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Here is your hub for in-game coverage of Alabama’s home game against SEC west foe Arkansas. I will be posting live stats and analysis from today’s game here throughout the game, in addition to some photos and video. For more in-game coverage, follow me on Twitter: @Brett_Hudson.

Third Quarter

– 13:21. Former Alabama right end Michael Williams congratulates O.J. Howard on his touchdown.

– 13:28. Alabama isn’t giving a man time to work anymore. The Tide forces a fumble on the opening kickoff of the third quarter, recovers it and scores 90 seconds later. Alabama 35, Arkansas 0

Halftime

Quote from Nick Saban

“It was a great first drive. The offense has done a really good job making some big plays and making some explosive plays. I think it’s important we control the tempo of the game on offense. That’s really, really important. Vinnie (Sunseri) got hurt, and that kind of messed s up in the secondary. These guys are good backs. We’re going to have to do a better job of tackling in the second half.”

Stats

Total Yards: Alabama 270, Arkansas 137
Rush Yards: Alabama 132, Arkansas 63
Pass Yards: Alabama 138, Arkansas 74
Time of Possession: Arkansas 16:56, Alabama 13:04
Penalties: Alabama, 0-0. Arkansas, 1-5.
AJ McCarron: 9-12, 89 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions
T.J. Yeldon: 8 carries, 47 yards; 3 catches, 28 yards
Kenyan Drake: 6 carries, 85 yards, 2 touchdowns; 1 catch, 11 yards
Amari Cooper: 3 catches, 65 yards, 1 touchdown
Brandon Allen: 5-13, 74 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception
Alex Collins: 8 carries, 20 yards
Johnathan Williams: 6 carries, 17 yards
C.J Mosley: 9 tackles
HaHa Clinton-Dix: 3 tackles, 1 interception
Pagan, J. Williams, L. Collins, Devall and Stinson: 3 tackles each

Notes

– Kenyan Drake’s first touchdown made it 16 games in-a-row in which Alabama has scored a rushing touchdown.

– For the third week in-a-row, Alabama has accumulated more than 250 yards of offense in the first half. Alabama had 308 against Georgia State, 372 against Kentucky and 270 tonight against the Razorbacks.

– Alabama leads its opponents in first downs on the season 158-91.

– Alabama shut out its opponent in the first half for the 8th time in the last 11 games, including all of its last 5 games (Texas A&M and Virginia Tech both scored in the first half).

Second Quarter

– 1:07. Now that had 2012 written all over it. Amari Cooper scored big on the corner route quite often last season, and does it again on that touchdown pass. Alabama 28, Arkansas 0

– 2:54. When Alabama finally does get a stop after giving up more yards in one possession that it did all game before that possession, the Tide blocks a field goal. Deion Belue credited with the block.

– 6:03. Arkansas finding some rhythm offensively. Some busts in the coverage in the secondary have forced Alabama to do something other than sell out on the run, now the Razorbacks can have some sort of offensive balance.

– 9:03. Kenyan Drake: 5 touches, 62 yards, 12 points. Arkansas: 17 plays, 62 yards, 0 points. Drake busts a 46-yard run for his second touchdown of the game. Alabama 21, Arkansas 0

– 9:43. Mission, accomplished. The quick passes earlier in the game has the Razorbacks playing with 7 in the box. Not a good look when Alabama decides to run the ball as Yeldon busts one for 27 yards and a first down on the first play of this possession.

– 11:00.

– 13:55. Arkansas starting to pull some tricks out of the bag, at one point in that possession pulling an audible to a five wide receiver formation. The tricks continue when Arkansas converts on a 4th down with a fake punt.

First Quarter

Total Yards: Alabama 114, Arkansas 33
Rush Yards: Alabama 40, Arkansas 1
Pass Yards: Alabama 74, Arkansas 32
AJ McCarron: 7-9, 74 yards, 1 touchdown
Brandon Allen: 3-5, 32 yards, 1 interception
T.J. Yeldon: 6 carries, 18 yards; 3 catches, 28 yards
Kenyan Drake: 4 carries, 16 yards, 1 touchdown
Amari Cooper: 2 catches, 35 yards
Alex Collins: 1 carry, 1 yard

– 1:00. All is forgiven, Mosley. Mosley did a better job in coverage on the next play, blanketing the intended receiver and forcing a deflection. HaHa Clinton-Dix, in his first game back, comes down with the pick and gives Alabama the ball back.

– 1:33. On that big first down through the air for Arkansas, Alabama got caught in the wrong zone blitz. Ran the blitz to the strong side of a formation with two wide receivers split wide, forced C.J. Mosley to cover the slot receiver from the inside. Couldn’t quite get there in time.

– 4:06. While Vinnie Sunseri receives medical attention after hurting his leg on the kickoff, HaHa Clinton-Dix is forced into a bigger role. Previously was only going to be situational, now has to play full time.

