By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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Dating back to his first season with Alabama, Nick Saban has compiled a staggering 31-6 record in SEC road games.

Playing on the road can be the ultimate equalizer for even the best college football teams. Not, however, for Alabama. The Crimson Tide are a remarkable 20-2 in their last 22 true road games, with their two defeats both coming in the final minute, one in the final second. No program takes an opponent’s field with the focus of Alabama. Under Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide have lost just one road game by more than one score.

Ahead of a primetime showdown with nationally-ranked Arkansas in Fayetteville, the defending national champions enter with a top-ranked billing, a distinction they have more than earned.

Dating back to his first season with Alabama, Saban has compiled a staggering 31-6 record in SEC road contests. That consistent success is a direct reflection of the program’s poise and preparation. The Crimson Tide enter every weekend knowing they will receive the best effort of the team they are playing, a sentiment which is magnified away from home. Often-accompanied by a lofty spot in the polls, the energy of a possible upset follows Alabama everywhere it goes.

The Crimson Tide have had one true road outing this fall, a 48-43 triumph at Ole Miss. That afternoon, Alabama trailed 24-3 late in the second quarter before rallying with 24 unanswered points and 45 of the next 51. Facing a huge deficit, with a true freshman quarterback, in a hostile environment, the Crimson Tide proved unflappable. With momentum firmly on the side of the Rebels, Alabama, focused on the task at hand, stayed true.

“We thought this was going to be a 60-minute game,” Saban explained. “We knew we probably would have to wear them down and beat them in the second half.”

This Saturday, the Crimson Tide will encounter another tough test: playing at the 16th ranked Razorbacks. Arkansas has won ten of its last 12, with wins over the likes of Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and TCU. Alabama has dominated the series as of late, winning nine in a row in the series, but the 2014 contest was quite literally as close as it could possibly be. In their last trip to Fayetteville, the Crimson Tide edged the Razorbacks 14-13 in a game the home team led in the fourth quarter.

Alabama’s win over Arkansas, two years ago, came seven days after losing to the Rebels in Oxford.

“Obviously, our team was very disappointed and responded well, I think, to what happened a week ago,” Saban then-stated. “It’s tough on the road in this league, and our division is really, really difficult. There’s no easy games.”

To date, the Crimson Tide have looked the part as the nation’s premier team. Alabama, in Arlington, opened the season with a 52-6 dismantling of Southern California. Throw in comfortable wins against Western Kentucky, Kent State and Kentucky, and the aforementioned triumph at Ole Miss, and the Crimson Tide are 5-0 heading into conference road game number two. Alabama has now won 17 games in a row.

Saban continues to reflect with incredible detail, a sliding scale of evaluation where improvement is always the answer.

“I think our team is making progress, but we need to continue to do that and continue to work, because every week in the SEC is a real challenge and a real test,” he added. “That certainly won’t be any different on the road against Arkansas.”

Once again, the Crimson Tide will step under the bright lights with the setting such for an upset. Almost without exception on that stage, Alabama has answered the challenge.