NCAA Football Picks - Arkansas Razorbacks at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide
by Dave D
Saturday September 26 - Bryant-Denny Stadium - 3:30 PM ETLine: Alabama -17
Arkansas: The Week That Was
The Razorbacks jumped out to a 21-10 first quarter lead but could not slow down the man who took Matt Stafford's spot behind center in Georgia as Joe Cox threw five touchdowns leading the Bulldogs to a 52-41 road victory.
On a positive note, Ryan Mallet, who left Michigan to light up the scoreboard in Arkansas, threw for 408 yards and five touchdowns in a losing effort. For the Razorbacks to get back on track they need to be much more disciplined after committing 11 penalties in the loss to Georgia.
Alabama The Week That Was
Alabama is rolling offensively. While it was only North Texas, the Tide racked up 528 yards and hammered the Mean Green 53-7. It was the highest scoring game for Bama since 2001. With the score so one-sided and Alabama up 30-0 at the half, quarterback Greg McElroy was able to take most of the second half off. It was the final non-conference game for the Tide who look lethal at 3-0 right now.
The Week That Is:
After three easy wins it gets a little tougher now for Alabama as they try to win their second straight SEC West Title. Last year, Alabama was able to run the table going 8-0 in conference play before losing a hard fought game to Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in the league title game.
Alabama is a once again heavily favored they are facing one of the hottest quarterbacks going right now. Ryan Mallet is on pace to break many Arkansas quarterback records and scoring points is not a problem right now for the Razorbacks.
Last year, Nick Saban's crew hammered Arkansas 49-14, the third straight game to go over in the head-to-head series. In fact the over is 8-3 the last 11 times these two teams have squared off. This trend will continue again Saturday as both defenses will struggle against quarterbacks that are in the zone.
Alabama proved they could beat complete football teams when they came away with a tough 10 point win over Virginia Tech in the first week of the season. Expect a similar result with Alabama pulling away late but unable to cover a number that is too big.
NCAA FootballPick: Arkansas +17 and Over
