September 28, 2003
Ups and Downs in Arkansas vs. Alabama
Thirty minutes before kick-off, the sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a hot late-summer afternoon. Minutes later, clouds moved in and proceeded to drench the stadium. After thirty minutes of driving rain, the clouds moved on and the sun came back out to heat up Bryant-Denny Stadium. In a lot of ways, this game paralleled the weather. Neither team was without their bright spots, and they both managed to try to give the game away at numerous points. In the end, however, Alabama wanted to give it away more.
The first half was well fought, Arkansas getting on the board first as Alabama's defense gave up a long run to QB Matt Jones. Shortly later the Tide marched 80 yards to tie the game up. Arkansas' starting kicker David Carlton was benched after two missed field goals. Backup Chris Balseiro would take over kicking duties and eventually kick the game winner in the second OT, but he started giving Arkansas the lead back with a 38 yard kick with just under two minutes remaining in the half. Alabama marched down the field and kicker Brian Bostick put a 48 yard kick through the uprights as time expired in the half.
At the start of the second half, things looked pretty bleak for Arkansas with Alabama scoring two unanswered touchdowns in just over three minutes. The Tide would go up 31-10 on Shaud Williams' second 80-yard touchdown run against Arkansas in their last two meetings. Arkansas would come back and even the score with 27 seconds remaining in regulation.
In the first overtime, the 'Bama defense held, pushing Arkansas back out of field goal range, giving them 4th and 25 from the 40. The fourth down pass was intercepted and Alabama defensive backs piled on in the endzone, incurring an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Tide, needing only a field goal to win, but starting at their own 40, managed to get themselves down near the 20-yard line, setting Brian Bostick up for a 39 yard, straight on field goal. True to form, however, Alabama's kicking game let them down and Bostick hooked the kick left, sending the game into its second overtime. Brodie Croyle threw and interception early in the possession and Arkansas ran the ball a bit before kicking the game-winner.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Alabama, which seemed to have the game in hand at several points during the game, but an inconsistent kicking game and lacking some depth due to injury, Alabama just couldn't keep their second half momentum rolling. Alabama has had a difficult time flipping the field on opponents and has had a penchant for bringing kicks out of the endzone, only to get 10 yards on the return. Bo Freeland had two good punts of 40+ yards, but also had two kicks of less than 25.
Alabama has also seen some trouble with predictable play calling, often running draws to Shaud Williams on first down and sometimes even second down, which results in a lot of third and long situations ('Bama converted only 4 of 13 against Arkansas). Additionally, Croyle seems to have some trouble throwing anything but a rocket, and his accuracy doesn't seem to be where it needs to be yet. Despite several drops and Croyle missing some open receivers, he still managed to go 12 of 15 for 204 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Decent numbers that could've been much better.
Arkansas came out and played an excellent game, Cedric Cobbs had almost 200 yards on the ground, as he closed on Shaud Williams' SEC rushing lead closing the gap to 32 yards. Matt Jones' mobility was well contained, but Cobbs seemed to rattle off 5 or 6 yards every carry behind a solid offensive line. The Razorbacks just seemed to wear down Alabama as the game went on, and made things tough on the Alabama defense.
Arkansas has an off week before Auburn comes to town while Alabama travels to Athens, Georgia next week to play the Bulldogs.
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