Alabama football had no problem with Arkansas State Saturday afternoon. Tua and Jalen Hurts had no problem producing points for the Tide.
Alabama football took down the Arkansas Red Wolves 57-7 Saturday afternoon. The outcome was no surprise. The point difference may have been a slight surprise. Nick Saban pumped the breaks on the Tide offense for most of the second half. Otherwise, the score would have been even more one-sided.
Tua and Jalen got all the QB snaps until Mac Jones came in late in the final quarter. Both Tua and Jalen were impressive. Tua was 13-19 for 228 yards, plus 20 yards on the ground. Jalen was 7-9 for 93 yards and 32 yards rushing. Tua threw four touchdown passes, Jalen had two. The only flaw in Jalen’s game was a lost fumble near the goal line after a bold running move.
The passer ratings for the two Crimson Tide QBs were almost identical. Tua was 238.7 while Jalen was 237.9.
Many Alabama football fans (including me), along with several insiders and a few media experts were surprised Jalen played against ASU. Rumors of a redshirt decision became a broadly reported presumption. The premise was Jalen would make himself available to back up Tua for up to four games in 2018. After that, he could transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.
Maybe that is still possible, but it seems unlikely after Saturday. If he was to be the backup to a serious Tua injury, why waste a game playing against a lesser for when Tua was healthy? We have no answer and no suggestion as to what will happen next.
No reporter dared to ask Nick Saban about Jalen during the post-game presser. We agree it was wise to skip the question, at least for now.
What Nick said about the game
Nick spoke briefly after the game.
- He said there less were errors on defense, good balance on offense and both sides of the ball did a good job on third down.
- Nick commented that overall the offense was inconsistent in the running game, with the line not always finishing blocks.
- On Injuries, Nick reported Isaiah Buggs “re-tweaked” the ankle he hurt last week. Jalyn Armour-Davis hurt a knee in warmups and will be evaluated on Sunday. The immediate assessment was it could be a serious injury.
- Nick also complimented the play of Tua, Jalen and Najee Harris. Najee had 13 carries for 135 yards in the game.
- Asked about the Austin Jones PAT misses, Saban complimented Joseph Bulovas’ kicking performance and said both kickers would continue to be developed.
The Crimson Tide played a large number of players in the win. Defensive stats were recorded by 27 different players. Seven of the 27 were true freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Sixty-four Alabama football players competed in the game. Defensive linemen Johnny Dwight and Stephon Wynn did not dress for the game.
Next Saturday should see another offensive explosion from the Crimson Tide. On Saturday, Ole Miss scored 76 points but also gave up 41 points to the FCS, Southern Illinois Salukis.