Alabama-Ole Miss tied at half as the Tide struggle on defense

Oct 10, 2020; Oxford, MX, USA; Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) runs the ball against Mississippi at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kent Gidley via USA TODAY Sports

Alabama and Ole Miss are tied 21-21 at half.

The Rebels’ offense gave Alabama’s defense fits throughout the first half as the Rebels scored on three of their five first-half drives. Two of those scores came on drives where Ole Miss converted on fourth down. Alabama’s offense was able to keep the Tide in good position in the first half with 336 total yards.

Alabama’s offensive stat rundown:

Mac Jones 16/19  236 YDS  1 TD

Najee Harris 11 ATT 46 YDS 1 TD

Devonta Smith 7 REC 106 YDS 1 TD

Alabama’s Defensive Stat Rundown

Christian Harris 4.2 Tackles

Jordan Battle 4.2 Tackles

Dylan Moses 4 Tackles

Scoring Summary:

Ole Miss was able to get on the board first with a Matt Corral touchdown pass to Kenny Yeboah with 14:10 left in the first quarter. The Tide were able to answer back quickly with a Devonta Smith 14-yard receiving touchdown to knot things up 7-7 in the first. The Rebels looked as if they were about to put together another scoring drive on their second possession, which was stalled out after a snap went over Corral’s head on second down. The drive ended with a punt on 4th & 17.

After a subpar performance on the ground against Texas A&M, the Tide attempted to get their running backs involved on the second drive as Najee Harris and Brian Robinson were able to put together multiple 5-plus yard gains. Unfortunately the drive ended without a score as Najee Harris fumbled the ball for the first time on his career on the one yard line. The Rebels did not waste their opportunity after recovering Harris’ fumble as they move the ball up the field to get a rushing score from Jerrion Ealy.

Ole Miss forced an Alabama punt on the ensuing drive. After a punt by the Rebels, Alabama responded with an hard-nosed running drive, which was topped off by a Brian Robinson rushing touchdown. The Rebels were able to take the lead for the third time on the following drive with a rushing touchdown from Snoop Conner. The Tide answered back with a rushing touchdown by Najee Harris late in the second quarter to tie things up 21-21 with 1:00 left in the half.