Alabama vs Arkansas: A Historical Retrospective
by kleph on Sep 21, 2009 10:00 AM CDT
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The history between the football programs of Arkansas and Alabama is one overshadowed by the relationship between the conferences they have been associated with. As a member of the Southwest Conference, Arkansas aligned itself with the football powers in Texas and Oklahoma. It wasn't until the school's departure for the SEC in 1990 that Arkansas emerged as a regular rival for the Crimson Tide.
Thus, the earliest games between the two programs tended to be for the highest stakes. In 1961 and 1979 (video above) the path to Alabama's national championships lay through the Sugar Bowl and high-power Razorback squads. Ironically enough, the first "regular season" game between the teams, was part of Bama's 1992 national championship campaign.
Overall, Alabama has amassed an 11-8 record against Arkansas and the series stands tied at 4-3 for games played at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
There is significant controversy involving Arkansas due to the outcome of the 1964 season although the two teams never faced each other on the gridiron that year. At the end of the season, but before the bowl games were played, Alabama was selected the national champion by both the Associated Press and UPI "coaches poll" ahead of also-undefeated No. 2 Arkansas.
But Alabama was upended by No. 5 Texas in the Orange Bowl - a team Arkansas had bested during the season. (Arkansas topped No. 7 Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl) Since there were no further polls, Alabama retained the national championship. The Football Writers of America in a post-bowl recognized the Razorbacks as the national champion in their separate post bowl award, The Grantland Rice trophy. Due to the controversy, the AP began the practice of selecting its national champion after the bowl games the following season.
Alabama vs Arkansas Historical Record
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Source: The University of Alabama 2009 Football Media Guide
Alabama vs Arkansas: The Record Book
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Source: The University of Alabama Football Record Book
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Picking a nit
Bad habit of mine.
Shouldn’t ‘05 and ’07 look the same if we’re talking vacated wins under appeal? Or has UA decided that it will appeal the ‘05 vacation and not the ’07? I’m confused.
I hope that’s not how it looks in the media guide…
by short_shifter on Sep 21, 2009 10:28 AM CDT up reply actions
also, we need to be aware of the fact...
…that the exact games that are subject to being vacated has never been solidly established. (pete pointed this out when we were discussing the “how many wins” issue last week). if anyone can shed any light on this matter we would be more than glad to hear about it.
Actually
the SWC was only Texas schools and Arkansas. The Oklahoma schools were in the Big 8.
The Rivalry, Esq.
The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.
I apologize for
not brushing up on my 1915-1919 Southwestern Conference membership before commenting.
The Rivalry, Esq.
The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.
by Bama Hawkeye on Sep 21, 2009 10:59 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
please don't take the response as criticism...
i think, if you look at the attention to detail in these comments, you’ll notice the high standards i’m being held to in posting these entries. so, yes, this was something i made sure to double check in writing this item.
by kleph on Sep 21, 2009 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
From my own writing over at The Rivary, Esq, I understand.
The Rivalry, Esq.
The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.
by Bama Hawkeye on Sep 21, 2009 4:39 PM CDT up reply actions
As sure as Dr. Lou picking Arky to win this game…
by short_shifter on Sep 21, 2009 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
blobby platrino has a heckuva squad down there in feyetbill
i’m goin with tha hogs ad home to ubsed tha cwimson tlide.
welcome to the SEC kiffykins...
by tempebamafan on Sep 21, 2009 1:12 PM CDT up reply actions
I count us leading the series 5-3 at BDS....
is my math fuzzy?
36-0
"If wanting to win is a fault, as some of my critics seem to insist, then I plead guilty. I like to win. I know no other way. It's in my blood."- The Bear
not entirely...
…this is an extension of my transcription error from above. due to the 1993 forfeit we have only four wins at BDS (but just three losses). corrected and thanks.
Didn't two of the losses against Arkie . . .
involve critical 4th down conversions by Arkansas when they had 12 men on the field? I know there was at least one but thought there was two. Still frustrated with those.
