JEFF ALLEN GAME PREVIEW: ALABAMA at ARKANSAS
No.1 Alabama faces one it’s sternest tests of the regular season as it travels to Little Rock
to face the No.16 ranked 4-1 Arkansas Razorbacks. This is a reprise of the 2014 instant classic
on this field when the Crimson Tide scored late in grabbing a street fight 14-13 victory. Last
year Nick Saban’s bunch won 27-14 (-16.5) in Tuscaloosa. Arkansas is one of the few teams
in the country that can physically stand up to Alabama in the trenches.
The opening line of Bama -14 has not moved say for small adjustments to the juice from house
to house. The total has dropped two full points from 51 to 49 and looks ton continue it’s Southward
plunge. Weather should be perfect for the 7:00 PM EST kickoff shown nationally on ESPN.
After a razor sharp effort in their opener vs. Southern Cal, the Crimson Tide has pretty much boat
raced three opponents including what we now know is a pretty good team in Ole Miss. Saban will
get his team’s attention this week in practice knowing this will be a war from start to finish. Frosh
QB Jalen Hurts has been excellent since winning the job and completing 62% of his passes for
989 yards and a 7/1 TD/Int ratio. Hurts can also do it with his feet or hand off to this year’s Cadillac
power running back Damien Harris. It’s impossible to run against the Bama defense which enters
the week No.8 overall.
If anyone has a formula of how to beat Alabama, it might be Brett Bielema. The former Wisconsin
coach likes big physical offensive lines to run behind and he also has a quarterback that can throw
the ball around (68%, 1232, 12-2). The Razor front seven is staunch and allows just 68 yards per
game on the ground. Arkansas has covered the last two against the number despite scoring just
a combined 27 points. Ark must play near perfect and not allow the big play.
The key to this game will be to see who can dominate in the trenches. Cliche as it might sound,
both teams will look to establish the run and maybe pop a big play if the opportunity presents
itself. At this writing we have a lean on the dog and under but check Jeff Allen’s home site of
www.vegasscoresandodds.com for all Allen’s Pay for Pay packages. Allen 9-1 all football last
week and looking for more.