Game Day is in Tuscaloosa today as Ole Miss takes on the Alabama Crimson Tide in a late night 9:15 EST game. At the beginning of the year, I thought Alabama would win this game. It's the safe pick, because Ole Miss hasn't won back to back games against Alabama, ever. Furthermore, they haven't beaten them in Tuscaloosa since the 1980s.
Having watched the first two weeks of the season though, I'm not at all impressed with Alabama'a QB play. Jake Coker isn't even a mediocre QB in my opinion. He's below average. Alabama is obviously going to come out and run the football and limit Coker's decisions, but they don't have Amari Cooper anymore to bail them out when they can't move the football. Kenyon Drake is very good, but he's no Amari Cooper.
What I am impressed with is Derrick Henry and the Alabama Offensive Line. If they open lanes for Henry, then Ole Miss is going to have to play flawless football to beat Alabama. Nick Saban's resume speaks for itself. He's a phenomenal head coach and any program outside of C-Bus, Ohio would love to have him. When asked which head coach he'd like to have on his side if a brawl at Coaches' Convention breaks out, Saban said the one head coach he'd want on his side is Urban Meyer.
Ole Miss has a better overall receiving corps, an elite defense on par with Alabama's, and a star QB. Chad Kelly is the best QB in the SEC right now. He's got a rocket for an arm and he gets rid of the football quickly. Kelly's a film junkie, and you can bet he's watched plenty of Alabama defensive schemes since coming to Oxford. The Rebels have also run the ball much better this year. People say well it's against inferior opponents, which is true, but they still put up at least 73 points in back to back weeks, and no SEC team has ever done that.
I think this game is close from start to finish. It's going to be tough for Ole Miss without Laremy Tunsil, who is still being held out while a negotiation with the NCAA continues, but Kelly's ability to get the ball out quickly Ole Miss's receiving corps is going to make Bama respect the pass. After the first two weeks, it looks like these are the two best teams in the SEC West. The good news for both teams, is that a loss this early isn't a death blow to their playoff chances.
Alabama thought last season that the Game Day stage would be too much for Ole Miss to handle. They're not ready for prime time. They're not ready to beat a top ranked opponent. Well, Dr Bo. gave the Tide a lesson in what being ready looks like. This year, the same argument is being made about Chad Kelly. All week the game has been hyped with most analysts saying that Ole Miss won't beat the Tide in Tuscaloosa. While it will clearly be a physical and hard fought game, anyone in Oxford will tell you that if you ask Chad Kelly if he's prepared for this game, he'll tell you:
Ole Miss 24
Alabama 26
In a game that goes back and forth all night, the Tide get the ball with 2 minutes left trailing 24-23. Alabama drives down the field, and hits a last second field goal that give them the win against the Rebels. Regardless of the outcome this should be a fun game to watch. I hope I'm wrong and the Rebels pull out a victory. Cheers! Hotty Toddy!
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