Tide-Arkansas about more than McFadden

So Arkansas has Darren McFadden at running back, and he has been a focus during the week leading up to Alabama’s home game against Arkansas on Saturday.

The 2006 Heisman trophy runner-up presents several problems for Alabama with his running ability, passing ability and even his decoy ability. McFadden is a multi-talented athlete who can use his skills to diversify the Arkansas offense in many ways.

But McFadden is just one player, and there are other story lines that his 6-foot-2, 215-pound presence is hiding.

John Parker Wilson: Which one will show? It could be the one who completed 68 percent of his passes against Western Carolina or the one who missed receivers all over the field against Vanderbilt. Heck, I’m sure Alabama would take the one who completed 16 of 20 passes last year against the Razorbacks.

Wilson said he wasn’t missing any reads against Vandy but instead had trouble with accuracy. It’s tough to say which problem would be more troubling to the Crimson Tide, but Wilson needs to step up if this team is going to succeed against top SEC competition.

Coming into the season, Alabama’s big offensive question mark was at running back, and Terry Grant’s emergence has solved that. Wilson now needs to help provide the balance that Alabama’s offense says it strives for.

Leigh Tiffin returns: It has been almost a year since Tiffin’s nightmare game in Alabama’s 24-23 overtime loss in Fayetteville last season. A missed go-ahead field goal near the end of regulation. A missed game-winning field goal in overtime. And a missed extra point.

Alabama did not make Tiffin available to reporters this week and probably with good reason. Who wants to re-live your worst football memory with a bunch of tape recorders in front of your face a few days before you face the same opponent?

Terry Grant vs. McFadden: While McFadden gets most of the hype, Alabama quietly has the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher in Grant with 307 yards, which is 2 more yards than BenJarvus Green-Ellis of Ole Miss.

Vanderbilt and Western Carolina didn’t provide as much of a defensive test as Arkansas will, but Grant sliced his way through both teams, showing an ability to outrun defenders and a knack for falling forward.

We may have seen only a small body of Grant’s work, but he certainly looks like the real deal.

Beware of the Cat: So imagine you are an Alabama defensive player. You just got trucked by McFadden’s patented stiff-arm. You’re tired of being hit over and over again by one of the best running backs in SEC history.

He goes out of the game, and you breathe a sigh of relief. And then running back Felix Jones comes in and you’re back to square one.

Last season, Jones finished second to McFadden in the SEC with 1,168 rushing yards. The tandem has invited comparisons to the former Auburn duo of Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown and will be a handful for Alabama defenders Saturday.

Arkansas lineup questions: While Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said starting wide receiver Marcus Monk and tight end Ben Cleveland are doubtful for Saturday, you never know.

If healthy, those two can diversity Arkansas’ passing game and help with blocking schemes for McFadden and Jones. Saban has players wearing Monk’s number in scout-team drills, so you know that he’s not taking Nutt’s proclamation too seriously.

The revenge factor: After losing to Arkansas in heart-breaking fashion last year, it bears watching to see if the Tide uses that as motivation for Saturday. Alabama players say they haven’t forgotten. But seeing is believing.

Arkansas at Alabama

Saturday
5:45 p.m.
ESPN