Sporting Life Arkansas

Live with Jim Harris – Alabama at Arkansas

  UPDATE: Player interviews with Brandon Allen, Trey Flowers and Allen Turner. It’s game day: Alabama at Arkansas as the Razorbacks search for the team’s first SEC win of the Bielema Era. Today’s game time is set for 5 p.m. in Fayetteville and will be televised on ESPN. Jim Harris will be posting his thoughts throughout the game here, so check this page often. (Scroll down about halfway and you’ll see the posts from Jim.)

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Wide Receivers Coach Michael Smith on Alabama’s secondary: “They have a lot of really good players.  We played against a lot of those guys last year.  I know Coach Nick Saban coaches the corners so I know those guys are going to be up for the challenge.  They’re going to come in here and try to disrupt us so I’ve been challenging my guys.  They’re going to be ready to play and we have to be ready to play.” Tight Ends Coach Barry Lunney Jr. on play-action passes: “The play-action pass is a compliment when you run the ball successfully.  It’s not just about running it, it’s about running it successfully and we’ve been able to do that.  Every game that we’ve played so far, to different degrees, it’s been successful.  When that happens guys load the box and get concentrated on the run, get a little bit more downhill than they should, and it opens up some play-action.” Offensive Line Coach Sam Pittman on Alabama’s linebackers: “They read their keys really well.  They play downhill.  They tackle well and are very physical guys.  They all can really run.  They’re well coached and get their eyes where they’re supposed to be.  They’ll come up and hit you.  Sometimes you don’t block a guy and he doesn’t make the tackle, but that’s not the case with Alabama.  If you don’t block him, he’s going to make the tackle.  That’s just how it is.” Sophomore Tight End Hunter Henry on playing four quarters: “We’re working on that in practice.  It’s definitely a big emphasis for us on the bye week.  We’ve been working on having a perfect fourth quarter and finishing.  That’s one of our big goals—to finish games.  We’ve been so close and we’re not tying it up at the end.” Henry on Alabama’s defense having to transition from the spread to get ready for Arkansas: “I don’t think it’s a big advantage.  They’re a great defense and they have a lot of great players over there that are big and fast.  I think they’re going to adjust perfectly and we’re going to play a fourth quarter ballgame.”
5:02 p.m. — Interference is not called on second-and-8 pass for Wilson down the left sideline. At least Arkansas ran a pass play from Allen under center. On third down, Arkansas’s Allen passes underneath to A.J. Derby and it gains just 4 yards, well behind the first down marker. Alabama fouls up a punt that is short, the returner does something really stupid and tries to run up and field it and the ball is loose. The officials first signal Alabama’s ball even though Arkansas’ Ryder Lucas comes up with the ball and hands it to the officials. Then they somehow change their minds. Hogs ball at the Bama 32.
5 p.m. — ESPN didn’t mess around with this one. Kickoff at 5 p.m. straight up. Alabama’s kickoff is unreturnable for Korliss Marshall, deep in the end zone.
4:56 p.m. – it’s 53 degrees, light wind out of the N-NE, for kickoff. Drizzly and overcast. The captains for Arkansas are the usual BAllen, Trey Flowers, Brey Cook and Alan Turner. The fireworks have left a pall of thick smoke over the field. Arkansas has won the toss and will receive, while Alabama will kick with that barely helping win out of the north.
4:16 p.m. — If you need some light reading before kickoff, I suggest my pregame column (technical difficulties prevented its web publishing until earlier today).
Jim Harris: Is Brandon Allen Cursed as Game Manager?
I love the helmets Arkansas is wearing today, the type that date to the 1964 team (which is being honored today for the 50th anniversary of its national championship). The Hog was notably bigger back in 1964. Nobody can really make out what the hog on the helmet is anymore, not like it was when Arkansas was on a 22-game winning streak. It seems like, if you want to relate your team to its peak in college football, Arkansas would want the 1964 look over any other. Alabama is supposed to be in some type of throwback uniform too, but I’ll be darned what it is. The Crimson Tide could have come out in a nod to the 1961 national championship team, Bear Bryant’s first national title, in which the Tide beat Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl 10-3. As most longtime fans know about the 1964 controversy, the wire service polls concluded their polling before the bowls, but the Football Writers Association of American (whose many voters also may have voted in the Associated Press writers poll during the season) unanimously awarded Arkansas the national championship after the Jan. 1, 1965, bowls, when Arkansas was the last remaining unbeaten team and Alabama had lost for the first time, to Southwest Conference runner-up Texas 21-17 in the Orange Bowl. Andy Hodges, my cohort on the radio (690 AM, 106.9 FM, 100.7 and 99.7 FM are just part of the network covering west Little Rock to Texarkana), suggested that Alabama and Arkansas put all the national championship trophies from 1964 on the 50 and play this game for them. Enough with the controversy. Of course, I’m not sure any of the many 1964 team members who are up here this weekend would go for that. Maybe they’d rather like to take on the 1964 Bama members at halftime. I’d bet Arkansas quarterback Fred Marshall can move better than Alabama signal caller Joe Namath.
3:57 p.m. — We have arrived. It’s still drizzling here after heavy rain earlier, and only the “die-est” of diehards have taken their seats in Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Which pretty much means a few thounsand UA students have occupied their choice seats in the southeast corner of stadium. Alabama’s pep band is here, all 30 strong, in the northeast lower tip of the stadium. If there are seats I’d never want to sit in here, Alabama’s band has them. We’ll be blogging Arkansas and Alabama, with kickoff coming at about 5:05 p.m. I’m told to look for Santos Ramirez to make his debut as freshman defensive back today for Arkansas; he was hurt in August and it’s interesting the Arkansas staff will blow his redshirt to get him on the field. He must really bring something they sense is lacking. Somebody has to cover Amari Cooper. We’ll be back in a few ….