Nick Saban is expecting a better Ole Miss defense than the one Alabama dismantled during last year’s 63-48 victory in Oxford, Miss. He’s also expecting it to look a bit different.
This year, Ole Miss is utilizing more of a 3-2-6 formation on defense as opposed to the 4-2-5 and 4-3 setups it deployed last season. The new scheme, which routinely sees the Rebels drop seven or eight men in coverage, has been working as Ole Miss is allowing opponents 344.7 yards per game compared to the whopping 519 yards a game it surrendered last year.
"Defensively, they're really, really improved from a year ago in their statistics and the way they've played,” Saban said. “I think they got a little different system that they're playing, dropping a little bit more like Arkansas-like with a little more eight drops and playing a little more odd-type stuff, and they have done it extremely well.”
Mercer dropped back eight defenders in coverage at times against Alabama earlier this year. However, as Saban pointed out, a better reference point would be the Tide's 52-3 victory over Arkansas last year. During that game, Mac Jones completed 24 of 29 passes for 208 yards, picking apart a defense hell-bent on preventing big plays.
Here’s a better look at Ole Miss’ defense and what Bryce Young and company can do to attack it.
In the above play, Ole Miss does a good job maintaining coverage. The Louisville receiver could have — and probably should have — made the catch for the first down, but the defense leaves a small window for error on the play.
Another key to this formation is the Rebels' ability to create pressure with their three down linemen. Ole Miss has one of the most disruptive edge rushers in the SEC in Sam Williams, who has posted a team-high four sacks through three games despite often having to fight off double-teams.
Here, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound defender is able to bounce off the left guard before beating the left tackle to the edge where he is able to chase down quarterback Malik Cunningham, who rushed for 609 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Ole Miss also left inside linebacker Chance Campbell to spy on Cunningham. Had Williams not been able to catch the quarterback, Campbell would have likely still brought him down before the line of scrimmage.
Ole Miss won’t always drop eight defenders back. Against Louisville, the Rebels often brought Campbell on blitzes to provide pressure. In the play below, the linebacker forces Cunningham into an ill-advised deep throw, setting up an easy interception for defensive back Deantre Prince.
Could it finally be time for Young to show off his skills as a rusher? Alabama fans have been clamoring for their dual-threat quarterback to tuck the ball more as Young has just four carries for 24 yards excluding sacks and intentional groundings. That could change this week against an Ole Miss defense that has been susceptible to quarterback runs so far this season.
The Rebels allowed Cunningham to gain 79 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in Week 1 and saw Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt bust an 18-yard run as part of 37 rushing yards on 11 attempts during its last outing.
Alabama hasn’t drawn up many designed runs for Young like the one Pratt pulled off above. However, he’s more than capable of doing so if asked. The more likely scenario figures to be the play shown below where Cunningham rolls to his right for a pass before making Campbell miss in the backfield and beating defenders to the edge with his feet.
When Young does throw the ball, expect him to target his tight ends. During last year’s game against Arkansas, Alabama tight end Miller Forristall pulled in a career-high six receptions for 52 yards as the Razorbacks allowed Jones to dump the ball off to him on check-down routes.
While the completions weren't the flashiest, they were extremely effective as three of Forristall's receptions went for first downs. Oftentimes, the tight end was able to fight for extra yardage on the perimeter as his size advantage allowed him to outmuscle smaller defensive backs for extra yards.
Alabama also utilized Forristall on release plays such as the one shown below. Here, the tight end starts as a blocker before becoming a receiver, allowing Jones to hit him over the middle after the inside linebacker is drawn away by DeVonta Smith's crossing route. The Tide has used both Cameron Latu and Jahleel Billingsley on similar plays this season.
Last week, Billingsley recorded a season-high 105 yards and a touchdown on five receptions while Latu added three catches for 57 yards and two scores through the air. With Ole Miss dropping eight men into coverage, the two shouldn't be relied on to perform too many blocking duties which should open the door for more receiving production.
