Alabama Football: 5 keys for Tide to dominate vs. Arkansas

Keys for Alabama football to dominate vs. Arkansas

2. Alabama needs to score on the big plays

Alabama’s offense has been dominant all season, but it is mostly due to its explosive nature. DeVonta Smith and John Metchie have been great deep-threat targets, and Alabama needs to use them this way.

Alabama could keep it simple and rely on quick slants and screens to win this game. Smitty could turn a five-yard catch into a major play. However, Alabama needs to air the ball out early and often. The Tide will treat this like every other game. There is no reason for Alabama to play it safe against this defense.

Assuming that the game plan is consistent with what Alabama has done all season, both Smitty and Metchie will see some targets on deep passes. That will open up shallow routes for Jahleel Billingsley and Slade Bolden to use their abilities after the catch. Pairing that with Najee Harris’s abilities in the running game will prove to be too much for the Razorbacks to handle.

Credit Sam Pittman for what he has done with this team. That being said, he can’t stop Steve Sarkisian and Alabama’s deep-passing abilities. By the end of the game, expect the Crimson Tide to have multiple plays go for 40 or more yards. Pairing this with general success will turn this game into a blowout.