The first meeting between Ole Miss and Alabama in the post-Hugh Freeze era goes to the top-ranked Crimson Tide, and resoundingly so. The Tide stormed out to a devastating 21-0 lead in a flash during the first quarter before going on to win 66-3 marking the most points ever scored in the Nick Saban era.
Sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts had yet another ultra-efficient night completing 12 of his 19 passing attempts for 197 yards and a pair of scores in a little over a half’s work. True-freshman quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, also had a pleasant game. In garbage time, he completed three of his five throws for 51 and a touchdown.
Catching those passes were a large plethora of different receivers. Cam Sims and Calvin Ridley led the pack with sixty yards each, Sims’ coming all on one catch while Ridley’s came on four. Joshua Jacobs, Henry Ruggs III, and Hale Hentges were each recipients of touchdown passes.
On the ground, Jalen Hurts’ effort once again led the way with 101 yards and a score on just 10 attempts. Damien Harris led all running backs, though, with 67 yards on 7 attempts. Josh Jacobs – who was heavily involved in the passing game, too – looked healthy on his pair of carries that he turned into 51 yards. Tagovailoa, Najee Harris, and Bo Scarbrough each had touchdown runs of their own.
On defense, the belt is sure to be awarded to Levi Wallace who was a thorn in Shea Patterson’s side all night, picking of two separate passes and taking one back for a score. Alabama’s defense was able to hold the typically-explosive Patterson to just 165 yards and a mere 48% completion rate. Ole Miss’ running back Jordan Wilkins was the only bright spot of the night for the Rebels as he managed 101 yards on 12 carries.
Alabama has now played consecutive dominant performances and it appears as though Brian Daboll has hit his groove as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. The problems caused by a multitude of injuries sustained by Jeremy Pruitt’s defense against Florida State appeared ironed out, but the loss of Da’Shawn Hand and Trevon Diggs for an uncertain amount of time could hurt especially down the stretch.
If this is a sign of things to come, the Tide are still as good as ever before in 2017. Their offense may even be better than ever, and that is a scary thing in a year with a weaker SEC.
