Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0 SU, 3-2 ATS) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1 SU, 2-3 ATS)
College Football Week 6
Date/Time: Saturday, October 8, 2016 at 7PM EST
Where: Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas
TV: ESPN
By Loot, NCAA Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Betting Odds: ALA +14/ARK -14
Over/Under Total: 51
In SEC heavyweight action, the top-rated Alabama Crimson Tide come to Fayetteville to face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday at Razorback Stadium. It's already been a topsy-turvy season for Arkansas through 5 games, of which they've won 4. After suffering a loss to Texas A&M, they were dominant on Saturday with a 52-10 win over Alcorn State. Alabama stayed on the right track with a 34-6 win over Kentucky on Saturday, overcoming a slow start to pull away for the convincing win, pushing their SEC mark to 2-0.
The win over Alcorn on Saturday was the 10th win in 12 games for a resurgent Razorbacks bunch. They opened the season with a one-point win over Louisiana Tech, before beating a ranked TCU team in overtime, 41-38. A 42-3 win over Texas St. followed before they came up short against a tough A&M team. Still, the Razorbacks are looking for big things this season and nothing would bring them closer to that than a win over the defending champions and the number-one team in the country.
On Saturday, the Razorbacks put it away early. Austin Allen looked good with three touchdown passes on an efficient day of passing. They led 24-0 after the first quarter. The run game, naturally, was a big key, with Arkansas having a pair of 100-yard rushers. Of course one of them was Rawleigh Williams, who had 126 yards on 13 carries. They also got a big performance from Devwah Whaley, who had 135 yards on just 9 scampers. He broke loose a 75-yard run to help build an early lead. Cody Hollister and TJ Hammonds also ran in scores. The star of the aerial attack was Jared Cornelius, who caught two TD passes on his 106 receiving yards. They hope to have Deon Hatcher back, though he is questionable. After watching the Razorbacks run-game struggle against A&M, how will they fare at Razorbacks Stadium against the Tide?
Against outmanned opponents, the Arkansas defense has been doing its job, holding Louisiana Tech, Texas State, and Alcorn State to a combined 33 points. And even against TCU and Texas A&M, they had their moments. The problem was they couldn't maintain after starting well, with both TCU and A&M doing most of that damage late in the game. That's both promising and troubling. They've been showing they can withstand good offenses, but they haven't been clutch and they fade late. That could be a problem moving forward. They can make plays, as Henre' Tolliver had a pick-six on Saturday—this defense's third on the season. The defense will be tested in this two-week stretch, with 'Bama and then Ole Miss the next week.
Last season, the Tide beat the Razorbacks 27-14 in Tuscaloosa. Arkansas took a 7-3 lead into deep in the third quarter, before Alabama made it 27-7, with Arkansas adding a late meaningless touchdown. But it was still a difficult game for the eventual champions. At Razorback Stadium, with Austin Allen always good at home, could things maybe go a bit differently?
The Tide rolled in the second half against Kentucky to win easily after an uneven start. Now, they face back-to-back road games against Arkansas and Tennessee, a time of the year that could end up determining their fate. On Saturday, 'Bama quarterback Jalen Hurts got off to a slow start, but started rolling with a huge third quarter where he completed two touchdown passes to Calvin Ridley, who had 11 catches and 174 yards. With Damien Harris still nursing a gimpy ankle, freshman Joshua Jacobs ran for 100 yards and a TD and caught 3 balls for 54 yards. They looked a little off-key and hope to get Harris back in the fold, along with WR ArDarius Stewart (questionable) who missed his second straight game. With these next two games, they didn't seem to really turn it loose on Saturday and they didn't need to.
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The Alabama defense was again on-point against Kentucky allowing just a first and fourth quarter field goal. In the second quarter with the offense not clicking yet, Rashaan Evans stripped the ball from Stephen Johnson, with Ronnie Harrison returning the fumble for a touchdown. The Alabama defense has scored five defensive touchdowns this season, with special teams adding two. So when the offense struggles clicking into gear, there is always help on the way. Kentucky running back Stanley Williams was on a roll before he ran into this "D," gaining just 22 yards on 9 runs on the day. The Wildcats were held to 161 total yards on the day. They gave up 43 points in a win over Ole Miss in week three, but that's no shame with the Ole Miss offense doing that to everyone they face. In their 4 other games, Alabama has given up a combined 22 points.
The Razorbacks are an interesting darkhorse in this game, the kind of understated team that can jump up and provide unexpected resistance to an Alabama team that everyone is expecting just to cruise past teams like this. And we might see that this week, but a better Razorbacks teams could do one better than last season when they gave a champion Tide team some headaches. I see the Razorbacks getting the cover.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the Arkansas Razorbacks plus 14 points. Tired of your credit card not working for sportsbook deposit? End that problem today by signing up and betting the Crimson Tide vs. Razorbacks game at Bovada Sportsbook where your credit card WILL work and where you'll receive a generous 100% sign-up bonus!
