Last year’s overtime thriller between Arkansas and Alabama helped the Razorbacks to their highest final ranking since 1990 while giving the Crimson Tide their first of seven losses.

The stakes could be even higher this season as Heisman Trophy hopeful Darren McFadden and No. 16 Arkansas visit Tuscaloosa to face Nick Saban and Alabama in the Razorbacks’ SEC opener on Saturday.

McFadden and Felix Jones combined for 177 rushing yards in Arkansas’ 24-23 overtime win over Alabama last Sept. 23. The victory was part of the Razorbacks’ 10-game win streak, helping them to the No. 15 spot in the final AP poll - their highest finish since they were ranked 13th after the 1989 season.

It was one of a school record-tying seven 100-yard rushing games for McFadden, who finished second in last year’s Heisman voting behind Ohio State’s Troy Smith.

Alabama entered that game 3-0, but finished with a 6-7 record - its third non-winning season in four years.

“You never really thought about it, but that kind of was the turning point in our season, because it did seem like we went downhill after that game,” Alabama center Antoine Caldwell said. “We’ve matured as a football team. No matter what happens on Saturday, win or lose, we understand that one ballgame can’t make or break a season like it did last year.”

The Razorbacks’ 10-game win streak last year was their longest since a 10-game run in 1988, but they lost their last three games of the season, suffering conference defeats to LSU and Florida and a Capital One Bowl loss to Wisconsin.

This is the first big test of 2007 for Arkansas (1-0), which was off last week after beating Troy 46-26 in the season opener Sept. 1 as McFadden and Jones totaled 280 rushing yards. Both players ran for a touchdown, McFadden threw a 42-yard TD pass and Jones had a 90-yard kickoff return for a score.

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“We feel like we’re playmakers on the team,” McFadden said of himself and Jones. “So we always feel like we have to go out there and do something to get the team going.”

Arkansas totaled 350 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in its opener, and has led the conference in rushing in four of the last five seasons. The Razorbacks could struggle, however, against a Crimson Tide defense that has given up only 133 total rushing yards - and no rushing touchdowns - through two games.

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Alabama (2-0, 1-0 SEC) can match its SEC win total from a year ago with a win on Saturday. The Tide were 2-6 against conference opponents in 2006, but won their SEC opener 24-10 over Vanderbilt last Saturday.

Redshirt freshman running back Terry Grant ran 24 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns, and leads the conference with 307 yards and five TDs. Saban won his first SEC game since he coached LSU to a 6-2 conference record in 2004.

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“I think the most important thing is where we stand today, what we can do today to improve as a team,” said Saban, who was hired in January to restore the Crimson Tide to dominance after two seasons coaching in the NFL. “Every game that we play, we find out about ourselves. We find out what we need to work on. This game will be no different.”

Alabama leads the all-time series 9-8, but Arkansas has won three of the last four meetings, two of which were decided in overtime. Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt is 5-4 all-time against the Tide, while Saban was 3-2 against Arkansas in five years at LSU.