No. 10 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Alabama SEC: West staredown

Mallett’s holster filled with No. 1 team in town for Razorback Road rumble

— Arkansas’ quest for the brass ring has reached this moment of truth.

With the college football world watching, the No. 10 Razorbacks can either score an upset of defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Alabama and leap whole hog into title talks or trudge back into the queue of frustrated would-be contenders.

“We treat it like the SEC Championship Game,” Arkansas linebacker Jerico Nelson said.

“This is the game to put us out there,” Arkansas offensive tackle Ray Dominguez said. “A lot of guys really don’t give Arkansas that respect. I know deep down we’ve got a really good football team, and now it’s time to show the nation that Arkansas is a force to be reckoned with.”

Arkansas (3-0, 1-0 SEC) and Alabama (3-0, 0-0) kick it off today at 2:30 p.m. at soldout Reynolds Razorback Stadium (list capacity 72,000) and a national audience on CBS.

The Crimson Tide, who have won three in a row in this SEC West rivalry, are a touchdown favorite in the Hogs’ house.

The buzz has been building all week in anticipation of a game some are calling the biggest on Arkansas’ campus since the Big Shootout with Texas in 1969, when No. 2 Arkansas hosted No. 1 Texas in the regular-season finale.

“It’s going to be loud and rocking,” Razorbacks receiver Joe Adams said.

The stage is packed with talent.

Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, 17-0 quarterback Greg McElroy and a revamped defense top Alabama’s long list of well-known commodities. Quarterback Ryan Mallett, now a player in the Heisman race, his game-changing wideouts and a maturing defense aching for respect key Arkansas’ bid for the national spotlight.

Nick Saban, the defensive whiz who rapidly rebuilt Alabama’s faded football glory, takes on Bobby Petrino, the offensive mastermind who has assembled the potent Air Mallett attack.

Arkansas, which recognized and embraced its national aspirations throughout the offseason, has played mostly under the radar from its position as challenger until today.

“I feel we’re very confident going into the game,” Petrino said. “We know it’s going to be a battle. We know it’s going to be hard-fought.”

Alabama, winner of 17 consecutive games and 18 consecutive SEC openers, is a veteran at pressure-packed games. The Crimson Tide have won eight in a row as well as 14 of their past 16 games away from Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“The fact that we’ve played in adverse environments before obviously really encourages us,” McElroy said. “We were able to pull out victories at Auburn and in the Georgia Dome twice, as well as Pasadena [Calif., in the BCS championship game].

“I think everyone is a little more confident in the fact that we have played big games on the road before and come away victorious.”

Alabama pounded Penn State, Duke and San Jose State by a combined score of 134-19, but the Tide recognize their conference opener today enhances the stakes.

“Playing on the road, playing against a very good team [is] very challenging, but I think when you coach here, when you play here ... those are the kind of things you really get excited about, and those are the kind of games you want to play,” Saban said.

The Crimson Tide pulled away from a seven-point game in the third quarter last year to send Arkansas away with its worst loss of the season, 35-7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“We were right in there and weren’t even running smooth on offense,” Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams said. “We just need to take care of business, understand we’ve been there before, take coaching and go out and play football.”

Said Mallett, “Last year was a whole different story, and that was a different team. This year is a more mature team and we’re excited about it.”

The prevalent image of both programs is interesting in this clash.

Alabama, with oversized players at defensive end, linebacker, running back and defensive back, reflects the hardcore attitude of physical domination espoused by Saban.

Arkansas, with Mallett as its frontman and receivers Greg Childs, Williams and Adams as his top targets, is seen as more of a finesse team, but Petrino’s staff has labored to remodel that image. The Razorbacks have increased the emphasis on stout defense and a running game, and the results are mixed.

Arkansas ranks No. 10 nationally in total defense, compared to Alabama’s No. 9 ranking, but its running game is at No. 98, with 116 yards per game on the ground.

Petrino has shown he’ll keep the ball in the air to win games, and with Mallett in the pocket, that hasn’t been a bad approach. Mallett leads the country with 360 passing yards per game and he’s completing 70 percent of his passes with an efficiency rating of 186.5 that’s fifth in the country.

“Ryan Mallett is obviously, if not the best, one of the best quarterbacks in the country in terms of his grasp of the offense along with the productivity and the skill level of the receivers and how he handles it and their ability to throw the ball,” Saban said.

“We have to get in and try to rattle him around a little bit and keep him uncomfortable,” Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower said.

McElroy’s passer rating is an NCAA-best 200.03 and his record as a starter since the eighth grade is 33-0.

“He understands everything,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said. “I don’t think we’re going to give him a look that he hasn’t seen through his career there.

“The kid has great composure. You can’t get him flustered. He plays well on the road. He plays well at home. The kid’s a champ.”

Arkansas has shown improvement at stopping the run, but the Crimson Tide, led by the tackle-busting duo of Ingram and Trent Richardson, present a running game that averages 250.7 yards per game.

Petrino talked repeatedly this week about his team’s need to “play Razorback football” and not do anything extraordinary to beat Alabama. Yet a victory over the defending champs would be seen as a defining moment in Razorbacks history.

“This is why I came to Arkansas, to play games like this for my home state,” Adams said.

“We’ve got to just accept the challenge of playing against a really good team,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said, “and playing in one of the environments that we all dreamed about.”

Sports, Pages 19 on 09/25/2010

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