Live Game Blog: Alabama vs. Arkansas

Alabama 49, Arkansas 14 (FINAL)

The Hogs will need to put this one deep back into their minds. Top 10 Texas awaits the Hogs, who surely need some run defense and consistency on offense to get them through the season. Very tough stretch awaits the Hogs.

Come back to WholeHogSports.com later this afternoon for our game stories.

FOURTH QUARTER
Alabama 49, Arkansas 14

UPDATE (2:20 p.m.): So… ‘Bama isn’t done scoring, even with their backups in. Tailback Roy Upchurch rumbled 62 yards for a touchdown. The Hogs have allowed 297 rush yards this afternoon. The rush defense has been very, very bad in this game for the Hogs. They’ve got some work to do there as they head into Texas Week.

 

The Roll Tide chants from the contingent of ‘Bama fans on the northeast side of the stadium during the ensuing kickoff is filling the stadium.

 

There’s 10:06 remaining as Arkansas’ backups get some work on offense. Tyler Wilson, however, on a third-and-13 threw his first interception of his career to Chris Rogers. There’s 9 minutes remaining and Alabama has the ball on its own 36.

 

This will be our final update during the game. I’ll come back and update a bit after the game and player interviews.

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Alabama 42, Arkansas 14

UPDATE (2:11 p.m.): Tyler Wilson just tossed the first touchdown of his collegiate career with a 6-yarder to Michael Smith. Arkansas is down 42-14 after Alex Tejada’s extra point kick with 10:59 remaining.

Wilson rolled to his right on the play and found Smith near the right pylon for pass to the junior’s stomach. The Hogs drove 34 yards on six plays in their second scoring drive of the afternoon.

The fans have filtered out pretty quickly. I’d say the stands are about 65 percent full.

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Alabama 42, Arkansas 7

UPDATE (2:06 p.m.): Ramon Broadway has Arkansas’ first turnover of the season. He just picked off John Parker Wilson with 12:47 remaining at the Alabama 34. The Hogs will have that to build on next week, at least.

Tyler Wilson is in at quarterback for the Razorbacks and just completed a 9-yard pass to Michael Smith on first down. And Michael Smith ran 11 yards afterward for a first down. The Hogs have the ball at the ‘Bama 14 now with 12:33 remaining.

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THIRD QUARTER
Alabama 42, Arkansas 7

UPDATE (1:42 p.m.): Well, Arkansas just got a 9-yard penalty for sideline interference by a Razorbacks coach. It resulted to a third-and-18, and after a short Casey Dick pass to Michael Smith, the Hogs punted.

The interference came after what appeared to be a pass interference on the Alabama secondary. The coaches were irate, and thus the interference and delay of the game.

The penalty, however, got a loud roar from the crowd, which has obviously been looking for something to cheer for all day. The Razorbacks defense has ‘Bama pinned at its own 10 right now and seems to be getting some pressure on John Parker Wilson. The Tide is content with just running the ball and the clock right now, though.

There’s 5:37 remaining in the third quarter.

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Alabama 42, Arkansas 7

UPDATE (1:25 p.m.): Casey Dick was intercepted (his third of the day) on the very first play of the second half at his own 34.

Then Nick Saban’s espresso machine got to churning again as Glen Coffee ran in from 31 yards out for his second touchdown of the day. He has six carries for 145 yards.

The student section is about half full now. They can sense that the Hogs’ hopes of getting back into this one are pretty small.

HALFTIME
Alabama 35, Arkansas 7

Here are some quick statistics and notes before the second half kicks off.

The most amazing is the time of possession. Alabama has had the ball for just 8:08 in this game, compared to Arkansas’ 21:52. Yet the Tide is up huge right now thanks to an 87-yard run by Glen Coffee (5 carries, 114 yards, 1 touchdown) and two interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Michael Smith is doing well on the ground. He has 15 carries for 81 yards against the No. 1 rush defense in the nation right now. The Tide had been allowing 42.7 yards per game on the ground.

Casey Dick is 15-of-26 through the air for 145 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. Alabama’s John Parker Wilson is 8-of-13 for 57 yards and 1 touchdown, which was a 25-yarder to freshman Julio Jones on a third-and-long.

I expect the Hogs to come out throwing the ball a bit in the second half. It isn’t like they’ve had trouble moving the ball (they have 234 yards of offense), but mistakes are killing the Hogs. ‘Bama certainly looks like a top 10 team right now.

