Ole Miss recap: Nothing normal about Bama’s big win in Oxford
September 17, 2016 Comments Off on Ole Miss recap: Nothing normal about Bama’s big win in Oxford
On a day when the list of people needing medical treatment for cramps probably included SEC replay official John Bible, Alabama snatched victory from the jaws of defeat before nearly handing it back.
For whatever reason, Ole Miss can struggle against teams much lesser than Alabama, but when the Crimson Tide comes to town (or when Ole Miss visits Tuscaloosa), the Rebels seem to be the one team in America that doesn’t wilt like yesterday’s daylily.
Continue reading …Ole Miss preview: Bama trying to keep anomaly from becoming a trend
September 14, 2016 Comments Off on Ole Miss preview: Bama trying to keep anomaly from becoming a trend
This game is more about just a win or a loss. It’s about not putting oneself in a position to have to hope for miracles. It’s also about not losing three times in a row to a historical conference also-ran that only recently has achieved status as a contender – and, perhaps not coincidentally, is battling the NCAA over alleged recruiting violations.
Continue reading …Previews 2016: Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Texas A&M
August 22, 2016 Comments Off on Previews 2016: Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Texas A&M
The offseason has been a turbulent one for Ole Miss, more so the result of an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations than anything happening on the field. The Rebels have been effective spoilers under Hugh Freeze, but haven’t shown the mental toughness necessary yet to take the final step and win the division. Now, Ole Miss will have to prove it can take that final step while dealing with off-field distractions and replacing starters at over half the positions on the field.
Continue reading …Ole Miss wrap-up: Turnovers, QB play hurt, but poor defense finished off the Tide
September 20, 2015 Comments Off on Ole Miss wrap-up: Turnovers, QB play hurt, but poor defense finished off the Tide
One of college football’s greatest attractions is that anything can (and does) happen each week to teams, good and bad. Unfortunately for Alabama, this includes a 66-yard Three Stooges act of a touchdown pass to Quincy Adeboyejo that the Tide will be seeing on a loop on ESPN SportsCenter for the next ten years. Those kinds of plays (think “Kick Six,” Johnny Manziel’s fumble TD pass, etc.) have certainly affected Alabama more than others in recent years, but they are only anomalies.
Continue reading …Ole Miss preview: Bama will find out whether Rebels are for real
September 15, 2015 Comments Off on Ole Miss preview: Bama will find out whether Rebels are for real
The Rebels have now hung 70-plus points on each of its first two opponents, UT-Martin and Fresno State. It wasn’t a surprise in the opener; it was definitely a surprise last week against a Fresno team that is typically well-coached and scrappy. It leaves Alabama asking the question of just how good is Ole Miss, and whether Kelly was the missing piece to Hugh Freeze’s offense this whole time.
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Relative to talent, there has probably not been a team fall short of expectations as spectacularly as Ole Miss has done it over the past couple of years. Ole Miss lost two of its last three games in 2014 by a combined score of 72-3, failing to achieve offensive balance or take advantage of several packed recruiting classes. The window isn’t closing yet for Ole Miss, but uncertainty in the offensive backfield makes the Rebels vulnerable. Most of the uncertainty, though, falls back to a coaching staff that is starting to take some heat for its choices.
Continue reading …Ole Miss wrapup: If Alabama wants to be the best, it must play that way
October 4, 2014 Comments Off on Ole Miss wrapup: If Alabama wants to be the best, it must play that way
There is little mystery as to why Alabama finds itself tonight a one-loss football team: It’s not playing well enough to be better than that.
Even if there was no controversy over the Tide’s second-quarter strip-and-score touchdown by Cyrus Jones, Alabama was having problems in this game and the future schedule will present many similar problems unless Alabama figures out how to play like their National Signing Day pedigrees suggest it can be done.
Continue reading …Ole Miss preview: Bama will find out whether Rebels are for real
September 29, 2014 Comments Off on Ole Miss preview: Bama will find out whether Rebels are for real
A quick glance at defensive statistics this season would seem to suggest that no, Ole Miss’ 2013 defensive improvement was not a mirage. The Rebels have put up impressive numbers through the first third of the 2014 season, and the confidence gained from their performance have given Ole Miss’ players a great deal of confidence heading into this game.
For Alabama, though, it’s just another verse to a familiar song, one sung by Ole Miss players and fans insistent that the current season will be different from those of the last 50 years. And while Ole Miss has a stout defense in 2014, to be sure, the Rebels’ offensive capabilities – particularly in the running game – simply haven’t been good enough to merit discussion of the Rebels-as-contenders subject.
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Ole Miss has become the media darling team of the SEC West, as some media members searched for any reason they could find not to pick either Alabama, LSU or Auburn to win the division. The Rebels make some sense as a potential party-crasher, thanks to a veteran starting quarterback, some star power scattered here and there on the roster, improving depth and a defense that got a lot saltier in Hugh Freeze’s second season. But the lack of overall depth and concern over the offensive line could doom Ole Miss’ chances out of the gate.
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Short Yardage: Alabama to run with Daboll; Ole Miss in a mess
If there was ever a doubt that Nick Saban had seen just about all he could stand of Lane Kiffin’s growing infatuation with finesse offensive schemes, hiring Brian Daboll from the New England Patriots as the Crimson Tide’s new offensive coordinator ought to erase those doubts.
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February 24, 2017Comments Off on Short Yardage: Alabama to run with Daboll; Ole Miss in a messRead More