TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Arkansas-Alabama 2013 was a repeat of the 2012 contest between the teams.
The No. 1 Crimson Tide handed the Razorbacks their worst loss ever in Southeastern Conference play again Saturday, winning 52-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The loss matched a 52-0 Alabama win last year.
AJ McCarron passed for 181 yards and 3 touchdowns before leaving the game up 42-0 in the third quarter. The senior quarterback improved to 33-2 as a starter and complemented a strong Alabama rushing attack led by Kenyan Drake and T.J. Yeldon.
Alabama took control early, scoring on a 12-play, 68-yard drive to open the game. McCarron's 4-yard pass to Jalston Fowler gave the Crimson Tide a 7-0 lead.
Drake added touchdown runs of 1 and 46 yards in the first half, and McCarron's 30-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper shortly before halftime gave the Crimson Tide a 28-0 lead at the intermission.
Alabama (7-0, 4-0 SEC) added a pair of quick touchdowns in the third quarter. Keon Hatcher fumbled the second half kickoff for the Razorbacks and the Crimson Tide scored three plays later on a 17-yard pass from McCarron to O.J. Howard.
Yeldon added a 24-yard touchdown run later in the third quarter and Cade Foster kicked a 48-yard field goal to extend Alabama's lead to 45-0.
Derrick Henry's 80-yard touchdown run with 59 seconds remaining capped the scoring. Henry led the team with 111 yards on six carries.
Drake rushed for 104 yards on eight carries and Yeldon added 88 yards on 12 carries. The Crimson Tide finished with 532 yards of total offense.
Arkansas' offense struggled for the third consecutive game. The Razorbacks were held to 256 yards of total offense, which marked their second-worst yardage total of the season. South Carolina held Arkansas to a season-low 248 yards last week.
Quarterback Brandon Allen was intercepted twice and completed just 7 of 25 passes for 91 yards.
The Razorbacks have lost back-to-back games by a combined 97 points - their second-worst two-game stretch ever in SEC play.
Arkansas (3-5, 0-4 SEC) has lost a record eight straight conference games dating to last season and its five-game overall losing streak is the program's longest since 1997. The shutout loss was the Razorbacks' third since joining the SEC.
Alabama improved to 7-0 against Arkansas under head coach Nick Saban.
The Razorbacks are off next week and are scheduled to host No. 24 Auburn on Nov. 2 in Fayetteville.