"‘Leel and Cam have been a really great addition for us offensively," Young said. "For them to both be able to contribute, I feel that makes us a lot better offensively. You know, I have a tremendous amount of confidence and respect with both of them. Being able to see them and us trying to, again, get ‘em some favorable matchups and them being able to contribute both in the pass and run game is really unique and definitely makes my job a lot easier.”
Outside of using its tight ends, Alabama will look to rack up yards after the reception. While Ole Miss' zone coverage could limit long passes, the Tide can combat it by getting the ball into the hands of its speedy playmakers in open space. In the play below, Alabama puts Slade Bolden in motion before dumping the ball to him on the flats. Shifty freshman receiver JoJo Earle would also be a perfect fit in this scenario.
Young also received some playing time in last season's game against Arkansas, completing 3 of 4 passes for 19 yards. The majority of that came on a screen to Javon Baker which resulted in a 15 yards gain.
On the play, Baker lined up stacked behind Bolden to Young's right. After snapping the ball out of the shotgun, Young immediately fired a pass to Baker as Bolden sprung him free for a big gain down the sideline.
Later in the quarter, Young converted on a second-and-5 as he hit Bodlen on a bubble screen for a 5-yard gain. Lined up in the slot in a three-wide formation, Bolden was able to pick up the first down behind blocks from Baker and Xavier Williams on the edge.
Young has shown the ability to distribute the ball among his receiving corps, connecting with 11 different targets through four games. He's also been a sound decision-maker, posting an SEC-leading 188.52 passer rating while ranking third in the conference with a 72.1 completion percentage.
Monday, Saban expressed confidence in his quarterback's ability to continue that success against Ole Miss' drop-eight coverage.
"I think we have to have a good plan against it," Saban said. "Everybody's got to execute well. I think Bryce is capable of recognizing it and getting the ball to the right guys. It's something that we need to work on this week."
This year, Ole Miss is utilizing more of a 3-2-6 formation on defense as opposed to the 4-2-5 and 4-3 setups it deployed last season. The new scheme, which routinely sees the Rebels drop seven or eight men in coverage, has been working as Ole Miss is allowing opponents 344.7 yards per game compared to the whopping 519 yards a game it surrendered last year.
"Defensively, they're really, really improved from a year ago in their statistics and the way they've played,” Saban said. “I think they got a little different system that they're playing, dropping a little bit more like Arkansas-like with a little more eight drops and playing a little more odd-type stuff, and they have done it extremely well.”
Mercer dropped back eight defenders in coverage at times against Alabama earlier this year. However, as Saban pointed out, a better reference point would be the Tide's 52-3 victory over Arkansas last year. During that game, Mac Jones completed 24 of 29 passes for 208 yards, picking apart a defense hell-bent on preventing big plays.
Here’s a better look at Ole Miss’ defense and what Bryce Young and company can do to attack it.
How Ole Miss’ 3-2-6 has worked
When working out of the 3-2-6 formation, Ole Miss typically rushes with three down linemen while dropping the rest of its defenders into coverage. In this situation, it’s common to see the Rebels leave five of their defenders in under-zone coverage while having their remaining defensive backs guard deep. This generally prevents the defense from getting beat deep while clogging the zones for underneath routes.In the above play, Ole Miss does a good job maintaining coverage. The Louisville receiver could have — and probably should have — made the catch for the first down, but the defense leaves a small window for error on the play.
Another key to this formation is the Rebels' ability to create pressure with their three down linemen. Ole Miss has one of the most disruptive edge rushers in the SEC in Sam Williams, who has posted a team-high four sacks through three games despite often having to fight off double-teams.
Here, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound defender is able to bounce off the left guard before beating the left tackle to the edge where he is able to chase down quarterback Malik Cunningham, who rushed for 609 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Ole Miss also left inside linebacker Chance Campbell to spy on Cunningham. Had Williams not been able to catch the quarterback, Campbell would have likely still brought him down before the line of scrimmage.
