The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated Arkansas 38-14. Here are the official game notes courtesy of UA Media Relations:
ALABAMA FOOTBALL POST-GAME NOTES – ALABAMA VS. ARKANSAS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2011 • BRYANT-DENNY STADIUM • TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
ALABAMA WINS 20th CONSECUTIVE SEC OPENER: With the victory over Arkansas, Alabama has posted a 54-21-3 (.720) on-the-field record in Southeastern Conference openers dating back to the league’s inception in 1933. The Crimson Tide has won 20 straight SEC openers, dating back to the 1992 season. The streak began with a 25-8 win over Vanderbilt on Sept. 5, 1992. The 20-game winning streak includes 12 wins over Vanderbilt (1992-2001, 2006-07), five wins against Arkansas (2002, 2008-10) and one win against Kentucky (2003), Mississippi (2004) and South Carolina (2005). The last time Alabama lost a SEC opener was Sept. 14, 1991, when Florida beat Alabama 35-0 in Gainesville. The 20-game winning streak in SEC openers is the longest streak in school history and the longest active streak in the SEC. The 2011 season marked just the sixth time since divisional play began that Alabama has opened its SEC slate with a Western Division team. That also happened in 2002 (Arkansas), 2004 (Mississippi) and the last three years against (Arkansas).
ALABAMA UNDER SABAN IN SEPTEMBER: Alabama has been very successful in the opening month of the season under head coach Nick Saban. Now in his fifth season at Alabama, the Crimson Tide sports a 19-2 record in September following the win against Arkansas. Since 2008, Alabama is a perfect 16-0 in September games.
TIDE AT HOME SINCE 2008: Alabama is 23-1 in its last 24 games at Bryant-Denny Stadium, dating back to the start of the 2008 season. During that stretch the Crimson Tide has been extremely stingy on defense and very effective on offense. Some of the most impressive numbers include 50 rushing touchdowns for the Alabama offense, while the Crimson Tide defense has surrendered just two rushing touchdowns at home since the beginning of the 2008 season.
ALABAMA HAS SECOND MOST WINS SINCE 2008: Alabama has won 40 games dating back to the start of the 2008 season, which is the second-most in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Crimson Tide won 12 games in 2008, followed that with a perfect 14-0 record in 2009 and a 10-3 mark in 2010. Alabama is one win back of Boise State, with 41 wins. The Crimson Tide has the most victories of any team that plays in a BCS conference.
TIDE 42-3 UNDER SABAN WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF: Alabama led at halftime against Arkansas, 17-7. With the win, the Crimson Tide is 42-3 when leading at halftime under head coach Nick Saban. Alabama had a 28-game winning streak snapped in 2010 against LSU.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
TACKLES FOR A LOSS: Alabama was behind the Arkansas line of scrimmage much of the game as the Crimson Tide recorded 10 tackles for a loss, accounting for 41 negative yards for the Razorbacks. Linebacker Dont’a Hightower led the way for the Alabama defense with 2 tackles for a loss for 8 yards and defensive tackle Jesse Williams had 2 tackles for a loss for 7 yards. Hightower led the Crimson Tide in tackles with a total of 9 stops on the day.
NOWHERE TO RUN: Alabama held Arkansas to 17 rushing yards on 19 carries in the victory today. In head coach Nick Saban’s 58-game tenure at Alabama, the Crimson Tide has limited the opposition to less than 100 rushing yards 35 times, or 60 percent of the time. The 19 yards on the ground by Arkansas marks the third time this season the opposition has been held under 100 yards.
FIRST HALF DEFENSE: Alabama allowed just seven points in the first half of the Arkansas game. The Crimson Tide has allowed seven points or less in the first half of its last nine games. The Crimson Tide has surrendered three points or less six times over that span, including three first half shutouts:
3 – LSU (Nov. 6, 2010)
3 – Mississippi State (Nov. 13, 2010)
7- Georgia State (Nov. 18, 2010)
7- Auburn (Nov. 26, 2010)
0- Michigan State (Jan. 1, 2011)
0- Kent State (Sept. 3, 2011)
3- Penn State (Sept. 10, 2011)
0- North Texas (Sept. 17, 2011)
7- Arkansas (Sept. 24, 2011)
OFFENSIVE NOTES
McCARRON EFFICIENT IN SEC OPENER: Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron was efficient in his first career Southeastern Conference start. The redshirt sophomore was 15-of-20 for 200 yards with two touchdowns. The two touchdowns was a career best for McCarron.
SCORING VARIETY: Alabama found the end zone in a variety of ways on Saturday. The Crimson Tide threw for two touchdowns, rushed for one touchdown and returned a punt and an interception for scores. DeQuan Menzie returned an interception 25 yards for a score while Marquis Maze returned a punt 83 yards. AJ McCarron tossed two touchdown passes while Eddie Lacy rushed for a touchdown.
RICHARDSON SCORES FROM LONG RANGE: Alabama junior running back Trent Richardson scored his third touchdown on a play that was 50 yards or longer. All three scores have come in the last two games. Richardson found pay dirt on a 61-yard screen pass in the third quarter against Arkansas. He ran for two touchdowns against North Texas that were longer than 50 yards. He found the end zone on rushes of 71 and 58 yards against the Mean Green.
