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For Alabama, how formidable of an opponent is Ole Miss?
From a matchup perspective, the defensive talent at LSU may be scarier than the Rebels’. The offensive talent at Texas A&M might be just as threatening if not more. Then, Auburn brings more of the “anything goes in a rivalry” feeling.
However, nothing matches Alabama’s feeling towards Ole Miss right now. At least this season, the Crimson Tide might have been looking forward to the Rebels more than any opponent in order to exorcise those demons.
Seeing Alabama head coach Nick Saban livid on the sideline has everything to do with execution (or lack thereof) and less to do with the overall outcome of a 38-10 win over Western Kentucky. Like their head coach, Alabama players seemed disappointed with their performance on Saturday.
It seems to have everything to do with the fact that while Alabama has played generally well overall, the team is capable of so much more. Going into Oxford, the Crimson Tide want to bring its best performance of the season thus far and not something amounting to “good but could have been much better” because such a performance might result in a loss.
Here’s a scary stat from Alabama’s win against Western Kentucky: The Crimson Tide rushed for just 124 yards, which would have been the second-lowest total last season. The 2015 team managed just 117 yards rushing against Tennessee but had more than 124 yards in every other game, Clemson included.
Alabama’s most difficult opponents in terms of run defense last season were Tennessee, Arkansas and Clemson. Not surprisingly, those were the three closest wins by margin of victory last season.
So why is Ole Miss such a tall task? Ole Miss is tough for many of the same reasons LSU and Texas A&M figure to be. In recent years, Alabama struggles against teams with mobile quarterbacks (Johnny Manziel, Nick Marshall, Chad Kelly, etc.), tall/physical wide receivers and defenses that excel at stopping the run.
Interestingly, Ole Miss was Alabama’s lone loss last season, even though Alabama rushed for 215 yards during the game. The biggest reason Ole Miss defeated Alabama last season is five turnovers, and the Ole Miss passing game gashed Alabama’s secondary.
Alabama’s secondary this season appears the best group the program has fielded in a long time. Both of the first two opponents have targeted cornerback Anthony Averett. While Averett appears to be the weak link among the starters, that’s more of a testament to the strengths of Eddie Jackson, Ronnie Harrison, Marlon Humphrey and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
With all of this said, Ole Miss is going to have some success against the Alabama secondary. Kelly is one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC, and he has an array of weapons. Evan Engram is on par with O.J. Howard as one of the best tight ends in the conference.
Of course, Alabama fans are already familiar with 6-foot-3 receiver Quincy Adeboyejo. His 66-yard catch off a tipped pass for a touchdown put Ole Miss in the lead 24-10 in the third quarter of last season’s 43-37 loss in Tuscaloosa.
The team also has 6-foot-2, 220-pounder Damore’ea Stringfellow, who had two key receptions in last season’s game. There is also 6-foot-2 Van Jefferson, who had a huge 20-yard touchdown reception against FSU in the fourth quarter to keep Ole Miss in the game. The question is: Can Alabama shut down Ole Miss when it counts?
As for Ole Miss’ rushing attack, Jordan Wilkins is out for the season, leaving Akeem Judd to step in as the primary back. Judd has been decent during the first two games of the season with 108 yards on 19 carries (5.7 yards per carry). Kelly, who finished as the second-leading rusher on the team last season, hasn’t done much on the ground this season (28 yards on 17 carries).
On the other side of the ball, Ole Miss has been solid against the run. The team held Dalvin Cook largely in check as he averaged fewer than 4 yards per carry, although the team struggled to contain quarterback Deondre Francois.
Last season, Ole Miss’ secondary had a field day with both Cooper Bateman and Jake Coker, collecting three interceptions. The team lost two its top players in the secondary this season. On defense, Ole Miss’ greatest strength is up front with a stout D-line and linebackers who can both get after the passer and stop the run.
If Jalen Hurts can help Alabama avoid the turnovers that plagued them last season in this matchup, that in itself would go a long way.
However, Ole Miss presents a major challenge because the team has the ability to stop the run, a mobile quarterback and an array of big and physical receivers. That’s been the formula to stopping the Tide, and the Rebels have it.
