Alabama gets by Arkansas in final seconds of hard-fought game

McFadden sat out part of game with slight concussion, Nutt says

By ArkansasOnline

Alabama was working out its grudge against Arkansas with a dominating first-half performance Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosca, Ala, but the second half became all about Arkansas — until the final seconds of the game. The Crimson Tide (3-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) pulled off a frenzied final drive for a touchdown and extra point, putting the final score at 41-38.

“It was an exciting night, huh?” new Alabama Coach Nick Saban said.

Certainly for Alabama. The Tide (3-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) survived a relentless onslaught from Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden, and made a sideline decision that worked perfectly.

After twice blowing 21-point leads, Alabama down the field from its own 27 over the final 2:13, mostly on the Wilson-to-Caddell connection.

Wilson hit Caddell across the middle for a 19-yard completion and two 9-yarders to move the ball across midfield. Kevin Woods and Matterral Richardson were both whistled for pass interference, Richardson on a third-and-9 play, to set Alabama up with a first down at the 13.

After Wilson hit Keith Brown for a 9-yarder, he found a leaping Caddell in the left side of the end zone two plays later, sending the crowd into a frenzy and prompting a celebratory pileup on the receiver.

The Tide’s decision to settle for Leigh Tiffin’s 42-yard field goal to make it 38-34 paid off when Arkansas was stopped on its next possession. McFadden sat out the series with a a slight concussion, coach Houston Nutt said.

Casey Dick’s 7-yard touchdown pass, his third of the game, to Peyton Hillis with 8:08 left gave Arkansas its first lead. It was set up by McFadden’s 20-yard run and a 32-yarder by Felix Jones on consecutive plays.

“I thought that we started playing football like we know how to play it,” Nutt said. “We showed a lot of heart and a lot of character. I really thought this was our game.”

Arkansas had trailed 31-10 late in the third quarter, but capitalized on a fumble and interception by Wilson. McFadden rushed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and finished with 195 yards on 33 carries.

Alabama countered McFadden with Wilson’s passing. He completed 24-of-45 passes for career highs of 327 yards and four touchdowns, but was intercepted twice. Caddell had nine catches for 91 yards and DJ Hall gained a career-high 172 yards on just six receptions. He passed Ozzie Newsome to become the Tide’s all-time leading receiver with a 44-yarder on the Tide’s first offensive play.

Game Rundown

Early in the first quarter, Alabama's defense picked up an interception and two plays later turned it into a touchdown and extra point. After another 7 points with 4:45 to go in the first quarter, Alabama surged to a 14-0 lead. And the Tide rolled again, with under two minutes left to go in the quarter.

In the top of the 3rd quarter, Alabama added a field goal of its own with Leigh Tiffin's 24-yard kick.

Then Arkansas came back with Dick passing for a touchdown. The point after attempt was good, bringing the Hogs closer to the Crimson Tide.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Darren McFadden ran in a 1-yard touchdown. Just under three minutes later, he found the end zone again for a tie game at 31.

In another of four straight scoring drives, Dick threw another touchdown pass, this time to Peyton Hillis. A second look by the referees confirmed that Hillis was in the end zone.

Alabama got with striking distance for a field goal attempt, and Tiffin sent the ball 42 yards to gain the three points and to make the score 38-34 with 4:20 left to play in the game.

Alabama's defense had been keeping Heisman Trophy runner-up McFadden to just a smattering of yards in the first half, although the running back was able to push past his opponents on a couple of runs. McFadden had better luck later on, finding his groove and racking up 195 yards on 33 carries.

ALABAMA 41, No. 16 ARKANSAS 38

Arkansas 0 10 7 21 — 38

Alabama 21 0 10 10 — 41

First Quarter

Ala—D.Hall 9 pass from Wilson (Friedman kick), 8:35.

Ala—Coffee 14 run (Tiffin kick), 4:21.

Ala—D.Hall 35 pass from Wilson (Tiffin kick), 1:27.

Second Quarter

Ark—Tuck 40 pass from C.Dick (Tejada kick), 6:03.

Ark—FG Tejada 22, :23.

Third Quarter

Ala—FG Tiffin 24, 10:57.

Ala—N.Walker 2 pass from Wilson (Tiffin kick), 5:15.

Ark—Davie 2 pass from C.Dick (Tejada kick), 3:05.

Fourth Quarter

Ark—McFadden 1 run (Tejada kick), 14:56.

Ark—McFadden 5 run (Tejada kick), 12:05.

Ark—Hillis 7 pass from C.Dick (Tejada kick), 8:08.

Ala—FG Tiffin 42, 4:20.

Ala—Caddell 4 pass from Wilson (Tiffin kick), :08.

A—92,138.

———

Ark Ala

First downs 22 24

Rushes-yards 53-301 34-123

Passing 149 327

Comp-Att-Int 12-25-1 24-45-2

Return Yards 20 85

Punts-Avg. 7-44.7 5-36.2

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-1

Penalties-Yards 7-81 7-63

Time of Possession 30:27 29:33

———

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Arkansas, McFadden 33-195, F.Jones 16-96, Mic.Smith 3-8, Hillis 1-2. Alabama, Grant 20-96, Coffee 7-34, Johns 2-1, Wilson 5-(minus 8).

PASSING—Arkansas, C.Dick 11-23-1-145, Ro.Johnson 1-1-0-4, McFadden 0-1-0-0. Alabama, Wilson 24-45-2-327.

RECEIVING—Arkansas, Crawford 3-47, Hillis 3-34, McFadden 3-16, Tuck 1-40, Ro.Johnson 1-10, Davie 1-2. Alabama, Caddell 9-91, D.Hall 6-172, McCoy 5-28, Brown 2-18, Oakley 1-16, N.Walker 1-2.

This article was published Saturday, September 15, 2007.

Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.