RICHARDSON OVER 100 AGAIN: Alabama running back Trent Richardson rushed for 126 yards on 17 carries against Arkansas on Saturday. The 126 yards on the ground marks the third straight game that Richardson has scampered over the 100-yard mark. Richardson has now recorded seven 100-yard games in his Alabama career.
RICHARDSON ON RECORD PACE: Alabama junior running back Trent Richardson has been scoring touchdowns at an alarming rate to start the 2011 season. In just four games, Richardson has found the end zone nine times. Richardson opened the year with three touchdowns against Kent State and followed that up with two more at Penn State. Richardson scored three touchdowns for Alabama against North Texas and added another against Arkansas. Richardson pushes his career total to 22 touchdowns on the ground and 28 overall. The 28 touchdowns (22 rush, 5 rec., 1 ret.) rank seventh on the Alabama career list. Shaun Alexander is the all-time leader at Alabama with 50 career touchdowns.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
MAZE OPENS HALF WITH PUNT RETURN: Alabama senior punt returner Marquis Maze took the first Crimson Tide opportunity of the second half for a touchdown on an 83-yard punt return. The punt return for a touchdown is the first of his career and the longest return of his career. The punt return was the first for a touchdown for Alabama since Javier Arenas found the end zone against Chattanooga on Nov. 21, 2009. The return also marked the 10th longest return for a touchdown in Alabama history.
SERIES NOTES
THE ALABAMA-ARKANSAS SERIES: With the win on Saturday, Alabama leads the series with Arkansas, 12-8 (15-7 before forfeited and vacated games). Alabama and Arkansas first met on January 1, 1962, as the Tide defeated the Razorbacks, 10-3, in the Sugar Bowl en route to Alabama’s sixth national championship. The Tide has won the last five meetings against Arkansas with Alabama’s last loss to the Razorbacks coming in double overtime on September 23, 2006 when Arkansas won, 24-23, in Fayetteville.
SABAN VERSUS ARKANSAS: Alabama head coach Nick Saban is 8-2 all-time against Arkansas, with his only two losses coming in his first three years at Louisiana State. Both of Saban’s losses to Arkansas came in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. Saban has never lost a game to Arkansas in Baton Rouge, Fayetteville or Tuscaloosa. Saban is 5-0 against Arkansas while at the helm of the Alabama program.
17 thoughts on “Game Notes: Alabama defeats Arkansas 38-14”
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Anymore phucking questions about this team? Some of you knuckleheads have been ragging on them since game one. But then a lot of people don’t know shyt about football. They just think if you don’t get 600 yards of offense, 50 points and 10 QB sacks that the damn team is falling apart. You just watched the 2011 National Champions at work. RTR!
Bama is the team everyone on the schedule this year hates to play. This defense is hungry as I have seen under Saban. Roll Tide!
(As of now Auburn is barely winning against FAIU at halftime)
No question. No competition. Only LSU can play us close this year and we have it at home so mark it down we go to New Orleans and threepete because you know it was stolen from us last year.
Anyone heard about the injuries??
Very concerned about Dre and C J.
Are we wearing enough, or heavy enough pads?? There sure seem to be a lot of shoulder injuries after contact with the ground.
I love the way we were laying the wood to their receivers and gang tackling. This defense is allowing Coach Saban to bring McCarron along slowly. He really gonna be a good one.
Again, our kicking sucked for much of the game. We did get one touchback. (I nearly passed out) our punting sucked, just no other way to put it.
Our defense bailed them out repeatedly too.
You know Coach Saban loves coaching a game with that defense in his toolbox.
Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t state the obvious:
The sun rises.
Auburn sux.
And so does SEC officiating!
Later.
Of course in the end it didn’t matter but how in the name of Pharty Phuckup could the officials not call facemask or personal foul on the sideline hit on Jones. And they were standing right there on national tv and God and everybody looking right at it. Saban obviously felt the same way. What next, are they gonna start allowing Uzi’s on the field? LSU’s so called great Defense gave up 400+ passiing yards and 533 total yards. That will not win a National Championship, the SEC or beat Alabama. The score in that game was completely out of line with reality. Also Okie did not impress against unranked Missouri and also gave up 550 yards on defense. And Clemson took some luster off of Okie’s win over FSU too. Don’t know what the dumbazz voters will do later, but Bama is the best team in the country by a comfortable margine. The computers have known it all along as Bama’s been ranked #1 in Sagarin since preseason. al.com, ESPN, SI, CBS and others have already begun to jump on the Bama Bandwagon since 6pm yesterday.
Yea Crimsonite,
Right after they all voted LSU number one and ahead of Alabama, because they routed WV despite giving up 400+ yards passing, then they started jumping on the Bama Bandwagon. Maybe it had something to do with promoting and building up the ALA vs Florida game.
Both ESPN’s Power Ranking and Fan Rankings have both LSU and Oklahoma ranked ahead of Alabama. SI has had LSU ranked above Alabama all year, and their most recent power ranking which came out today still has LSU ranked ahead of Alabama. CBS doesn’t have a poll that I know of, but every writer I saw with an article after this weekends games, all said LSU was the best team in the country and should be voted that way.
