The only statistic that counts in football is wins. Let's be very clear about this because of what I am about to say: Arkansas got the win, Alabama did not. Having said that, the better team did not win the game and the loss puts a big dent on the Crimson Tide's hopes for this season.
I know what you are thinking, and you are wrong. This is not going to be a column devoted to piling on the struggles of freshman kicker Leigh Tiffin. I am not. Well, not entirely. Tiffin is a specialist. He had one job and he failed at it. He missed three field goals (one in overtime that would have won the game) and missed an extra point that would have allowed the game to go to a third overtime. That is 10 points he left on the board in a one point loss. It should have never gotten to that point.
Quarterback John Parker Wilson, making his first career start on the road, completed 80 percent of his passes for three scores (two of them in regulation). His final line: 16-for-20, 243 yards, 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions
Wide receivers D.J. Hall (6 rec., 144 yards, 1 TD) and Keith Brown: (7 rec., 96 yards, 1 TD) came up huge as well. This season, Brown has had receiving totals of 132, 99, 82, and 96 and Hall was the team's leading wide receiver from last year. That is big boy football.
Until Saturday — and even this is debatable — Alabama had not faced quality competition but the same defenses torched by Brown and now Hall were also responsible for stuffing the Tide's running game. Their two featured backs, Ken Darby and Jimmy Johns, combined for just 87 yards on 34 carries. Darby came into the season seemingly poised to eclipse Shaun Alexander as the team's leading rusher, but has averaged three yards per carry this season. Neither he nor Johns were able to average those three yards against Arkansas.
Patience with the running game is not only understandable, it is a necessity. This is not patience, this is stubbornness. Arrogance. Stupidity. Why in the world would run the ball twice as many times as you throw it when the running game is averaging 2.3 yards per carry and the passing game produces 243 yards and three scores? A passing game should always average more yards per attempt than even a good running game, but 2.3 yards per rush and 9.6 yards per pass should tip the run/pass balance in favor of the pass.
Going beyond the numbers, Mike Shula repeatedly called running plays that sent Darby and Johns at the middle of the Arkansas defense. The gains were minimal at best and it put the offense in third-and-long situations all afternoon. This is not new. It is very similar to what happened in previous games this season. Despite being at a disadvantage, Wilson and the passing game consistently made plays.
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