10 Things to Know - Alabama

Arkansas hosts top-ranked Alabama on Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN with Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Tom Luginbill calling the game. The Razorbacks return home to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the first time in three weeks. Here are 10 things to know heading into kickoff on Saturday.

1. The Razorbacks and Crimson Tide meet for the 29th time in history in a series that began in 1962 at the Sugar Bowl. The two programs again squared off in the Sugar Bowl in 1980 before the Hogs joined the Southeastern Conference in 1992 and became an annual division opponent of the Tide.

2. De’Jon Harris’ career-best 16 tackles against Texas A&M last week are the most by a SEC player this season. Harris leads the SEC and ranks 17th nationally in tackles this season with 53. Harris’ 16 tackles were the most by a Hog since Dre Greenlaw made 17 tackles against TCU last season.

3. Dre Greenlaw’s two interceptions against Texas A&M last week are the most by a player in the SEC this year, matching Auburn’s Daniel Thomas, who did it against Alabama State earlier this season. For Greenlaw, the picks were the second and third of his career.

4. Harris (16) and Greenlaw (13) combined for 29 tackles against the Aggies, the most by teammates in a single-game in the SEC this season. The duo is the top returning tacklers in the league after both registered 100+ tackle seasons in 2017. Greenlaw is the active career leader in the SEC with 271 tackles and Harris enters the weekend with 205. With Harris crossing the 200-tackle mark, the duo became the 12th set of active teammates to have 200 career tackles each.

5. Arkansas is one of three teams in the SEC to have four different tight ends catch passes this season joining Florida (5) and Mississippi State (4). Cheyenne O’Grady caught three passes for 77 yards last week to become the fourth Arkansas TE to catch a pass this season.

6. The Razorbacks have forced 10 turnovers through the team’s first five games and rank third in the SEC and 13th nationally in turnovers gained. Arkansas has recovered seven fumbles to rank second in FBS and have intercepted three passes this year after Dre Greenlaw’s two interceptions against Texas A&M last Saturday. The Razorbacks recovered nine fumbles and intercepted eight passes all of last year, including six in the team’s first five games last season. This year’s Razorbacks have forced turnovers in four of the team’s five games while the Hogs have scored 31 points off those 10 turnovers.

7. Rakeem Boyd earned his first career start last Saturday against Texas A&M and led the Razorbacks in receptions and rushing for the second straight week. Against the Aggies, Boyd ran for 47 yards on 10 carries and caught four passes for 33 yards. The sophomore over the last two weeks has carried the ball 18 times for a team-best 113 yards while catching a team-best six passes for a team-high 72 yards. Boyd has 185 all-purpose yards over the last two games and now leads the Hogs with 272 all-purpose yards.

8. Freshman WR Mike Woods posted numerous firsts in his home state on Saturday. The Magnolia, Texas native made his first career start and caught his touchdown pass. Woods caught two passes for 50 yards, including a 29-yard TD pass from Ty Storey in the fourth quarter to bring the Razorbacks within a score. The freshman has seven catches for 124 yards, which ranks third on the team.

9. Arkansas has earned the name Tight End U over the last several years producing NFL tight ends Hunter Henry, Jeremy Sprinkle and AJ Derby. So far this season, the Razorbacks have completed passes to four different tight ends, including Cheyenne O’Grady who became the fourth Arkansas tight end to catch a pass this season last Saturday against Texas A&M. O’Grady snagged three passes for a team game-high 77 yards, including a career-long 36-yard reception. Jeremy Patton leads all tight ends with five catches but is closely followed by Austin Cantrell’s four receptions. Grayson Gunter has one catch for 11 yards. According to Pro Football Focus, only Florida has completed passes to more tight ends (5) than Arkansas this season. The Hogs’ four tight ends have combined to catch 13 passes for 202 yards and a score.

10. For the 24th time in program history the Razorbacks will take on the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Since joining the SEC in 1992, Arkansas has faced the No. 1 team in the nation 13 times entering Saturday’s match-up with Alabama, which will be the seventh game against a top-ranked Tide. The seventh game against a No. 1 Alabama will equal Arkansas’ seven games against a No. 1 Texas.