Everybody is fine injurywise except Milner. Coach said he’s day to day. Anyway a hurt elbow won’t keep him out if we need him, not if Barron could play the last half the season last year with a torn pectoral muscle. I had a phucking blast yesterday watching the game at BWW in Little Rock. Bwaa haw haww! One Arkansas writer this morning said that it is a widely accepted perception that Bama has 50 players who would start on SEC teams and that yesterday Arkansas felt like they were playing against all 50 of them at the same time. One blogger said he swore Alabama had 14 men on the field on defense the whole game. Bwaa haww haww! RTR!
One more thing directed at the cum slurping Barnturds and Vounqueers. You bastards get off on the bullshyt that Bear was the biggest cheater of all. Why? Because you’re whining pussies, that’s why! You couldn’t beat him and you can’t stomach his untouchable success at Bama. The cheating at A&M was done by Boosters, not by him. Take a look at Alabama’s roster and Saban’s recruiting record and their already commited recruits the next two years. It reads like an elite division of the Navy Seals. And this all done in an age of induced parity immediately after coming off 15 years of sanction induced mediocraty. So tell me azzholes, why in hell would Bear have to cheat to get superior athletes during an age when there were no recruiting limits and Bama was the King of football? The undisputed King. Even the greatest NFL coach of all time, Lombardi, said that Super Bowl winner Green Bay couldn’t claim to be the World Champion because they hadn’t played Alabama. Bear did not cheat. The name Bama attracts the best!
Crimson,
I used to let the comments about Coach Bryant bother me. Then I realized the truth.
The man has been dead almost 30 years! They talk about us living off a “dead bear” but who is it that can’t let go???
They rail on about Coach Bryant cheating and drinking and womanizing 30 yrs later because in their minds, Paul William Bryant is still kicking their asses.
Now, I just laugh at their pathetic selves.
Poor things. Fighting a battle in their minds they’ll never win.
Can you imagine torturing yourself like that???
There was some things about the game that had me cussing – the 3 and out at the goal line – the lousy punting – and the no-calls on Arkansas cheap ass shots.
All in all. It is good to be king. The next test – will be interesting.
Pluto, you, the paragon of virtue, cuss???
Who knew?
Did anyone see the Awbarn-Florida Antartica game?
Florida Atlantis is one of the worst teams in the country.
90 yards of offense per game. The Awbarn defense actually made Florida Atlantica look good.
The difference in the game?- Turnovers. Take those out and the game goes down to the wire.
Auburns next stretch of games:
at South Carolina – LOSS
at Arkansas – LOSS
Florida – LOSS
at LSU – LOSS
Ole Miss – Could go either way, but lets say WIN
at Georgia – LOSS
Samford – Win, but barely
Alabama LOSS
They will likely be 5-7, possibly worse. I suspect they fall apart after 4 losses in a row, and Bama is just going to apply the worse beatdown they take this year. That defense is hungry, and motivated, and you know that Iron Bowl from last season is the inspiration for this years team.
Yeah, I’d say that Barnies only hope to survive the Iron Bowl with at least one testicle intact is for Bama to be undefeated and #1 at the time. Maybe a little big brother mercy. But if we lose to say Florida and LSU and all hope for anything is over except for Iron Bowl revenge then I would bet tricky Nickey will make a point to put that other nut on his grill and have a plate of Mountain Oysters. RTR!
Crimsonite,
It would be interesting for all the readers it you would repost all the things you said before last years Iron Bowl! With the taste of that much crow in your mouth I don’t know how you can even open your mouth except to pull Finebaums manhood out.
Just an observation, but I’ve been watching football a long, long time and I have never seen a more vicious defense than Alabama’s was Saturday. Those guys looked like a Tasmanian Devil on Acid. They weren’t waiting to set up the tackles so they wouldn’t miss, they were just simply launching themselves like fricking rockets at anybody who had the ball. It’s not enough that they have the best talent in college football, they also have the mindset of a professional killer. That Arky QB is one tough SOB, but I damn sure wouldn’t want change bodys with him this week. Don’t know if they make a whirlpool bath big enough for his mutilated azz. In this day of jet fuel offenses it will be difficult to set statistical records, but it looks to me like this could be the best defense Bama has ever had. I damn sure wouldn’t want to play offense against it. You could get maimed for life. RTR!
Hey dipshyt, you think last years IB meant something. Let’s go back a year with the same things at stake and replay it. Don’t want too? Naw I didn’t think so. You’ed get your azzes stomped 9 out of 10 times. And now what? You think that just because you bastards lucked up and squeeked out that 1 out of 10 times win last year that you stand the same chance this year? Bwaa haww haww! You seem to forget that ya’ll suck and you’ve already had your azzes handed to this year by whom? Oh yes, that bastion of tradition and power, Clemson! Bwaa haww haww. Tell you what dipshyt, if Bama loses the IB I’ll streak the field naked and get my azz tasered just for you! Bwaa haww haww! RTR!