SECOND QUARTER
Alabama 35, Arkansas 7

UPDATE (12:58 p.m.): Four tries at the 2-yard line weren’t enough for Arkansas. Two Brandon Barnett runs that accounted for 1 yard, a Casey Dick incomplete pass at the feet of De’Anthony Curtis in the end zone and a Michael Smith run for no gain on fourth-and-goal gave Alabama the ball at its own 2-yard line.

The Tide ran the clock out on the ensuing possession and are now headed to the locker room.

Smith had been running wild on the Hogs’ final possession before the stuffs at the goal line. Smith even broke a run of 30 yards during the drive.

We’ll have some halftime stats up as soon as possible.

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Alabama 35, Arkansas 7

UPDATE (12:43 p.m.): Casey Dick has two interceptions and two missed tackles today. With Arkansas driving — again — Dick inexplicably threw a floater toward the ‘Bama sideline and Justin Woodall was standing right there for a 74-yard interception touchdown return with 6:15 remaining.

Dick had a chance to tackle him but missed near the 30-yard line again. That’s the second interception returned for a touchdown. Take those away and the Hogs might be in this game 21-7 or 21-14.

Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes.

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Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Julio Jones with 8:31 remaining on a third-and-9. Arkansas’ defense just hasn’t been up to the task today.

Alabama is just eating up the Hogs on the ground right now. The Tide has 167 yards on the ground and tailback Mark Ingram had 15- and 26-yard gains during that latest touchdown drive that went 68 yards on five plays and took just 1:59 off the clock.

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Alabama 21, Arkansas 7

UPDATE (12:28 p.m.): The Razorbacks are on the board. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the ‘Bama 12-yard-line, Casey Dick rolled out and completed a 12-yard pass to a wide open Andrew Davie in the left side of the end zone. Literally, no one was covering him.

The Hogs went 47 yards on that drive, converting one third down and the fourth-down touchdown pass. Alex Tejada knocked in the extra point with 10:30 remaining in the first half.

The Hogs really needed that if they want to keep up with the Tide’s pace. They’re certainly rolling right now.

FIRST QUARTER
Alabama 21, Arkansas 0

UPDATE (12:16 p.m.): The Hogs moved down field again on offense after forcing a ‘Bama punt, driving 51 yards, but Casey Dick tossed an interception to the speedy cornerback Javier Arenas, who bolted 63 yards for a touchdown, juking Dick out of his shoes at one point at about the Arkansas 30-yard line.

There’s 53 seconds left in the first quarter and this could get very ugly if the Hogs don’t get something going on offense.

Dennis Johnson just had a 41-yard kickoff return. The Hogs have the ball at the ‘Bama 47.

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Alabama 14, Arkansas 0

UPDATE (12:02 p.m.): How long does it take to make coffee? Well, for Alabama, 13 seconds. Junior tailback Glen Coffee just bolted 87 yards in 13 seconds with 6:52 remaining in the first quarter.

Arkansas had been moving the ball down the field on the previous possession on offense but a block in the back on London Crawford scooted the Hogs back to their own 49-yard line and the Hogs never recovered on a first-and-20. The Hogs punted, pinned the Tide to their own 13, but then Coffee exploded.

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Alabama 7, Arkansas 0

UPDATE (11:48 a.m.): Remember how we’ve been talking about how mistakes have been costly for the Hogs in special teams? Well, the trend continues. After the Hogs were pretty stout on defense and held Alabama to a punt, freshman Elton Ford ran into the kicker. What resulted was a continuation of the drive, a 26-yard pass from John Parker Wilson to Earl Alexander, and a couple more runs as the Tide got into the end zone with 10:40 remaining.

The Hogs almost had an interception on the third down prior to the punt at the Arkansas 48.

The Tide went 71 yards on 10 plays on the drive.
Pre-game (11:17 a.m.): They were having some Internet problems up here in the press box, but it seems to be working right now. So, if there is a lack of updates, it’s most likely because the Internet has gone down again.

Other than that, the Hogs are about 15 minutes away from kickoff against No. 9 Alabama. No big news to report prior to kickoff. But, man, the stands, as of right now, are pretty empty. They’ll fill up in the next 30 minutes I’m sure. It’s way too early.

Keep it here.

– Brandon Marcello
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Filed under: Arkansas Football, Game Live Blogs by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: September 20, 2008 at 10:19 am