One of them...
…(95?) involved a TD ‘completion’ that bounced off the turf and into the receiver’s gut, for anyone still opposed to the current replay rules.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Sep 21, 2009 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Yep...
… I was at that game sitting in the end one. That was the week after we beat Southern Miss in Legion Field on the glorified Hail Mary.
I think the Arkansas quarterback’s name was Barry Looney. I forget the receiver, but I remember that was the year of Madre Hill running over people at tailback, and if memory serves me correctly it was the only good year Danny Ford had in Fayetteville.
by outsidethesidelines on Sep 21, 2009 3:24 PM CDT up reply actions
OH!
This is my first Alabama football memory. All i can remember is my dad, uncle, and Paw Paw screaming at the tv for like 45 minutes about how it was the worst call ever… i was like 8. Gah sucky first memory, but its prol the first thing that got me fired up about BAMA football!
by tidefanstuckatlsu on Sep 21, 2009 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Oy
Sorry kleph, didn’t mean for this story to turn into a “let’s all bash the author for statistical inconsistencies” thread :/
actually...
…i prefer having this kind of attention to detail by everyone. i’ve come to learn first hand about the large gaps in accurate data provided by the athletic department. working as a group, we have better chance of getting things 100% correct.
so no apology necessary. please keep up the good work.
i wanted to be possessed by him
but sadly never got to meet him while in school
"You have to create 6 seconds of hell each play..."
Coach Nick Saban
Arky OT game = worst football game EVER
seriously that sucked, and in case your wondering which one gave me grief
PICK ONE! you guessed it
Terrence Cody drinks your milkshake!
negative, Bama/FSU '07 in Jax was the worst.
Offense sells tickets. Defense wins games. - Paul W. "Bear" Bryant
by TheRedTideConsumes on Sep 21, 2009 1:17 PM CDT up reply actions
negative.
Bama @ UCLA in 00’ was the worst. and a long drive home to boot.
welcome to the SEC kiffykins...
by tempebamafan on Sep 21, 2009 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions
negative
Bama vs. LA-Monroe, 2007.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Sep 21, 2009 3:27 PM CDT up reply actions
No loss...
…from the 2000 season stands out to me, other than the Rose Bowl game I attended with 30,000+ die-hard and disappointed Bama fans. After that, I’ve just had to block the rest out so I can sleep at night.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Sep 21, 2009 3:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Bama-Florida 2005
The loss to UT in 2003 with the goddang 4th and 18 in the 2nd OT is my 2nd most painful Bama game. However, I’ve never been sicker than after the Bama-Florida game. If I could give the back win and have a healthy Prothro, I’d do it in a second.
"That rug really tied the room together."
by pantsfucious on Sep 21, 2009 4:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Orlando?
I bleed crimson and white...I puke Vol puke orange. RTR
by SugarBowl93 on Sep 22, 2009 12:10 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
agreed, tempebamafan
i was there. it was like having the bones removed from your feet with a pair of pliers.
Bama-Southern Miss '03
I think that game had the lowest combined yardage of any game Alabama’s ever been a part of. Yikes that game was dull. At least we won it though.
My dad and I were at that game.
3rd or 4th string QB in that game. (Avolous was his name right?) I remember pretty much the only reason we won the snore fest was because of Shaud Williams one long run and Southern Miss got a holding call on a kick returned for a touchdown. We sat by the Southern Miss section and they were pissed! Which made it more enjoyable.
Yep...
