The No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks host the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night. Here are five reasons the Razorbacks can upset the Crimson Tide.
In one of the most high-profile games on the schedule in Week 6, the No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks will host the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide. Kickoff from Donald W. Reynolds Stadium in Fayetteville will be at 7:00 PM ET.
Arkansas is playing well in the early part of the season, but the Crimson Tide are looking like the favorite to win the College Football Playoff. Alabama is better coached, more poised, and has more talent than the Razorbacks. However, here are five reasons that Arkansas could be the team that gives Alabama its first loss of the season.
5. Alabama hasn’t really been tested, Arkansas has
Alabama is 5-0, while Arkansas is 4-1. The Crimson Tide look every bit the part of a College Football Playoff team. This team is well coached and nobody in the SEC does a better job of reloading his roster than head coach Nick Saban. However, what could hurt Alabama on Saturday is that they haven’t played a team like Arkansas yet.
Yes, Alabama has played two teams there were ranked at the time of the meeting in the USC Trojans and the Ole Miss Rebels, but one has to believe that the Razorbacks are a tougher matchup for the Crimson Tide. Arkansas has had its bell rung once this year, while Alabama still hasn’t had to learn from defeat yet.
Arkansas has played in to very emotional games, splitting the pair. The Razorbacks beat the TCU Horned Frogs in overtime in Fort Worth in Week 2. That win galvanized the team, but they would fall two weeks later in Arlington to the Texas A&M Aggies in the Southwest Classic in Week 4.
Losing to a rival program like Texas A&M seems to have made this Arkansas team closer. Alabama struggled in the first half against Ole Miss, but overcame that deficit to win convincingly in Week 3.
The Crimson Tide finally put together its first complete game of 2016 by clobbering the Kentucky Wildcats in Week 5. Alabama can’t lose a quarter to beat Arkansas in Week 5. It will take a complete game from Alabama to upend Arkansas. The Razorbacks have been tested, while Alabama has not.