TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Nobody sneaks up on Alabama.
The last team to do it was Louisiana-Monroe nearly 12 years ago.
Hard as it may be to believe now, the Warhawks beat the Crimson Tide 21-14 on Nov. 17, 2007, in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
That was Nick Saban's first season as Alabama's coach. It also was the last time the Tide lost to an unranked team.
After No. 25 Auburn beat Alabama 17-10, the Tide finished the 2007 season with a 30-24 victory over Colorado in the Independence Bowl to start what has become an 88-game winning streak against unranked teams.
Alabama is 133-14 overall since beating Colorado, with all of the losses coming to ranked teams -- including seven in the top five.
The No. 1 Tide (7-0, 4-0 SEC) will look to extend their winning streak against unranked teams to 89 when they play the University of Arkansas (2-5, 0-4) tonight in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"Well, it's hard to win, period, regardless of who you're playing," Razorbacks Coach Chad Morris said. "They get everybody's best each week. When you're ranked that high and have been that good for so long, everybody comes in bringing their best.
"To see them week in and week out continue to play at a high level and win, it is impressive. It's something that we strive to have our program [attain] at some point in time. They pretty much have been the measuring block for everyone."
To put Alabama's streak in perspective, consider the highly ranked teams that have lost to unranked teams in just the past four seasons:
• In 2016, No. 3 Clemson lost at home to Pittsburgh 43-42.
• In 2017, No. 2 Clemson lost at Syracuse 27-24; No. 3 Oklahoma lost at home to Iowa State 38-31; and No. 6 Ohio State lost at Iowa 55-24.
• In 2018, No. 2 Ohio State lost at Purdue 49-20.
• This season, No. 3 Georgia lost at home to South Carolina 20-17 in double overtime, and No. 6 Wisconsin lost at Illinois 24-23.
"I think that every player should play to his standard of excellence in what he tries to do," Saban said of the key to the streak. "Always respect your opponent for what they can do.
"I think when you play in the SEC, everybody can bite you if you're not careful. Know that it's important to play to a high standard all the time. That's really what we try to get our guys to do."
Saban has heaped praise on Arkansas this week, even though the Razorbacks have lost 14 consecutive SEC games.
"Try to play one game at a time and be totally focused on that opponent when we play them," Saban said. "See if we can go out there and execute and have the right energy and intensity when the game comes."
Tonight marks Alabama's 80th game ranked No. 1 under Saban. The Tide have a 71-8 record in their previous 79 games when ranked No. 1 during Saban's tenure.
"Every team in the country plays Alabama like it's their Super Bowl," Arkansas junior center Ty Clary said. "That's just kind of how it is when you play the No. 1."
Clary wasn't aware of the Tide's 88-game winning streak against unranked teams until asked about it this week.
"I mean, they've got some really good coaches over there," he said. "Saban obviously does a really excellent job with everybody he deals with."
Alabama beat unranked Ole Miss 59-31 earlier this season.
"I think one of the best compliments you can give somebody is to be consistent," Rebels Coach Matt Luke said. "That's impressive how consistent they've been over a long period of time. Because it's hard to get good, but it's even harder to stay good. I'm impressed with [Saban's] ability to do that."
Razorbacks defensive coordinator John Chavis has faced Saban-coached Alabama teams for the past 12 years either at Tennessee, LSU, Texas A&M or Arkansas.
The past two years are the only time in that span Chavis' team wasn't ranked. Alabama beat Texas A&M 27-19 in 2017 and beat Arkansas 65-31 as part of its winning streak against unranked teams.
"I think that speaks highly of the head coach and his preparation," Chavis said of the Tide's run under Saban. "There's no doubt he runs a quality program, and there's no doubt they've got outstanding athletes.
"There's no doubt they listen to him. There's no doubt in my mind -- and I can say this because I feel quite confident -- he's the leader of that football team and that football program. He's done a great job."
Saban quoted Scripture when asked on the SEC coaches teleconference this week about humility playing a role in a coach's ability to make changes in philosophy and on his staff when needed.
"I think humility is a really important part of continuing to grow and be successful," Saban said. "There's, 'He who exults himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exulted.' I think that's probably a pretty good way to live.
"I don't think you've ever really arrived. I think there's always room for improvement. I think if you have that humility you can avoid complacency, which can kind of set a tone for not having the proper respect for doing things the right way."
It's an approach that has kept Saban and the Tide from losing to an unranked team in a long, long time.
Sports on 10/26/2019