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Alabama didn’t give up, but the score still showed an uphill climb. Down 24-10 with less than two minutes to go in the first half, Alabama’s defense forced a quick three-and-out.
The Alabama offense prepared to return to the field in short order, but Eddie Jackson ensured the offense could stay put a little longer. Jackson returned the punt 85 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 24-17 just before halftime.
The fact is non-offensive touchdowns have played a huge part in Alabama’s success, stemming back to last season’s College Football Playoff. Certainly, the non-offensive touchdowns changed the momentum for the Crimson Tide on Saturday in Oxford.
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Not only did Jackson’s special teams touchdown help Alabama close the gap heading to the locker room, but Alabama picked up where it left off: another non-offensive touchdown. Da’Ron Payne scooped up a fumble and took it in for a 3-yard touchdown following a Ryan Anderson sack of quarterback Chad Kelly on the Rebels’ first possession of the second half.
If Alabama left the first half trailing 24-10, it wouldn’t have been an insurmountable deficit, but facing a deficit of just a touchdown surely gave Alabama greater confidence in regaining the lead.
Having the defense score a pivotal touchdown to tie it 24-24 near the start the second half seemed to give the offense breathing room. After struggling to put together a complete drive during the first half, the offense followed with: field goal, touchdown, punt, touchdown to take a 41-30 lead.
But then it was time yet again for the defense to put points on the board.
DE Jonathan Allen, known for his ability to get to the quarterback, this time intercepted Kelly and took his suspect pass 75 yards the other way as he rumbled for a touchdown.
With that, the Crimson Tide went up 48-30 after falling behind 24-3. Alabama had outscored the Rebels 45-6 over that span, and defense and special teams accounted for 21 of those 45 points.
However, the biggest play of the game, and this is certainly debatable because the game included a number of big plays, was Allen’s pick-six. It essentially sealed the game for Alabama. Maintaining a 41-30 lead was strong, but building a 48-30 lead with just a little more than five minutes left in the game seemed to clinch it for the Crimson Tide.
Admittedly, the game had a wild finish, making things uncomfortably close for Alabama fans and undeniably exciting for the rest of the country. However, Allen’s non-offensive touchdown, the third of the day for Bama, proved to be the difference.
And the one that got it all started, Jackson’s punt return TD — the first attempt in his four-year career in Tuscaloosa — ensured that Alabama now has five straight games with a non-offensive score.
That string started against Michigan State last season in the College Football Playoff when Cyrus Jones essentially sealed the game late in the third quarter with a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown to give Alabama a 24-0 lead.
Against Clemson in the national championship game, Kenyan Drake returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, giving Alabama a two-possession lead late in the fourth quarter, 38-27.
Of course, Alabama’s defense outscored USC earlier this season when Marlon Humphrey returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown to give Alabama a 17-3 lead. Then, Jackson returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown last week against Western Kentucky.
Against Ole Miss, the other two phases of the game once again lent the Alabama offense a helping hand, something the Crimson Tide is getting accustomed to.
