Just when it couldn’t get worse, Alabama’s backup quarterback changed everything.
The waterfall of disaster was about to overwhelm the Crimson Tide when Jalen Milroe took off early in the fourth quarter. His 77-yard third-down scramble plugged the hole in the Crimson Tide spiral, ending a 23-point Razorback scoring run and put Alabama back on track for a whiplash ride of a 49-26 win at Arkansas.
All that came after its Heisman Trophy-winning starter went down with a potentially serious second-quarter shoulder injury. After scoring two more touchdowns to take a 28-0 lead, a few special teams helped fuel a wild Arkansas comeback for the ages.
An onside kick led to a field goal and a botched Alabama punt snap set up a four-yard touchdown drive that cut the commanding lead to 28-23. With no offensive momentum and the sellout crowd bearing down, Milroe used his track speed to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Jase McClellan.
Jahmyr Gibbs slammed the door on the next possession. His 72-yard touchdown had the crowd thinking about the exit but it was his 76-yarder with 6:55 left that sent them packing. Gibbs finished with 206 yards on 18 carries while Milroe netted 91 on six attempts.
The status of Young’s right shoulder will be the question looming with Texas A&M visiting next week before heading to Tennessee the following Saturday.
A tale of two offenses
Young and the Tide offense were cooking early. Despite a few drops from veterans, Young and two freshmen receivers helped quiet any questions about the downfield passing game.
With Arkansas’ nation-leading sack defense going after Young, he found Kobe Prentice twice and Isaiah Bond on another deep ball. By the end of the quarter, Alabama hit passes for 41, 47 and 53 yards -- two for touchdowns -- in a suddenly-quiet coliseum.
Everything changed on what appeared to be an innocent tackle. When Young rolled to his right on a third-down play, former Tide linebacker Drew Sanders sacked him near the Arkansas sideline. It didn’t look like much at the time but after his next throw on the following possession, he threw his helmet in pain with his throwing arm hanging as he entered the injury tent.
For nearly 15 minutes Young was in the tent, enough time for Jalen Milroe to enter the game and score on a three-yard run. A 45-yard Kool-Aid McKinstry punt return set up the three-play, 17-yard drive. A third-down tunnel screen on the next drive made it 28-0 and the rout appeared to be on despite Young’s injury.
Alabama then managed just one first down on the next two drives as Arkansas’ special teams play kept Milroe sidelined. The two runs of 70-plus changed everything as Alabama finished with five plays of 50-plus yards. Young was 7-for-13 passing with 173 yards, one touchdown and a first-possession interception before the injury. He took a few warmup snaps after halftime but never reentered the game. Milroe threw it four times with nine receptions but did his damage on the ground. No Alabama receiver had more than Prentice’s three catches and 92 yards.
The Arkansas pass rush that led the nation in sacks finished the day with just one, but it was costly to a degree that remains to be seen.
Alabama defense hits slump, responds
For nearly a full half of football, Alabama’s defense was dominating. Arkansas had less than 100 yards of offense taking over at its 25-yard line down four touchdowns. The nine-play, 75-yard drive kick-started the comeback effort that nearly changed everything about Alabama’s 2022 season.
Allowing only the third touchdown of the season just before halftime didn’t appear like much until the Hogs scored on three straight drives after halftime. Before that first scoring march, Arkansas netted no more than 28 yards on a single possession but, with the help of special teams, the floodgates were wide open for a while.
Arkansas possessed the ball for 10:33 of the third quarter when it outscored Alabama 16-0 while outgaining the Tide 141 to negative-1.
Perhaps the biggest play came in the depths of the spiral. After Arkansas cut it to 28-23, a two-point attempt to make it a 3-point game was stuffed by Henry To’o To’o and Terrion Arnold. Milroe’s game-changing sprint came a few plays later.
The Hogs managed just a field goal from there. KJ Jefferson finished 13-for-24 with 155 passing yards while rushing for 38 more on 17 tries. The Tide finished with three sacks.
Before halftime, Alabama corrected the one real knock on its defense to date -- a lack of turnover production. The Tide was one of four teams with one or fewer takeaways before DeMarcco Hellams forced and recovered a fumble with 12:14 left in the first half.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.
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