No. 9 Alabama found itself on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets of the college football season last week with its loss to No. 7 LSU. The Crimson Tide are now aiming to get back on track when they take to No. 11 Ole Miss in front of what will be a hostile crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama has lost two of its last three games, including the overtime thriller against the Death Valley Tigers in Week 10. The Rebels, who have suffered just one loss this season, will look to follow the pace in the race for the SEC West crown after a week off last weekend.
There is a lot at stake here. The two teams watch the New Year’s Six-Bowl Bidding opposite each other, and the winner will move up the pecking order, essentially securing a spot in one of this season’s major bowl matches. There’s even more at stake for Ole Miss; a loss to the Crimson Tide, combined with an LSU win over Arkansas earlier in the day, will hand the division title to the Tigers.
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How to Watch Alabama vs. Ole Miss Live
Date: Saturday Nov 12 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — Oxford, Mississippi
TV: SCS | Direct: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports app (free)
Alabama vs. Ole Miss: Need to Know
What is Bryce Young’s status? The Alabama quarterback and defending Heisman Trophy winner has been working his way back to 100% after suffering a shoulder injury last month against Arkansas. Young has struggled at times against LSU, and coach Nick Saban knows the rest of the offense isn’t helping him much.
“Everything points to what he’s telling us, me, the medical staff, is that he’s feeling fine, he’s fine,” Saban said on Monday. “I guess you should ask him to really get an idea of how he’s feeling, but he’s telling us he’s fine. He said he’s been fine in training compared to what he’s got. But listen, we need to do a better job around Bryce. We need to protect him better. We can’t let people pickpocket him. We need to do a better job of managing the routes so that we have confidence that the people will do exactly what they’re supposed to do.”
Ole Miss ranks among the top four teams in the SEC for sacks and tackles for loss, and there’s no doubt pressure will be a focal point of the Rebels’ defense. Empty possessions against Ole Miss can cause big problems, and Alabama’s offensive weakness doesn’t mesh well with Ole Miss’s defensive strength.
Big Game Rebels: Ole Miss has 16 passing plays for at least 20 yards this year — fourth in the SEC. Receivers Malik Heath and Jonathan Mingo are solid studs and have benefited from a rushing Rebels attack that moves quickly and provides safeties in the box.
“They make a lot of explosive plays in the passing game because they are a very good running team, which is not abnormal because you have to play to stop the run,” said Saban. “They do a good job of taking shots on these running plays, that’s what makes it really difficult.”
Ole Miss has the same philosophy as Tennessee, and we all know what happened to Crimson Tide against the Volunteers. If the Rebels can establish the run early, quarterback Jaxson Dart will have the chance to slice and dice Tide’s secondary.
Where is the motivation? : The last time Alabama was essentially out of the national title picture in mid-November was 2010. The Crimson Tide lost two of their last three and, to be frank, the fire didn’t seem at all be on the sidelines. Saturday night in Death Valley. They were relegated to playing for pride, which Saban is working hard to get through this week in training.
“I think it’s a challenge for all of us to be proud of,” Saban said. “We’re going to be up against a good team this week, and I’m sure they’ll want to put on their mantle, ‘We beat Alabama too.’ So it’s just a question of whether we’re going to allow that to happen or whether we’re going to do everything we can to prevent it because Ole Miss has a very good team.”
Saban has mastered the ability to succeed under pressure. Usually, though, it’s the pressure to win at the highest level the sport offers. The pressure to save face is something entirely different.
Alabama vs. Ole Miss Prediction, Picks
Grab Ole Miss and the points, but you won’t need them because the Rebels win this one. The Rebels’ multidimensional rushing offense will hit early, draw Alabama defenders into the box, and Dart will land shots over the top. At the same time, Ole Miss’ defense will be successful enough to push to put Alabama behind the sticks. That’s bad news for an Alabama team that hasn’t been clean on the road. Prediction: Ole Miss +12
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