Razorbacks' No. 2-ranked offense no match for Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Huge plays, nifty tricks and plenty of passing.

Greg McElroy and No. 3 Alabama borrowed a page from Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino's playbook - and a few from Georgia's, too - with stellar results in Saturday's 35-7 romp over the Razorbacks.

The Crimson Tide defense prevented Ryan Mallett and the Razorbacks from turning the game into another high-scoring affair.

McElroy passed for a career-high 291 yards and three touchdowns and the Tide (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) picked on the Razorbacks' beleaguered defense with three plays of 50-plus yards, including an 80-yarder to Marquis Maze that was one of the longest pass plays in school history.

"We saw that Georgia made explosive plays," said McElroy, referring to the Razorbacks' 52-41 loss a week earlier. "We actually put in a few plays that Georgia ran. The deep ball to Maze was a play Georgia ran. We saw what we could exploit."

'Bama also blocked a punt in winning its 18th consecutive league opener dating to its 1992 national championship season.

A relentless defense hounded Mallett and the nation's No. 2 offense. Mallett was 12-for-35 for 161 yards for Arkansas (1-2, 0-2) and threw his first interception.

Trent Richardson broke four tackles for a 52-yard touchdown run, Julio Jones caught a 50-yard TD pass on a trick play and McElroy hit Maze for the even longer play.

The Tide managed to avoid the troubles of its two top 10 SEC West rivals. No. 4 Ole Miss lost to South Carolina and No. 7 LSU barely escaped Mississippi State with a victory.

Bama, meanwhile, coasted to another easy win, dominating its last three games by a collective 100 points. But star linebacker Dont'a Hightower left with a knee injury late in the first quarter and coach Nick Saban said "the initial prognosis is not good." Hightower will be evaluated today.

"I hate to see any player get hurt, ever, but that one there is a good one," Saban said.

Arkansas scored on its opening drive of the second half to cut the deficit to 14-7 on Mallett's 18-yard touchdown pass to Greg Childs, but the momentum wa

Comment on "Razorbacks' No. 2-ranked offense no match for Crimson Tide"