered and returned the loose ball 37 yards to the Arkansas 14. On the ensuing play, Jones threw his first career touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs, a 14-yarder, to put the Tide up 14-0 less than 11 minutes in.
Jones also found 2018 Biletnikoff Award winner Jerry Jeudy for another 14-yard touchdown, then running back Najee Harris added a pair of 1-yard rushing scores in the first half as Alabama raced to a 41-0 halftime lead. It marked the Razorbacks' largest halftime time deficit of the modern era.
Both sides scored just one touchdown in the second half as reserves took over. Taulia Tagovailoa, Tua's younger brother, led the Alabama offense late and completed 6 of 8 passes for 45 yards. Jones took each second-half snap for the Razorbacks and led them on a scoring drive that resulted in tight end Cheyenne O'Grady's eight-yard score to begin the fourth quarter.
O'Grady, who finished with four grabs for 13 yards, now owns the school record for touchdown catches by a tight end with 12.
O'Grady was about the only bright spot for the Razorbacks in the loss. Running back Rakeem Boyd totaled 105 yards of offense, too, 55 through the air on four catches and 50 rushing on 12 touches. Arkansas running backs were solid catching passes out of the backfield from Starkel and Jones, who targeted tailbacks on four of seven passes. Devwah Whaley also tallied two catches for 24 yards.
True freshman Treylon Burks was the only traditional receiver with a reception, and it came on the Razorbacks' second series of the game. Starkel hit Burks over the middle on a crossing route for a 15-yard gain three plays prior to fumbling the snap from Clary. Freshman receiver Trey Knox was targeted only once.
Defensively, the Razorbacks had no answers for the Crimson Tide. Alabama averaged 6.8 yards per play and 11.7 yards per completion. It also converted 8 of 13 third-down tries and held a nine-plus minute advantage in time of possession. Free safety Joe Foucha finished with a game-high 13 tackles, nine solo, and a pass breakup.
"I thought that it was disappointing to let the ball get over the top of us on a couple occasions," Morris said. "That was disappointing to see. We knew they were going to get the ball out in space and we knew we were going to have to take great angles to rally and get them down. ... They were put in some bad spots right there, but again, we all have to go back in and this football team’s got to continue to get better."
Multiple times in his postgame remarks Morris said the team is moving on to Mississippi State next weekend. The Bulldogs, who have lost four in a row in SEC play since a 28-13 win over Kentucky on Sept. 21, present perhaps the Razorbacks' best chance at a conference win in 2019. Mississippi State lost 49-30 at Texas A&M on Saturday.
Arkansas and Mississippi State are scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. next Saturday.
"It's about getting into the month of November and getting better," Morris added. "That's really where we're at. These guys will be back in there and we're going to get back together and work on getting better. Again, it's about getting back home this Saturday."