It wasn’t anywhere near how he would have wanted it to play out (but rarely is it ever; he’s hard to please), but Alabama head coach Nick Saban got win No. 200 at the university on Saturday with the Crimson Tide’s nailbiter against Arkansas (Notebook: Nick Saban Picks Up 200th Win at Alabama ).
It shouldn’t have been a nailbiter, but it was. Alabama played relatively well in the first half, getting deep balls from quarterback Jalen Milroe to his receivers and holding Arkansas in check with good defense, in building a 24-6 lead.
The second half, though, was a different story. At one point, Milroe had completed 1-of-4 passes in the second half for just 4 yards, and the Tide’s offensive line, which had nine pre-snap penalties against Texas A&M in a 26-20 win at College Station a week ago, not only had problems protecting Milroe (six sacks by Arkansas in the game), but apparently had problems run-blocking again, as well.
Also in victory, Alabama kicker Will Reichard became the Southeastern Conference’s all-time leading scorer, passing former Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson with 489 points. That’s an incredible statistic, given all the talent in that conference’s incredible, and long, history.
By the way, Saban has seven national titles, six of them at Alabama (just like legendary late coach Paul “Bear” Bryant). Saban trails Bryant for the title of the Crimson Tide’s all-time winningest coach by 32 wins.
