A shoot-out.
That’s the only possible way to describe Saturday’s game between Alabama and Ole Miss which saw over 100 combined points throughout Alabama’s 63-48 victory.
For the Crimson Tide, it was Mac Jones, Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith who led the way for Steve Sarkisian’s offense.
It was the second week in a row in which Jones passed for multiple touchdowns and for over 300 yards. Jones dealt with clean pockets for the majority of the night and even when plays broke down, he was able to make something happen with his feet.
He finished the game going 28 of 32 for 417 yards and two touchdowns.
Smith put in his first monster game of the season with 13 receptions for 164 yards, one receiving touchdown and one 14-yard rushing touchdown, as he consistently had his way with the Ole Miss secondary.
On the ground, the offensive line and Harris pushed around the Ole Miss front for multiple big chunk plays. Harris who recorded 206 yards and five touchdowns on 23 carries as he simply could not be stopped on the ground.
If he wasn’t before, Harris may have broken into the Heisman Trophy conversation after his career performance on Saturday.
But Alabama’s defense proved to be a major issue throughout the entirety of the game. Lane Kiffin’s offense did whatever it wanted through the air and on the ground with Pete Golding’s crew not having answers.
The defense boasted numerous missed tackles and sacks along with allowing Ole Miss to convert nearly every time it got itself in a third and long situation. It seemed as if the only spots where the unit was able to get a stop was when Ole Miss had a bad snap from its center to set them back too deep.
Otherwise, it was a concerning display on that side of the ball especially considering the Georgia Bulldogs are coming to town next week.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
