Alabama pulls away in second half to beat Arkansas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 8 Alabama earned a 27-14 victory over Arkansas during its homecoming game in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.

It took awhile, but Alabama found some offense in the second half.

In the third quarter, Tide quarterback Jake Coker hit freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley in stride for an 81-yard touchdown to make it 10-7.

Following a failed fake punt attempt by Arkansas, Coker led another scoring drive which he capped with a three-yard touchdown to Richard Mullaney.

The Tide added three more on a 35-yard field goal from kicker Adam Griffith.

Alabama running back Derrick Henry added a one-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to push it to 27-7.

Meanwhile, the Hogs offense was stuck in mud for the most part. Arkansas did add a late touchdown to make it 27-14. Quarterback Brandon Allen found Dominique Reed for a 54-yard score.

Still, despite having the biggest offensive line in all of college football, the Razorbacks managed just 44 rushing yards on the night.

Arkansas entered tonight with 28 rushes of 10 or more yards on the year. The Hogs longest run of the night was 8 yards which came on an Allen scramble.

In the passing game, Allen ran for his life for much of the evening. Allen took hit after hit, but continued to play through the punishment. He finished with 176 yards, two touchdowns and an interception which he threw

to Tide safety Eddie Jackson.

Tide linebacker Reggie Ragland punished Arkansas ball carriers all afternoon. After leaving the game briefly with a shoulder injury, Ragland returned and used his good shoulder to finish with eight tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

Unranked Arkansas took a 7-3 lead into halftime over No. 8 Alabama.

After forcing Arkansas to punt on its opening drive, Alabama's offense drove 80 yards in 13 plays and made it all the way to the seven-yard line. But the Tide stalled and had to settle for a 24-yard field goal from kicker Adam Griffith to make it 3-0.

The two team's second drives were very similar to the first: Arkansas punting and Alabama driving the length of the field before settling for a field goal. This time though, Griffith missed a 25-yard attempt.

The first quarter ended with Alabama being up 3-0.

The second period didn't feature much either. In the 30 minutes, Arkansas totaled just 77 offensive yards on 25 plays.

But Coker's second interception of the day set the Razorbacks up with great field position, and they took advantage.

Allen found wide receiver Drew Morgan for the four-yard touchdown to make it 7-3. Allen had 53 passing yards and the touchdown in the first half.

With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Alabama drove the ball downfield, but Griffith missed a 48-yard field goal to end the half.

Alabama's offense gained 204 yards, but squandered two red zone opportunities while also turning the ball over twice (two Coker interceptions). The Tide also missed two field goals.

-- Contact Anniston Star Sports Writer Marq Burnett at mburnett @Marq_Burnett.

This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 11:31 PM with the headline "Alabama pulls away in second half to beat Arkansas ."