Alabama Football: Offensive report card vs Arkansas
Alabama football survived a wild, rollercoaster of a game and was still able to cover a lofty point spread against a top-20 team on the road.
The Tide sprinted out to a 28-0 lead, surrendered 23 unanswered points, and then finished the game on a 21-3 spurt en route to a 49-26 victory.
The Alabama offense still has some work to do, namely limiting drops and penalties and being able to consistently run the football. Still, Bama fans have to be happy with what they saw against Arkansas. The offense was clicking in spite of its mistakes before Bryce Young was injured.
Even though it endured an anemic stretch in the third quarter, the Alabama offense still scored 35 points in just over two quarters with its backup quarterback in the game.
Alabama Football Quarterbacks: B
The main storyline of the day was the shoulder injury to Bryce Young. Young finished the game with 173 passing yards and a touchdown, as well as an interception and a rushing touchdown. He was able to hit on several big plays, and despite not being completely in sync with his receivers, generally did whatever he wanted against the Razorbacks.
Jalen Milroe played over two quarters for Alabama football, and struggled as a passer for much of that stretch. Milroe got off to a fast start, leading two quick touchdown drives after replacing Young. He ran for a touchdown and threw for another in the second quarter to extend the Alabama lead to 28-0.
In the second half, however, the Arkansas defense adjusted to Milroe’s skillset and gave him problems by keying on the run. While Milroe largely struggled throwing the ball downfield, he did make a couple of good throws, including a third down conversion to Isaiah Bond. He also scrambled to make some huge plays.
He picked up 12 yards to convert a third and long early in the second half, and then ran for 77 yards on a third and long in the fourth quarter with the Tide clinging to a narrow lead. This run was arguably the play of the game. It was the longest play of the day for either team, and set Alabama up inside the 5-yard line, leading to a momentum-shifting touchdown.
Although Milroe is far from being the field general that Bryce Young is, he presents a different type of threat with his physicality, speed, and willingness to run.