Sep 16, 2007, 3:40 GMT
Tuscaloosa, AL - John Parker Wilson's four-yard touchdown pass to Matt Caddell with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter gave Alabama a 41-38 win over 16th-ranked Arkansas.
Wilson completed 24-of-45 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns, and engineered the 73-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes to win the game.
Wilson guided the Crimson Tide on a nine-play possession that began with 2:05 remaining and ended with the connection to Caddell in the corner of the end zone, this despite Alabama having no timeouts remaining during the march.
A last-ditch hook-and-ladder effort by Arkansas fell short.
'I'm certainly proud of the way our players played the game,' Alabama head Coach Nick Saban said. 'We always talk about playing for 60 minutes in the game and when you score a touchdown with eight seconds to go in the game, it's an easy way to reinforce a point. This is a tremendous victory for the University of Alabama, a tremendous victory for our players and our fans.'
Caddell finished with nine catches for 91 yards and the one score, and D.J. Hall hauled in six passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, despite seeing limited second half action due to injury. Hall broke former receiver Ozzie Newsome's record for receiving yards as he raised his career yardage total to 2,207 yards.
Terry Grant rushed 20 times for 96 yards for the Tide (3-0, 2-0 SEC), who squeaked out the win in a game that featured a total of 31 fourth-quarter points.
Darren McFadden rushed 33 times for 195 yards and two touchdowns for Arkansas (1-1, 0-1), which overcame two separate 21-point deficits to take a 38-34 lead - its first of the game - late in the fourth quarter. McFadden's backfield partner, Felix Jones, carried 16 times for 96 yards, and quarterback Casey Dick was 11-for-23 passing for 145 yards and three touchdowns.
The Hogs recovered a fumbled snap exchange just outside 'Bama's 40-yard line, and ultimately converted it into seven points when McFadden plunged in from a yard out on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Arkansas forced another turnover when Jerell Norton picked off Wilson, who had pressure in his face, on the first play of the ensuing drive to set the Razorbacks up inside the Alabama 30. Six plays later, McFadden took a direct snap and sliced into the end zone from five yards away to tie the game at 31-31.
'Bama got the ball back and avoided another turnover, but was forced to punt after a three-and-out series. The Arkansas offense rewarded its defense for the stand, going 64 yards in six plays to take a 38-31 lead when Dick found Peyton Hillis for a seven-yard score.
The Tide answered by mounting a productive drive, but were stalled at the Arkansas 25-yard line and forced to settle for a 42-yard field goal by Leigh Tiffin with 4:20 left.
Arkansas picked up a pair of first downs on its next possession, but gave the ball back to 'Bama with just over two minutes remaining. Wilson completed four straight passes and then got a key pass interference penalty in the end zone to set up the game-winning score.
With 8:35 remaining in the first, the Tide capitalized on an interception thrown by Dick at the Arkansas 15-yard line, when Wilson connected with Hall for a touchdown from nine yards out.
After a Razorbacks drive stalled around their own 40, Alabama mounted a seven- play, 64-yard possession that culminated in a 14-yard Glen Coffee touchdown scamper.
Wilson found Hall again for a 21-0 lead with 1:27 remaining in the quarter after he got behind the secondary for a 35-yard score.
Arkansas got back in the game with a six-play, 84-yard drive highlighted by a 40-yard touchdown pass from Dick to Crosby Tuck to trim the lead to two touchdowns with just over six minutes remaining in the half.
Matteral Richardson intercepted John Parker Wilson to thwart an Alabama drive in Arkansas territory with just under three minutes left, and the Razorbacks then used a steady diet of McFadden and Jones to set up a 22-yard field goal from Alex Tejada and head into the locker room trailing 21-10.
On Alabama's first possession of the second half, John Parker Wilson connected with Hall for 44 yards despite severely underthrowing him, setting the Tide up inside the Arkansas 5-yard line. But Arkansas' defense stiffened and 'Bama was forced to settle for a 24-yard Tiffin field goal.
One play after Javier Arenas took a nearly-blocked Arkansas punt back 58 yards to the Razorbacks' two-yard line, Wilson found Nick Walker on a crossing route for a touchdown that made it a 31-10 ballgame.
But Arkansas responded with a scoring drive of its own, going 61 yards in only five plays, the biggest of which was Jones' 36-yard run over the right tackle. The only passing play of the drive was Dick's two-yard touchdown toss to Andrew Davie with 3:05 remaining in the third.
'I was real proud of our team,' Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said. 'I thought that we started playing football like we know how to play it. We showed a lot of heart and a lot of character.'
Game Notes
Halls performance gives him 2,206 receiving yards in his Alabama career. On the first play of the game, Hall reeled in a 43-yard pass from Wilson to break former receiver Ozzie Newsomes all-time receiving record at Alabama...Arkansas has now lost four of its last five games dating back to last season...Wilson was intercepted twice and lost one fumble...The Razorbacks racked up 301 yards rushing, compared to the Crimson Tide's 123 yards on the ground.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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