Razorbacks not reeling from last year’s Bama heartbreak
FAYETTEVILLE — Alabama’s Crimson Tide rolled Arkansas 52- 0 both in 2012 and 2013.
Those were bad 4- 8 and 3- 9 Arkansas teams that the Tide rolled.
Three Southeastern Conference games into 2014, the Razorbacks in Fayetteville mostly outplayed Alabama before losing a 14- 13 heartbreaker. That close call indicated that then second- year coach Bret Bielema’s Razorbacks were on the rise.
Yet the Razorbacks, at least publicly, don’t look back on it that way despite it signaling the vastly improved 7- 6 season they would complete. They don’t acknowledge much looking back on it period as the Razorbacks, 2- 3, 1- 1 in the SEC, and coach Nick Saban’s eighth- ranked reigning league champion Crimson Tide, 4- 1, 1- 1, head into Saturday’s 6 p. m. ESPN- televised clash at Bryant- Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“Last year was last year’s game,” Arkansas junior receiver Drew Morgan said. “This year is this year’s game.”
Junior linebacker Brooks Ellis acknowledged the Hogs last year defended against the Tide’s running game the best since he has been here but also stresses this Arkansas- Alabama present over last year’s Arkansas- Alabama past.
“Yeah, I mean we did a great job last year stopping the run,” Ellis said. “That gives us a little bit of confidence knowing that since we did it last year we can also do it this year. But it’s a whole different team.”
Both are different teams and this is a different year, Ellis said.
Bielema minimized last year’s Alabama close call as the 2014 catalyst noting that Georgia, leading 38- 6 at one point, defeated Arkansas 45- 32 in Little Rock the week after hosting the Tide in Fayetteville.
He pointed more towards the 17- 10 close loss at then- No. 1 Mississippi State triggering the Razorbacks’ 17- 0 and 30- 0 SEC shutouts in Fayetteville over LSU and Ole Miss.
“I don’t think because we lost by one ( to Alabama) that motivated us to beat LSU and Ole Miss,” Bielema said. “We got beat by Mississippi State. I think that one was more of a propel than anything. They were the No. 1 team in the country at the time and we really had them beat, until the fourth quarter long ball. I think that’s when our guys were like, ‘ C’mon man, this is the No. 1 team in the country and we can’t do this?’ That to me was more than anything.”
Saban tries to have it both motivational ways regarding the Arkansas- Alabama past.
He plays down Alabama’s eightgame winning streak over the Hogs.
“I’m kind of worried about what’s happening today,” Saban said on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. “And what’s going to happen tomorrow right up to Saturday. I think every game is a new challenge. I don’t think anything that happened in the past is going to affect the outcome of this game.”
Nevertheless, Saban obviously reminds his Tide that Arkansas limited Alabama to 66 yards on 32 carries in last year’s game.
“We had a tough time running the ball against them last year,” Saban said. “So the expectation for us is we are going to have to do a lot better job.”
Alabama’s defense stopped Arkansas’ running game, too, 39 carries for 89 yards.
Arkansas running back Alex Collins and Alabama running back Derrick Henry run hot into Tuscaloosa Saturday. Henry rushed 23 times for 127 yards and 23 times for 127 yards again in both of Alabama’s SEC games, the 43- 37 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 19 in Tuscaloosa and Saturday’s 38- 10 slaughter of previously eighth- ranked undefeated Georgia in Athens, Ga.
In Arkansas’ last three games, a 3524 nonconference loss to Texas Tech in Fayetteville, a 28- 21 overtime SEC loss to Texas A& M at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT& T Stadium and Saturday’s 24- 20 SEC success at Tennessee, Collins rushed 28 for 170, 26 for 151 and 27 for 154 while for the last two wide receiver Morgan has caught eight passes for 155 yards and five passes for 110 yards.
Arkansas freshman running back Rawleigh Williams netted 100 rushing on 14 carries against Tennessee, his first in triple digits that he will never forget.
“I’ll get to tell my kids that one day that I got 100 yards on Tennessee in front of all those ( 100,000- plus) people,” Williams said. “So it’s definitely a memory I’ll always have but there is more football to play and I expect to do better every week.”
He can think of know school better to better that than Alabama.
“This is what we came here for, this is what I came here for, for us to play against top talent,” Williams said. “Alabama is one of those top talents. So it’s definitely motivation to come out there and show we can compete with anybody.”
The Razorbacks wrapped their practices with a closed workout Thursday in Fayetteville. They fly today to Alabama.