– 4:36. I look down at my iPad to freak out over Auburn beating Texas A&M on the road, then look up and Alabama has scored. Not really, but that didn’t take long at all. Got to wonder if Arkansas is losing its will already. Alabama 14, Arkansas 0

– 6:57. I couldn’t see in real time if Alabama got a piece of that punt, but Arkansas ends its three-and-out with a 22-yard punt. Alabama will start its second possession in Arkansas territory after going 12 plays and 68 yards for the TD.

– 8:09.

– 9:09. T.J. Yeldon was responsible for 38 of Alabama’s 68 yards on the game-opening touchdown drive.

– 9:09. Presnap motion had McCarron under center with three tight ends to his left: Brian Vogler, Jalston Fowler and O.J. Howard, from the inside-out in that order. Vogler and Howard both ran routes up the field, taking the defense with them (exactly according to plan), leaving Fowler open (“butt naked open” as he would call it) for the touchdown. Alabama 7, Arkansas 0

– 11:33. Alabama follows suit with a bubble screen to Christion Jones. Again, forcing Arkansas to take the 8th man out of the box and give the running game a chance early on to get some momentum. (It showed. T.J. Yeldon ran for a first down on the next play.)

– 12:37. That’s the second time AJ McCarron has went to T.J. Yeldon in the flat: one as a dumpoff and the other as a designed screen with a lead blocker. Very smart way to force Arkansas to respect the pass and try to open things up for the run game.

– 13:57.

And then pistol on the third. Seriously, I love this offense. So much to prepare for, not nearly enough time.

Pregame

Observations from Warmups

– HaHa Clinton-Dix was working with the second-team defense when the team practiced did its 11-on-11 warmups. Also in the secondary, Eddie Jackson was warming up with the second team defense, but in the 11-on-11, the two cornerbacks were John Fulton and Maurice Smith.

– Jalston Fowler was taking the handoffs as the No. 2 running back, not Kenyan Drake.

– I will add, take what was seen in the 11-on-11 with a grain of salt. Kenny Bell took more snaps at the Z wide receiver position than Kevin Norwood did, and that has not been the case at all in games this season.

Numbers to Know***

6: Arkansas is tied for 6th in the nation with eight runs of 30 yards or more. Arkansas also has six runs of 40 or more yards so far this season.

27: Alabama has allowed 27 first downs by runs. That not only leads the SEC, but is also tied for 2nd in the nation with Rutgers. Michigan State leads the nation, only allowing 13 rushing first downs.

24: Despite missing two games due to suspension, safety HaHa Clinton-Dix is still second on the team in tackles with 24. Linebacker C.J. Mosley leads the team with 48. Trey Depriest, Ed Stinson and Vinnie Sunseri all have 20 or more tackles, as well.

12: Alabama ranks 12th in the SEC in tackles for a loss with 31. Only Texas A&M (29) and Kentucky (21) have fewer. Arkansas ranks 4th in the conference with 42 tackles for a loss. Auburn leads the conference with 49.

2: Number of times Nick Saban has lost to Arkansas as the head coach of an SEC team. Saban lost to the Razorbacks twice in five years as LSU’s head coach and is 6-0 against Arkansas at Alabama.

***All numbers are as of Friday and do not include games that began and/or finished before kickoff of the Alabama game on Saturday.

Starting Lineup

QB: AJ McCarron
RB: T.J. Yeldon
WR: DeAndrew White
WR: Christion Jones
WR: Kenny Bell
WR: Kevin Norwood
WR: Amari Cooper
H-Back: Jalston Fowler
TE: Brian Vogler
LT: Cyrus Kouandjio
LG: Arie Kouandjio
C: Chad Lindsay
RG: Anthony Steen
RT: Austin Shepherd

DE: Jeoffrey Pagan
NG: Brandon Ivory
DE: Ed Stinson
OLB: Adrian Hubbard
OLB: Denzel Devall
ILB: Trey Depriest
ILB: C.J. Mosley
DB: Jarrick Williams
DB: Geno Smith
CB: Deion Belue
CB: Bradley Sylve
S: Landon Collins
S: Vinnie Sunseri

Players to Watch

Alabama noseguard Brandon Ivory: Alabama’s powerful run-stopping defensive lineman needs to have a physical presence in today’s game if Alabama is going to successfully stuff Arkansas’ run game. The two tight end sets Arkansas will run at Alabama today makes Ivory’s ability to demand two blockers on every play of the utmost importance.

Arkansas center Travis Swanson: Hands-down the best center in the SEC. Swanson’s ability to control his man on every play – and get his teammates on the right page – may have more of an effect on Arkansas winning than anything else. When Swanson goes, Arkansas goes.

Outside linebacker Xzavier Dickson: Since Denzel Devall is not quite to 100 percent with his knee injury, Dickson has to play well and take snaps away from Devall, who needs the rest before the end of the season stretch comes. Dickson has taken advantage of opportunities he has gotten this year, but this is going to be the best one he has had yet: Arkansas’ run game will force Alabama to play a lot of its base 3-4, thus more snaps for Dickson.