Jeremy Peppas: Why Watch Arkansas at Alabama?

By Jeremy Peppas

All writing is a formula.

Because of education and training, you get a script in your head and you follow that script when you sit down to write.

The secret sauce there, is of course, writing as much as you can in advance, and you’d be surprised how much you can write before something happens.

So for example, Arkansas and Alabama play this Saturday, so here it goes:

No. 1 Alabama XX, Arkansas XX

Crimson Tide stays unbeaten as LSU looms

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Move over Tua, there’s another Heisman Trophy candidate in town.

Behind a stellar effort from backup quarterback Mac Jones, Alabama rolled past Arkansas XX-XX [insert score here] on a [insert weather adjective here] Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.

Jones, making his first start for top-rankled Alabama, threw for XXX yards and XX touchdowns in front of a sellout crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Jones was in the game because Tua Tagovailoa, a Heisman Trophy candidate, was sidelined because of an ankle injury that was still being rehabbed.

A fiery Nick Saban said during the week that Alabama would come out perform against a hapless Arkansas squad and perform they did as the Crimson Tide raced out to XX-XX lead at the end of the first half in a game they never trailed.

SABAN QUOTE GOES HERE

Arkansas, a team that hasn’t won a Southeastern Conference game since 2017, is now 0-13 in the SEC under coach Chad Morris, and 4-16 overall in his second season at the school.

As for Alabama, well they have performed at a higher level, and are currently the No. 1 team in the country in The Associated Press poll and are 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the SEC.

That’s about where Alabama was expected to be as well.

Jones was masterful running Saban’s offense.

The redshirt sophomore came into the Arkansas game with minimal stats and only 360 yards passing in the previous six games. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback isn’t blessed with the strongest arm, or exceptional speed, not that he needed either against Arkansas.

Jones [INSERT JONES PLAY OF THE GAME HERE]

JONES QUOTE GOES HERE

Arkansas wasn’t lacking for highlights though.

Senior transfer quarterback Ben Hicks drew the start, as he did last week against Auburn, and was perfectly serviceable throwing for [INSERT STATS HERE], while freshmen Treylon Burks and Trey Knox were his primary targets, catching, respectively [STAT] and [STAT].

[MORRIS QUOTE GOES HERE]

Arkansas running back Rakeem Boyd, who entered the game as one of the SEC’s best in rushing, was held to a middling game with just [STAT] yards on [STAT] carries.

The Alabama defense was again stellar as [NAME] lead the Crimson Tide with [STAT] tackles while [NAME] patrolled the secondary and [STAT]

Also of note for Arkansas was the play of redshirt freshman quarterback John Stephen Jones, the grandson of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who saw his first action of the season in the fourth quarter after Hicks was knocked from the game at the start of the second half. Nick Starkel, who has previously started for Arkansas, also saw playing time for the Razorbacks.

Jones threw for [STAT] yards while Starkel managed [STAT] yards.

[MORRIS QUOTE GOES HERE]

Arkansas hosts Mississippi State next Saturday in SEC West action, while Alabama has the week off as they prepare for No. 2 Louisiana State in what could be a college football playoff elimination game.

[SABAN QUOTE GOES HERE ON LSU, assuming you can get him to say anything]