Ole Miss won’t always drop eight defenders back. Against Louisville, the Rebels often brought Campbell on blitzes to provide pressure. In the play below, the linebacker forces Cunningham into an ill-advised deep throw, setting up an easy interception for defensive back Deantre Prince.
How Young can exploit it
Could it finally be time for Young to show off his skills as a rusher? Alabama fans have been clamoring for their dual-threat quarterback to tuck the ball more as Young has just four carries for 24 yards excluding sacks and intentional groundings. That could change this week against an Ole Miss defense that has been susceptible to quarterback runs so far this season.
The Rebels allowed Cunningham to gain 79 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in Week 1 and saw Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt bust an 18-yard run as part of 37 rushing yards on 11 attempts during its last outing.
Alabama hasn’t drawn up many designed runs for Young like the one Pratt pulled off above. However, he’s more than capable of doing so if asked. The more likely scenario figures to be the play shown below where Cunningham rolls to his right for a pass before making Campbell miss in the backfield and beating defenders to the edge with his feet.
When Young does throw the ball, expect him to target his tight ends. During last year’s game against Arkansas, Alabama tight end Miller Forristall pulled in a career-high six receptions for 52 yards as the Razorbacks allowed Jones to dump the ball off to him on check-down routes.
While the completions weren't the flashiest, they were extremely effective as three of Forristall's receptions went for first downs. Oftentimes, the tight end was able to fight for extra yardage on the perimeter as his size advantage allowed him to outmuscle smaller defensive backs for extra yards.
Alabama also utilized Forristall on release plays such as the one shown below. Here, the tight end starts as a blocker before becoming a receiver, allowing Jones to hit him over the middle after the inside linebacker is drawn away by DeVonta Smith's crossing route. The Tide has used both Cameron Latu and Jahleel Billingsley on similar plays this season.
Last week, Billingsley recorded a season-high 105 yards and a touchdown on five receptions while Latu added three catches for 57 yards and two scores through the air. With Ole Miss dropping eight men into coverage, the two shouldn't be relied on to perform too many blocking duties which should open the door for more receiving production.
"‘Leel and Cam have been a really great addition for us offensively," Young said. "For them to both be able to contribute, I feel that makes us a lot better offensively. You know, I have a tremendous amount of confidence and respect with both of them. Being able to see them and us trying to, again, get ‘em some favorable matchups and them being able to contribute both in the pass and run game is really unique and definitely makes my job a lot easier.”
Outside of using its tight ends, Alabama will look to rack up yards after the reception. While Ole Miss' zone coverage could limit long passes, the Tide can combat it by getting the ball into the hands of its speedy playmakers in open space. In the play below, Alabama puts Slade Bolden in motion before dumping the ball to him on the flats. Shifty freshman receiver JoJo Earle would also be a perfect fit in this scenario.
Young also received some playing time in last season's game against Arkansas, completing 3 of 4 passes for 19 yards. The majority of that came on a screen to Javon Baker which resulted in a 15 yards gain.
On the play, Baker lined up stacked behind Bolden to Young's right. After snapping the ball out of the shotgun, Young immediately fired a pass to Baker as Bolden sprung him free for a big gain down the sideline.
Later in the quarter, Young converted on a second-and-5 as he hit Bodlen on a bubble screen for a 5-yard gain. Lined up in the slot in a three-wide formation, Bolden was able to pick up the first down behind blocks from Baker and Xavier Williams on the edge.
Young has shown the ability to distribute the ball among his receiving corps, connecting with 11 different targets through four games. He's also been a sound decision-maker, posting an SEC-leading 188.52 passer rating while ranking third in the conference with a 72.1 completion percentage.
Monday, Saban expressed confidence in his quarterback's ability to continue that success against Ole Miss' drop-eight coverage.
"I think we have to have a good plan against it," Saban said. "Everybody's got to execute well. I think Bryce is capable of recognizing it and getting the ball to the right guys. It's something that we need to work on this week."
