9/21 The Arkansas Game
The SEC season is underway, and Alabama started it off in fine fashion by taking down the Arkansas Razorbacks 49-14 on Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, AR. Bama started fast in this one, scoring a TD on the opening drive, aided by a crucial “Running Into the Kicker” penalty on our first punt attempt. Shortly after that penalty, Mark Ingram was once again punishing defenders on his way to the end zone. After a scintillating Glen Coffee 87-yard TD run, and a Javier Arenas interception return for a TD, the score was 21-0. The outcome was never in doubt after that point.
There were so many highlights in this game that it’s hard to know where to start. First and foremost, our running game was absolutely phenomenal, racking up 328 yards on the ground. Besides Coffee’s 87-yard TD run, he also had a 31-yard TD run early in the third quarter. Adding to Arkansas’s misery, Roy Upchurch had an outstanding 62-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter, immediately after Arkansas scored their second (and final) TD of the game. And just to add a note here, big congratulations to Roy for that TD run. As you Bama football fans might remember, Upchurch was actually the most highly touted running back prospect we’ve had here in quite some time. He spurned his hometown Florida State Seminoles to come to the Capstone, and he did it at a time when we desperately needed RBs. Even though you could argue that he hasn’t lived up to his expectations, he has been a solid contributor, and on that 62-yard run, you could see the untapped talent that still lives inside this guy. Great job, Roy!
And before I leave the subject of our fantastic running game, I want to mention our offensive line. When it comes to run blocking, those guys are blocking like madmen! We knew that we had two outstanding linemen in Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell, but who knew that Michael Johnson was going to be such a beast at LG? As you may recall, he was our starting RT last year, but he was below average at that position (and that’s being kind). Since he has moved to LG, he has completely turned it around, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get All-SEC consideration. Marlon Davis has always been solid at RG, but this year he has raised his game to the proverbial next level. Like Johnson, I think he deserves All-SEC consideration. Even Drew Davis is holding his own at RT, which is a pleasant surprise.
This was a huge win for Alabama, and as I said in last week’s blog, it was absolutely vital if Alabama wanted to have any chance of playing in the SEC Championship Game this year. However, even with this dominating win, there are still a few areas of concern. Most importantly, even though our OL is dominant in run blocking, they quite frankly aren’t very good in pass protection. Pass protection does require different techniques than run blocking, but it’s unusual to see so much disparity between the quality of the two. JPW was under constant pressure against Arkansas, and if that doesn’t improve very, very quickly and dramatically, we’re going to have a tough time against Georgia. I take that back. We’re going to have a tough time against Georgia anyway. If the pass protection doesn’t improve greatly, they’ll slaughter us.
Along the same lines, our defensive line didn’t get very much pressure on Arkansas’s QB. As a matter of fact, even though we had a huge first half lead, Arkansas was moving the ball very well against us through the air, in large part due to the lack of a pass rush. Arkansas has a pretty good OL (and one of the nation’s best centers), but it’s nothing compared to some of the OLs we’ll be seeing in the near future, starting next week. We simply have to generate a pass rush from our front 4 to protect our secondary. Admittedly, the defense in general did look better in the second half, so hopefully they’ll carry that level of play over into next week.
Now let’s briefly address the 800-pound gorilla that’s sitting here in the room. Next week we play the Number 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs on their home turf in Athens, GA, in a game that can not only change he course of a season, but also elevate an entire program. If we lose the game, we’ll still be all right. We’ll be in the Top 20 with a 4-1 record, and we’ll have a path (albeit a very difficult one) to the SEC Championship. However, if we win, we’ll be in the Top 5, and we’ll be favored in every game we play up until LSU. The whole nation will take notice, and recruits will see that Bama is turning into Bama again.
So can we do it? In short, yes, but it will be unbelievably difficult. Georgia has by far the nation’s best RB in Knowshon Moreno. They have a future Top Ten NFL draft pick at QB in Matthew Stafford. They have great WRs, led by true freshmen AJ Green (second to only Julio in freshmen WR talent). They have a strong, experienced OL, and their DL is absolutely brutal. Their linebacker and secondary units are filled with All-American talent. Plus, they have one of the greatest gameday coaches that I’ve ever seen. Couple all of that with the fact that Georgia will approach this game with a singular sense of purpose, and you see what kind of challenge lies ahead of us. Still, we have weapons of our own, and I’m sure we’ll give this one everything we have. It sure feels good to be part of a game like this again, doesn’t it?
That’s it for now. Be sure to check back next week as I review this epic clash of Top Ten teams. Until then, as always, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
Roll Tide,
Kenny
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