Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

9/25/2011 at 2:45pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Dennis Johnson's 10-yard touchdown catch helped tie the Arkansas-Alabama game at 7. It was one of the few offensive highlights.

ALABAMA 38, ARKANSAS 14

OFFENSE – D
HIGHLIGHTS: There was a moment it looked like Arkansas would have a promising day offensively. Tyler Wilson went 9 of 10 for 67 yards to lead a touchdown drive that included a 10-yard pass to Dennis Johnson to tie the game at 7. Wilson showed great toughness in taking shots all day long from Alabama’s defense, including a ferocious hit as he hung in the pocket long enough to deliver a touchdown pass to Cobi Hamilton in the third quarter. Ronnie Wingo had a nice 39-yard catch and run for a touchdown. He and Johnson both showed flashes in the passing game. But about that running game …

LOWLIGHTS: Arkansas managed 17 rushing yards on 19 carries. Behind an offensive line that failed to open up holes and often lost the battle up front, Wingo managed 35 yards on 11 carries. While the blocking could have been better Wingo continued to run timid. He appeared to fall down before contact on one play while attempting to brace himself for a hit. Wilson had the next highest total with three yards — THREE — on one carry. Total the Razorbacks managed their lowest offensive output since their 5-7 season in 2008 and averaged .9 yards per carry. Take out a sack of Brandon Mitchell and the average was 1.5 yards. Wilson threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and on the same play it appeared wide receiver Greg Childs didn’t finish his route. Alabama’s defensive backs once again intimidated the Razorback receivers and they failed to finish routes, dropped balls and couldn’t elude/break tackles. 

DEFENSE – B-minus
HIGHLIGHTS: This was a good effort, especially when taking into account defensive end Jake Bequette was out for the week and defensive end Tenarius Wright, safety Tramain Thomas and cornerback Isaac Madison all left the game with injuries. That’s not an excuse. Merely a statement of fact. Still, Arkansas didn’t allow an offensive touchdown until 9:57 left in the third quarter. Alabama was stuffed on three consecutive plays from inside the two and had to settle for an early field goal. Not bad for a defensive line and overall unit that was running low on bodies. Arkansas had two sacks, which is an improvement.

LOWLIGHTS: Alabama’s offense couldn’t put points on the board until late. But defensive breakdowns allowed them to put up two touchdowns that eliminated any chance of Arkansas hanging in the game. Trent Richardson, whose 235 all-purpose yards eclipsed Arkansas’ entire offensive production, took a screen pass 61 yards for a touchdown. Later Eddie Lacy capped a late drive with a four-yard touchdown run and the Crimson Tide averaged 5.1 yards per carry.

SPECIAL TEAMS D-minus
HIGHLIGHTS: Keeping the ball out of the hands of Alabama’s return men was clearly a focal point. Zach Hocker made sure that happened twice by booting kicks out of the end zone. Punter Dylan Breeding was steady in what was easily his most work of the season, averaging 44.6 yards on eight attempts. Dennis Johnson had a 30-yard kick return.

LOWLIGHTS: Where to begin? Punt coverage was atrocious as evidenced by Marquis Maze’s 83-yard punt return for a touchdown. Give Maze credit for an outstanding play, but he broke what appeared to be four or five tackles on the way into the end zone. Officially, Alabama’s first touchdown went down as a trick play, fake field goal. But when quarterback/holder AJ McCarron went into the backfield to take a snap from the shotgun and the kicker went to a wide receiver spot, there should have been a timeout. Instead there was poor defensive end D.D. Jones trying to defend a tight end, which will work almost never. Bobby Petrino said he took the blame for no timeout. He should. A rare and damaging breakdown in coaching.

OVERALL — D
WHAT WE LEARNED Alabama is a legit national title contender. Arkansas is not at this time. Lack of downfield passing and consistent running apparently weren’t missing from the playbook because they were “being saved.” They don’t exist. The Razorbacks were outmanned and overmatched throughout the day, something exacerbated by poor execution in all three phases. Arkansas is capable of more, but if Saturday was the first time you’d watched the Razorbacks you wouldn’t know it. There's still a lot of the season left. The Texas A&M game could tell a lot about what this team is capable of the rest of the way.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME
OFFENSE: Give Tyler Wilson credit. He didn’t have great numbers, but showed true grit in hanging in the pocket and delivering (or attempting to deliver) the ball as he withstood substantial punishment from Alabama defenders.

DEFENSE: Considering the level of competition, it wasn’t unfair to view Alonzo Highsmith’s early play with a bit of skepticism. But there was Highsmith atop the tackle chart again after facing No. 3 Alabama. Highsmith finished with a team-high eight stops, including two for loss and a sack.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Pass … We’ll pick two Razorbacks another week, unless we hand it out to Alabama’s Marquis Maze for his Joe Adams-ish, 83-yard punt return.

Tagged: Arkansas Razorbacks, Nick Saban, Alonzo Highsmith, Tyler Wilson, Ronnie Wingo Jr., Alabama Crimson Tide, Bobby Petrino