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The No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks and No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide will face off at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Donald W. Reynold Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

The Razorbacks trail Alabama in the all-time series, 24-8, and they are currently on a 15-game losing streak. The last time the Hogs beat Alabama was in double overtime in Fayetteville during the 2006 season.

Arkansas is a +16.5 point underdog against the Crimson Tide. (BetSarcen).

Here is how the HawgBeat staff thinks the game will go Saturday:

A lot of the focus in this game will be on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young's matchup against the lackluster Razorback secondary. Young threw for nearly 600 yards against the Hogs last season, and he could probably get close to that mark in this one if he wants.

The way Alabama's defense has played to begin the season has been incredible, but who they played needs to be taken into account. Texas has a solid team this season, though it did just lose to Texas Tech. The rest of Alabama's opponents are a combined 6-8 this season (Utah State, Louisiana-Monroe, Vanderbilt).

Still, I think the Crimson Tide are just too far ahead of the Hogs in this one.

I think the crowd at Reynolds Razorback Stadium will give the Hogs 7-10 points or so, but that won't be enough to win.

Alabama 48, Arkansas 35

We’ve been hearing about how Alabama is not the powerhouse it usually is. However, the bottom line is that the Razorback secondary has to limit the effectiveness of the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Anyone who has watched this team through four games can tell you that is not a recipe for success.

KJ Jefferson and the offense may be able to give the Crimson Tide defense its biggest challenge of the season, but the mismatch on the other side of the ball will make those efforts all for naught.

Alabama 45, Arkansas 28

This is easily Arkansas' biggest test of the season, but fortunately for the Hogs it's also the most strenuous test of Nick Saban's 2022-23 Alabama Crimson Tide to this point.

In a battle of teams that have yet to have reached their full potential, I have to go with the more proven commodity. Though there's certainly a path to an Arkansas victory for the first time since 2006, it won't come easy.

I expect Bryce Young to do just enough to expose the holes throughout the secondary that we've seen for weeks, and I don't see Arkansas' rushing attack being enough to keep up in what should be a hard-fought game.

Alabama 30, Arkansas 20

It has been 16 years since Arkansas saw a W next to the Alabama game. Most of the 2022 freshman class were still in diapers. The Hogs came close last year with a seven-point loss in Tuscaloosa, and despite sloppy play the last two weeks, I’m picking Arkansas, and here’s why:

The Alabama offense is good, but not great this year. Bryce Young is 4-1 in five true road starts, all but one of which have been decided by three points or less. The Arkansas defense can force a couple turnovers, and while the Alabama defense is elite, I don’t think they can stop the four-headed rushing attack of Arkansas.

The Hogs will need to have their best game plan offensively, and allow the ground game to work the way it has the last year and a half. On the other side of the ball, the defense will need to keep Young contained and get pressure with the defensive line, to bait him into a few mistakes.

The Hogs win on a redemption game-winning field goal by Cam Little and the crowd storms the field.

Arkansas 31, Alabama 28

It’s going to be a hard-fought game. Potentially the best environment in Fayetteville in years. A red out. Two ranked teams.

Alabama comes into Fayetteville undefeated and ranked the second team in the country, while Arkansas comes into the matchup off a heartbreaking loss to Texas A&M. How the Razorbacks respond to that loss remains to be seen, but as far as matchups go, it’s not the worst in the world for Arkansas.

The Crimson Tide have struggled at establishing go-to receivers on the outside after years of dominance at the position. Because they have Bryce Young at quarterback, they still have the ability to throw the ball for a ton of yards, but a lot of them are underneath routes, screens, or passes out of the backfield for their athletes to make plays. The deep ball is in Young’s arsenal, but hasn’t been as major of a weapon this year, which bodes well for an Arkansas secondary that has struggled in coverage.

The caveat, though, is that the defense has to play sound, get to their spots, and make tackles in the open field against this offense. That will be more than a hard task.

Offensively, Arkansas can and will put up points. The Razorbacks were on pace to score 30+ again last weekend if they didn't fumble at the goal line and have a bad snap/missed field goal combination.

As all games under Pittman, the game will be decided in the trenches. Can Arkansas establish (and stick with) the run? Can the Razorbacks get enough pressure on Young to force bad throws without breaking contain on the QB or checkdowns?

It’s a tall task, one I think these Razorbacks aren’t scared of, but ultimately I think they fall short.

Alabama 42, Arkansas 34

Alabama may have young, inexperienced wideouts but it also has Heisman winner Bryce Young. The battered and bruised Razorback secondary played better last week but replicating that performance will be a tough task this week.

Alabama will amplify some of the defensive issues from earlier in the season and jump out to an early lead. The Razorbacks' offense is facing an even better front seven this week with arguably the nation’s best set of book ends.

It will take a near perfect performance by the Hogs and Alabama to have a Texas-esque performance but I don’t see it.

Alabama 38, Arkansas 24

Mason: 3-1, 2-2 ATS

Robert: 3-1, 1-3 ATS

Alex: 2-1, 1-2 ATS

Daniel: 3-1, 2-2 ATS

Jackson: 3-1, 2-2 ATS

Kevin: 0-0, 0-0 ATS

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