Alabama Football: Against Arkansas Crimson Tide found a way to win

Great teams find ways to win. Alabama Football found a way to beat a tough Arkansas team Saturday. What did the result mean about the Crimson Tide chances of finding a way to win championships?

There is little reason for Alabama football fans to be shocked by what happened Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban knew the Razorbacks were a good team. No one who followed the Hogs’ season had any reason to question their toughness or determination.

The Hogs gave all they had in a physical contest, aided by a fake-punt touchdown. The Alabama Crimson Tide made key mistakes that came close to giving the Razorbacks a chance to win.  A holding call on Damieon George Jr. took a Bryce Young rushing touchdown off the board. The Bryce Young sack that led to the Will Reichard field goal miss was a mistake. Another was the lost fumble by Cameron Latu, which also took away points. The fake punt was a gutsy call by Arkansas, but the Tide appeared to not line up in an adequate fake punt defense. Then there was the first quarter drive when Nick Saban passed on a long field goal. Instead, on 4th-and-1, Brian Robinson Jr. ran into a wall of Razorback defenders and lost a yard.

The sum total of those lost opportunities and failures would have meant a loss against a team better than Arkansas.

Instead, the Crimson Tide won with a record-setting passing game from Bryce Young and a total of 18 receptions from the Tide’s receiving pair of John Metchie III and Jameson Williams. The new single-game Alabama Football, passing yards record was set by Young. He was 31-of-40, for five touchdowns and 559 yards. The old record of 484 yards was set by Scott Hunter in the 1969 Iron Bowl.

A fair question is, if Bryce Young had to set a new Crimson Tide passing record to beat Arkansas, how many yards must he throw for to beat Georgia or Ohio State or another Playoff opponent. It is a question without an answer.

After the game, Nick Saban said Alabama,

"left a lot of points on the board or we could have put the game away."

What likely bothers Saban more is the Crimson Tide defense giving up 468 yards.

"Arkansas was successful on third down and the defense did not get off the field, extending drives that sometimes led to touchdownsWe got to keep working on it (defensive errors) and have the players buy into what they need to do to get it fixed."

The Razorbacks were 3-for-3 in the red zone and converted 7-of-16 third downs, plus all three of their fourth downs. On the 4th down, fake-punt conversion that became a touchdown, Saban said, the Tide was ready for the play.

"We were trying to cover the guy. We ran into the official. (Defense was ready) but still got rubbed off and didn’t make the play."

Alabama vs. Arkansas Box Score is available here.

Congratulations to the Crimson Tide for winning a tough game. Congratulations to Bryce Young for a sensational game. Winning the SEC West with a 10-1 record is a good place to be. Yet to be proven – is Alabama Football a championship team.