Jalen Milroe passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead No. 11 Alabama to a 24-21 victory over Arkansas in Southeastern Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Kobe Prentice and Amari Niblack caught scoring passes as the Crimson Tide (6-1, 4-0 SEC) won their fifth straight game. Alabama’s Will Reichard booted his 26th consecutive field goal and also became the SEC’s all-time leading scorer.
Milroe was 10-of-21 passing for 238 yards while helping the Crimson Tide beat the Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4) for the 17th straight time. The victory was the 200th at Alabama for Nick Saban in his 17 seasons as coach.
KJ Jefferson completed 14 of 24 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns for Arkansas, which lost its fifth straight game. Isaiah Sategna and Rashod Dubinion caught scoring passes for the Razorbacks.
Alabama outgained Arkansas 415 to 250.
The Razorbacks trailed by 18 points before staging a comeback.
Arkansas pulled within 24-13 on Jefferson’s 5-yard scoring pass to Sategna with 33 seconds remaining in the third period.
In the fourth quarter, Jefferson connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dubinion and then tossed a two-point conversion pass to Andrew Armstrong to make it a three-point margin with 10:59 left.
But the Razorbacks failed to score on their next possession before the Crimson Tide ran off the final 5:19 to secure the victory.
Arkansas’ Cam Little kicked field goals of 55 and 49 yards in the first quarter.
The Crimson Tide were later facing third-and-14 from their own 21-yard line when Prentice was wide open deep down the middle of the field. Milroe connected with Prentice, who completed a 79-yard scoring play with 58 seconds left in the first quarter.
Reichard’s extra point raised his career point total to 481, breaking a tie with former Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson (2014-17) for the SEC mark. Reichard concluded the game with 486 points.
Alabama moved ahead 14-6 on Milroe’s 1-yard run with 8:52 left in the first half. Four-plus minutes later, Milroe tossed a 29-yard scoring pass to Niblack to make it a 15-point margin.
Reichard’s 30-yard field goal boosted the Crimson Tide’s advantage to 24-6 with 7:47 left in the third quarter.
–Field Level Media
