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No. 2 Alabama shall be on the street Saturday for an enormous battle within the SEC West when it faces No. 20 Arkansas on the SEC on CBS Sport of the Week. The Crimson Tide roll in to Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a document of 4-0 and are coming off of two straightforward victories; the Tide took down Vanderbilt 55-3 final week after beating ULM 63-7 the week earlier than. These outcomes appeared loads totally different than the one from Week 2 when Alabama narrowly prevented an upset in a street recreation in opposition to Texas.
Arkansas wasn’t as fortunate final week. The Razorbacks have spent all week making an attempt to shake the picture of Cam Little’s 42-yard discipline objective try bouncing off the highest of the upright as an alternative of going by means of with 90 seconds left within the recreation. These misplaced three factors loomed massive in a 23-21 loss to rival Texas A&M. Now, the Razorbacks need to discover a solution to bounce again in opposition to probably the greatest groups within the nation.
That loss makes this a must-win for Arkansas. A loss would drop it to 1-2 in convention play, and it is onerous to think about any workforce with two losses — considered one of which coming to Alabama — successful the SEC West.
Alabama vs. Arkansas: Have to know
Alabama has dominated this collection: Arkansas will not be an authentic member of the SEC, which is why it is solely performed Alabama 30 occasions in its historical past. As you’d count on in something involving Alabama, the Tide have dominated, successful 22 of these 30 conferences. That features every of the final 14. To place that into context, the final time Arkansas beat Alabama was in 2006 (24-23). Houston Nutt was teaching Arkansas, Mike Shula was teaching Alabama and George W. Bush was within the Oval Workplace. We have had three totally different presidents since that recreation. Heck, Arkansas has had 5 totally different coaches! What I am saying is it has been some time.
Alabama has struggled on the street: Leaving the pleasant confines of house hasn’t labored out properly for the Tide recently. Alabama has been favored by a median of 18.5 factors in its final six street video games, however it has not performed to expectations. Alabama was a 21.5-point favourite in its recreation in opposition to Texas this season and scratched and clawed for a one-point win. Going again to final season, Alabama has gone 4-1 in true street video games, however solely a kind of wins was snug (49-9 at Mississippi State). It misplaced to Texas A&M 41-38, and none of its wins over Florida, Auburn or Texas got here by greater than a discipline objective.
It is a revenge recreation for Arkansas LB Drew Sanders: OK, so perhaps he is not out for revenge, however Sanders was a five-star recruit out of highschool who initially dedicated to Alabama. After not seeing a lot motion in two seasons with the Tide — he appeared in 24 video games on particular groups and as a reserve — he transferred to Arkansas this season and has been a serious a part of the Hogs’ protection. Sanders has been in all places, choosing up 31 tackles by means of 4 video games. That features 6.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, two compelled fumbles and two passes defended. The Razorbacks will want Sanders to keep up that stage of efficiency and assist decelerate the Alabama offense.
watch Alabama vs. Arkansas dwell
Date: Saturday, October 1 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Razorback Stadium — Fayetteville, Arkansas
TV: CBS | Dwell stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free)
Alabama vs. Arkansas prediction, picks
Featured Sport | Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
A part of the explanation Alabama has not been good on the street is that its offensive line has not been as much as the standard commonplace. This 12 months’s Alabama offense has not been almost as explosive within the passing recreation as we have seen in recent times. There isn’t any true alpha receiver — at the very least, not one which has taken the reins from the excellent receivers Alabama has had in recent times. All of that mixed with Arkansas dropping into protection and forcing groups to place collectively lengthy drives to beat it suggests this shall be a lower-scoring, nearer affair than anticipated. I haven’t got a excessive stage of confidence in it, but when I am betting something right here, I would slightly be on the Razorbacks. Prediction: Arkansas +17
Which college football picks are you able to make with confidence in Week 5, and which top-10 favourite will go down onerous? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread — all from a confirmed pc mannequin that has returned greater than $3,100 in revenue over the previous six-plus seasons — and discover out.
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