theBIGness
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Alabama hasn't lost an SEC game since Nov. 24, 2007.
It was at Auburn. Tide coach Nick Saban remembers it, as do the upperclassmen on the team who were part of the loss. Since that 17-10 setback, the Crimson Tide have reeled off 16 consecutive SEC victories, joining Florida's 1995 and '96 squads as the only ones in SEC history to register consecutive perfect league regular seasons since divisional play began in 1992.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Ryan Mallett can make a Heisman statement and lift Arkansas to the top of the SEC West with a big game vs. Alabama.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- End Image-->But that streak is in peril as Alabama plays at Arkansas this Saturday. Many Razorbacks watchers feel this is the biggest game in Fayetteville since Arkansas beat Texas 17-14 in 1979.
For Arkansas, this is a program-defining game. The Razorbacks (3-0) are coming off a 31-24 win at Georgia that has many Hog-hat wearers thinking this may be the school's best team since joining the SEC in 1992.
The Hogs have played in three SEC title games (1995, 2002, 2006), but they have yet to win the SEC or play in a BCS bowl. In recent seasons, Alabama has become the measuring stick for SEC teams. The Hogs know that. They also know that they must topple the Tide to have any chance to move up the pecking order.
"We're going to stick to Razorback football," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "We're not going to do anything special; we're not going to do anything extra for this game. We're just going to come out and play fun. We have a great few weeks behind us, and we're just going to build on that.
"This is what you wake up for. When you're a child, this is what you dream about. You dream about games like this. You want to play the best. It isn't any good you working hard 365 and you aren't ever going to play the best. We want to play the best. And Alabama, they earned that right to be called the best team."
For Alabama, this game is about showing Arkansas who is boss. The Crimson Tide have been as dominant as their No. 1 ranking suggests, outscoring opponents 134-19 in building a 3-0 record.
"This is sort of a new season, when you start playing in the SEC," Saban said. "This is a very good football team. ... Their quarterback is obviously one of the leaders in the nation in passing and their defense is in the top 10 in a lot of different categories."
In addition to having national-championship and SEC-title implications, this contest also will be a Heisman showdown between Arkansas junior quarterback Ryan Mallett and Alabama junior running back Mark Ingram.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Mark Ingram struggled against Arkansas last season.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- End Image-->After missing the first two games of the season recovering from knee surgery, Ingram flashed his 2009 Heisman form by debuting last week in a 62-13 rout of Duke with 151 yards on nine carries. Last season, Arkansas put an extra man in the box to slow Ingram, and it worked. Ingram was limited to 50 yards on 17 carries, but it didn't matter. The Crimson Tide rolled to a 35-7 victory behind a career-high 291 yards (and three touchdowns) from quarterback Greg McElroy.
Like Ingram, Mallett struggled in this meeting last season, going just 12-of-35 for 160 yards with a touchdown and interception. But he looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in 2010. Mallett is 70-of-100 for 1,081 yards, with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. At Georgia last week, he threw for 380 yards and three scores, capping a last-minute drive with a game-winning, 40-yard touchdown pass.
"I think they've got nine starters back on offense so they're better in terms of their consistency and execution," Saban said. "I think [Mallett is] more comfortable in what he's doing and what he's expected to do, not that he wasn't a very good player last year.
"I think Bobby [Petrino] does a great job with him in terms of game plan, schemes and getting him in the right things, so this will be a real challenge for this team this year but also an opportunity for them to learn, grow, develop and try to get better. I don't think what happened last year will have anything to do with what happens this year."
But the outcome will go a long way toward shaping the national-title, SEC and Heisman races.
It was at Auburn. Tide coach Nick Saban remembers it, as do the upperclassmen on the team who were part of the loss. Since that 17-10 setback, the Crimson Tide have reeled off 16 consecutive SEC victories, joining Florida's 1995 and '96 squads as the only ones in SEC history to register consecutive perfect league regular seasons since divisional play began in 1992.
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For Arkansas, this is a program-defining game. The Razorbacks (3-0) are coming off a 31-24 win at Georgia that has many Hog-hat wearers thinking this may be the school's best team since joining the SEC in 1992.
The Hogs have played in three SEC title games (1995, 2002, 2006), but they have yet to win the SEC or play in a BCS bowl. In recent seasons, Alabama has become the measuring stick for SEC teams. The Hogs know that. They also know that they must topple the Tide to have any chance to move up the pecking order.
"We're going to stick to Razorback football," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "We're not going to do anything special; we're not going to do anything extra for this game. We're just going to come out and play fun. We have a great few weeks behind us, and we're just going to build on that.
"This is what you wake up for. When you're a child, this is what you dream about. You dream about games like this. You want to play the best. It isn't any good you working hard 365 and you aren't ever going to play the best. We want to play the best. And Alabama, they earned that right to be called the best team."
For Alabama, this game is about showing Arkansas who is boss. The Crimson Tide have been as dominant as their No. 1 ranking suggests, outscoring opponents 134-19 in building a 3-0 record.
"This is sort of a new season, when you start playing in the SEC," Saban said. "This is a very good football team. ... Their quarterback is obviously one of the leaders in the nation in passing and their defense is in the top 10 in a lot of different categories."
In addition to having national-championship and SEC-title implications, this contest also will be a Heisman showdown between Arkansas junior quarterback Ryan Mallett and Alabama junior running back Mark Ingram.
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Like Ingram, Mallett struggled in this meeting last season, going just 12-of-35 for 160 yards with a touchdown and interception. But he looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in 2010. Mallett is 70-of-100 for 1,081 yards, with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. At Georgia last week, he threw for 380 yards and three scores, capping a last-minute drive with a game-winning, 40-yard touchdown pass.
"I think they've got nine starters back on offense so they're better in terms of their consistency and execution," Saban said. "I think [Mallett is] more comfortable in what he's doing and what he's expected to do, not that he wasn't a very good player last year.
"I think Bobby [Petrino] does a great job with him in terms of game plan, schemes and getting him in the right things, so this will be a real challenge for this team this year but also an opportunity for them to learn, grow, develop and try to get better. I don't think what happened last year will have anything to do with what happens this year."
But the outcome will go a long way toward shaping the national-title, SEC and Heisman races.
