Alabama can clinch SEC title game berth
Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman sees the typical uber-talented Alabama team with formidable linemen, a star quarterback and plenty of other standout players. Perhaps the big change has come in Pittman’s 21st-ranked Razorbacks and their belief that they can beat the No. 2 Crimson Tide heading into Saturday’s game in Tuscaloosa. “I know it might be considered coachspeak or whatever, but the No. 1 thing you have to do to go beat a team is believe you can do it,” Pittman said. “If you’ve got a whole plane full of guys that are going, ‘Man, when’s this game over?’, you don’t have a chance.” It has been a decidedly one-sided series since coach Nick Saban took over at Alabama. The Tide have won 14 straight meetings, many of them blowouts, against the Razorbacks, and this time Alabama (9-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) can clinch a share of the SEC West Division title and a spot in the Dec. 4 league championship game against East champ Georgia with a victory. The Tide have outscored Arkansas 252-80 over the past five meetings, including 52-3 last season. These Razorbacks (7-3, 3-3), however, are riding a three-game streak of wins, the past two by a field goal apiece. “They’re probably improved as much from last year to this year as anybody in the country,” Saban said. “They’ve had some great wins over some very good SEC teams.”
› ATLANTA — The first shutout loss in six years for the Atlanta Falcons added to a miserable week for their offense. The New England Patriots’ 25-0 win Thursday night in Atlanta followed a 43-3 road loss for the Falcons against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. “It’s been a tough five days offensively,” said quarterback Matt Ryan, who added that the woes are “across the board.” Atlanta hadn’t been shut out since losing 38-0 to the host Carolina Panthers on Dec. 13, 2015. The last time the Falcons reached the end zone, Olamide Zaccheaus caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Ryan for a 24-6 lead in a game Atlanta won 27-25 against the host New Orleans Saints on Nov. 7. The Falcons (4-6) were the latest victims of a New England defense that has stoked a five-game winning streak for the Patriots (7-4).
GOLF
›ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — A strong wind off the Atlantic Ocean swept over Sea Island Golf Club on Friday, but it was no problem for Oklahoma native Talor Gooch as he handled the exposed Seaside course for a 5-under-par 65 to take a one-shot lead in the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic. As expected, the opening round’s balmy conditions, which led to record scoring, gave way to 25 mph winds and temperatures that were 10 degrees cooler. “The only commonality between yesterday and today is that we played 18 holes,” said Zach Johnson, who lives on Sea Island and toiled for a 1-under 71 on the Plantation course that had him tied for fourth and three shots behind. The 30-year-old Gooch, seeking his first win on golf’s top circuit, matched the low score of the round — Taylor Moore had a hole-in-one on Seaside’s 17th for a 65 — and was at 13-under 129 at the tournament’s midpoint. He was one shot ahead of John Huh (67 Plantation) and first-round leader Sebastian Muñoz, who went from a 60 on the Seaside to a 70 on the Plantation. Moore and Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes (68 Seaside) were tied for fourth at 11 under. Gooch made only one bogey, four of his five birdie putts came from six feet or less, and he also made an eagle on the par-5 seventh with a putt that covered just more than 65 feet and is the longest of his PGA Tour career. Baylor School graduates Luke List and Keith Mitchell were among those tied for 15th at 7 under after both shot a 67 on the Seaside. Two other former Red Raiders standouts were on the wrong side of the 4-under cut, with Harris English (70 Seaside) missing it by a stroke and Stephan Jaeger (75 Plantation) two shots further back.