… Brandon Avalos, the guy Fran signed to run the option in the 2002 class.
by outsidethesidelines on Sep 21, 2009 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions
This was the first game I ever went to and said "does somebody have to win this?"
because both squads were oh so pathetic
Offense sells tickets. Defense wins games. - Paul W. "Bear" Bryant
by TheRedTideConsumes on Sep 21, 2009 1:46 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm
with you on FSU ’07. Not because the Arky game in ’06 was any less depressing, but just because I had to put up with all the 13 year old FSU fans that suddenly appeared out of nowhere as soon as the clock hit 0:00
"A demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." -H. L. Mencken
I was at the game also
Not much FSU gear to start the game but toward the end I swear I saw people putting it on. It was a nice stadium though, I kinda hope the Gator bowl picks up the SEC tie in just because my bro lives there and can get some tickets. I will say however I hope BAMA never plays there in post season.
i don't even count that one
as a football game. ironically, all the seminole fans here in NWFL don’t seem to either.
"You have to create 6 seconds of hell each play..."
Coach Nick Saban
Wow
this thread just got really depressing, my bad
HEY WE’RE RANKED NUMBER THREE IN THE NATION!
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!
Terrence Cody drinks your milkshake!
by Wallacewade04 on Sep 21, 2009 1:49 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree
That game was the epitome of Mike Shula’s entire coaching career. You have a walk-on true freshman making his first career start. He misses FGs from 30 and 34 during regulation. Bama forces an INT to start overtime. What does Shula do? Darby rush for no gain. Darby rush for 1 yard. Darby rush for 3 yards. And then Tiffin misses his third FG. Combine that with the missed XP in 2OT and it was just an awful game.
I'll tell you this much...
… I’ve never seen any team whip ’Bama’s ass near as bad as Arkansas did in 1998. Good God, I tell you that one was nothing short of torture.
by outsidethesidelines on Sep 21, 2009 3:27 PM CDT up reply actions
Worse than...
…LSU did with Josh Reed in, what, 2001? The score didn’t reflect it enough, but we were thoroughly owned that day as well.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Sep 21, 2009 3:42 PM CDT up reply actions
How many catches did Reed have?
38? For like 550 yards? That day sucked. Wasn’t that big dude, Rohan Davey, the LSU QB. Dude was a hoss.
"That rug really tied the room together."
by pantsfucious on Sep 21, 2009 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions
And
again in ’03. The score was 27-3 I think. Might as well have been 115-0. I think we crossed the 50 once the whole game.
"A demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." -H. L. Mencken
Man we have had some BAD losses lately
I need to go watch highlights from last year to cheer myself up a little bit after reading that.
36-0
The 20-3 loss to South Carolina in '04...
…is another painful memory for me. It seemed like we weren’t even trying.
Keith Brown...
…quit trying after he ate that fence post.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Sep 21, 2009 9:53 PM CDT up reply actions
Decades Best Games (to lift your spirits):
2001: AU
2002: UT, LSU
2005: UF, UT
2007: UT
2008: UGA, UT, LSU, AU
by NiceLittleSaturday on Sep 21, 2009 10:02 PM CDT up reply actions
Since we began
this every year series with Arky in 92 no one has been able to win more than 3 in a row and that was at the start 92-94.
The truth is we need to start dominating teams like Arkansas. We should win 80% of the time against them. No way their recruits can equal our recruits year in and year out. Our record from 97-06 was just 4-6. That shows how bad we really were in Dubose/Fran/Shula era.
This year we go for 3 in row. Lets start to establish rule over the pigs.
I hate the NCAA more than UT & AU combined. At least with UT & AU you got a fighting chance.
97-06...
…there weren’t any seasons affected by probation or poor coaching at that time, were there?
by NiceLittleSaturday on Sep 21, 2009 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions
hey with Bobby at the helm
we can’t get too cocky
If the offensive guru can get a halfway competent defense behind him WATCH OUT
that shit would just add another layer of nausea to an already vomit inducing division
Terrence Cody drinks your milkshake!
by Wallacewade04 on Sep 21, 2009 3:47 PM CDT up reply actions
The margin for error...
…does seem to be shrinking. Fortunately, we have a coach who stresses disciplined play and soul-jarring hits on both sides of the ball.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Sep 21, 2009 9:56 PM CDT up reply actions
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