Alabama Tops Arkansas 49-26 Despite Bryce Young Leaving Game With Sprained Shoulder

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Despite a final score of 49-26, the game was much closer at one point than the scoreboard reflected.

No. 2 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) nearly wasted a 28-point lead to the No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks (3-2, 1-2) in Fayetteville on Saturday before slamming down on the pedal and winning in easy fashion after reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young went down with a shoulder injury early in the second quarter.

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The Tide's first score of the game came with 7:41 left in the first quarter, as Young hit Kobe Prentice for a 47-yard touchdown strike. Young then got on the board again with a little more than 2:00 left in the first quarter, scoring on an 8-yard run.

Before going down with an injury in the second quarter, Young went 7-for-13 through the air for 173 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

Redshirt freshman Jalen Milroe — a product of Tompkins High in Katy, Texas — came on in substitution of Young and scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Tide up 21-0.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban said following the win that Young has a sprained shoulder and the Tide signal caller could be seen dressed out on the sideline with his helmet on for the entire second half.

Milroe came in and helped extend the lead as the first half came to a close, throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to JoJo Earle in his first game of the season following an injury in pre-season camp.

Arkansas would then get its first score of the game on the following drive with 0:21 left in the first half, going on to score 17 unanswered points.

Following a bad snap on an attempted punt with less than a minute to go in the third quarter, Arkansas made the most of the good field position and scored quickly, before failing on the two-point conversion attempt to close the gap to 28-23.

Alabama would then respond following an inspired 77-yard run by Milroe to get into scoring position. The drive was ultimately capped off by a 3-yard run from Jase McClellan to make it a two score ballgame at 35-23.

Jahmyr Gibbs led the Tide in rushing on the night, finishing with 206 yards on only 18 attempts, which included a crucial 72-yard touchdown run with 12:17 left in the game to put the game out of reach and grab the momentum in the Tide's favor, with Alabama going up 42-23.

The Georgia Tech transfer was not finished in the game's late stages, though, topping his longest run of the day with a 76-yard scamper for a touchdown with 6:55 left in the game.

NEXT UP: Alabama will host No. 17 Texas A&M on Oct. 7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.

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