Tide Holds Off Hogs at Homecoming

It was a happy homecoming in T-town. No. 11 Alabama beat Arkansas 24-21 to keep its place in the SEC West driver's seat. It wasn't easy, though.

Arkansas scored the game's final 15 points to cut into that Tide lead.

Alabama coach Nick Saban said, “It’s great to win and be where we are in the SEC… but there’s a difference between beating the other team and winning the game.

“We played well until it was 21-16… and we didn’t finish.”

Saban got his 200^th win at Alabama.

The offensive star for Alabama was Jalen Milroe who had two touchdowns through the air and one by ground. Defensively, the top tackler was freshman safety Caleb Downs with seven stops.

"We all need to look in the mirror and see what we can improve on," said Milroe, who threw for 238 yards."It's all about the finish."

Here's a look at how the scoring went:

Arkansas got on the board with a 55-yard field goal by Cam Little with 9:15 left in the first quarter. The boot capped a 27-yard drive.i

Little connected again with 2:05 to go in the first, this time from 49, and Arkansas led 6-0.

Kobe Prentice got behind the Hogs' secondary on a third-and-14 for 79 yards and a score, and Will Reichard kicked it to 7-6 Alabama with 58 seconds left in the first.The quarter ended with the Tide up a point.

Milroe continued to fire away and found Jermaine Burton for 44 yards and Ja'Corey Brooks for 25 more. The march was capped when Milroe emulated his Philadelphia Eagles namesake Jalen Hurts on a push-aided one-yard sneak with 8:52 left in the half.. Bama led 14-6 and seemed to have momentum. Reichard's PAT made him the SEC's all-time leading scorer.

Milroe ws not done. He found Amari Niblack from 29 yards out at the 4:41 mark for a 21-6 Tide lead. Strong running by Jam Miller aided the 65-yard march.

That 15-point lead held at halftime, and Bama's decision to defer and receive the second half kick was looking wise.

Reichard capped a 77-yard march wijth a 30-yard field goal and a 24-6 lead 7:47 mark of the third quarter. Roydell Williams ran the ball well to set up the boot.

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Isaiah Sategna caught a five-yard pass from KJ Jefferson just before the quarter ended,j and Bama led 24-13 to start the final stanza.

Many connected to Bama football wondered if the running game would return to the offense after a dismal performance at A&M. Answer: Yes Alabama rushed for 177 yards and averaged 4.2 yards per carry against the Hogs.

Next up for the Tide is a 2:30 home game against Tennessee.Though he sat out Saturday with a high ankle sprain, safety Malachi Moore is expected to play against the Vols.

Linebacker Trez Marshal and tight end CJ Dipre left Saturday's game with injuries Saban said he didn't consider serious.