OXFORD, Miss. — The forecasted rain from Hurricane Delta hardly showed up Saturday night in Oxford. The same can be said about Alabama’s defense.
The Crimson Tide didn’t have to deal with severe weather during its game against Ole Miss. That’s probably a good thing as it had a hard enough time trying to wrap up the Rebels’ offense.
In the end, No. 2 Alabama was bailed out by its high-powered offense. Najee Harris ran for 206 yards and five touchdowns, while Mac Jones threw a near-perfect game, completing 28 of 32 passes for 417 yards and two more scores. DeVonta Smith also added 13 receptions for 164 yards and a touchdown while running in a crucial score late in the fourth quarter.
All that helped the Tide light up the scoreboard enough to leave Mississippi with a 63-48 win. Although Alabama’s defensive performance on the night made for an uneasy ride back to Tuscaloosa, Ala. ahead of a matchup against No. 3 Georgia this week.
Ole Miss humbled an Alabama defense that seems to be giving up more and more every week. The Crimson Tide surrendered 19 points against Missouri in Week 1 and 24 points to Texas A&M in Week 2. Saturday, the Rebels topped that mark with 12:47 left in the third quarter.
Pete Golding’s defense left little to write home about on the night. Ole Miss’ 647 yards were the most Alabama has given up in a single game, while the Rebels 7.5 yards per play were the most the Tide has allowed since a 49-42 victory over Texas A&M in 2013. Alabama also allowed Ole Miss running backs Conner Snoop (128 yards) and Jerrion Ealy (120 yards) to break the century mark on the ground.
“We struggled,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said of his defense. “We didn’t do anything well. We didn’t stop the run, gave up some big plays in the back end, got picked. Couldn’t get the quarterback on the ground when we needed to, even when we got some pressure. We had some mistakes in coverage, we got picked in coverage. We just didn’t play very well.”
Fortunately for Alabama, it’s offense was up to the task. The Tide’s 723 yards on the night was its second-highest single-game total, finishing behind the 833 yards it piled up against Virginia Tech in 1973. Alabama also averaged a whopping 10.2 yards per play, its highest total in the Saban era. Harris’ five rushing touchdowns tied a single-game school record, while Smith’s 13 catches also matched Alabama’s single-game mark.
The 111 combined points are the most scored in a regulation SEC game, topping the 108 combined points in Auburn’s 65-43 win over Arkansas in 2010.
“I think the biggest thing was is our guys really competed in this game for 60 minutes,” Saban said. “I mean we scored every time we needed to score. We took the air our of it at the end of the game. The offense did a fantastic job in this game. We had a good plan, did a good job of executing it… So all in all, we’ve had some real crazy over here, and this was another one.”
Alabama believes Ole Miss had it signals
Lane Kiffin certainly had Alabama’s number on defense. The Tide believes he might have had its signals as well. Following Saturday’s game, Saban surmised that Kiffin’s offense might have known what was coming at times, stating that the Rebels were ready for whatever the Tide threw its way.
“It seemed like everything we did though, they had an answer for,” Saban said. “I don’t know if they had our signals or what. That’s not anything unusual. It seemed like every time we called something, they had the best play that they could have against it.”
Saban wasn’t the only one with that assumption. Dylan Moses was asked if he felt Kiffin knew the Tide’s signals.
“I definitely think so,” the Alabama linebacker Moses replied.
Kiffin served as Alabama’s offensive coordinator under Saban from 2014-16. Earlier in the week, the Ole Miss coach shrugged off the notion that his familiarity Saban would help Saturday. Obviously, Alabama felt otherwise.
“It didn’t help that Coach Kiffin was our coach for like three years and knows the ins and outs of our defense and what we run and what we do,” Moses said. “So a lot of things we had to change up, our signals and all that.”
Ultimately, the perceived advantage wasn’t enough to pull the upset as Alabama’s win moves Saban’s record to 21-0 against former assistants. At least Kiffin can take solace in frustrating his former boss for another time.
“They had a really good plan. Lane is a really good coach,” Saban said. “They’ve got a good offensive team. They’ve got some good players on offense, and we didn’t do a very good job of executing what we need to do on defense to stop them.”
Najee Harris is the SEC’s top back
Harris entered the day leading the SEC with five rushing touchdowns through two games. The five-star back comfortably extended his margin atop the stat sheet by doubling his season total with five more scores on the ground against the Rebels.
Harris’ five rushing touchdowns tied an Alabama single-game record, matching Santonio Beard (vs. Ole Miss, 2002) and Shaun Alexander (vs. BYU, 1998). His final score of the night, a 39-yard run late in the fourth quarter, was the longest run in his college career.
Harris’ 206 yards on the ground is also a career-high. After the performance, the senior is tied with Johnny Musso for ninth on Alabama’s all-time rushing list with 2,741 rushing yards. Harris is tied with Eddie Lacy for eighth on the career rushing touchdowns list with 30.
Harris has notched a rushing touchdown in 10 straight games dating back to the Oct. 19 matchup with Tennessee last season. Over that span, he has accumulated 22 rushing touchdowns. Harris has also recorded multiple rushing touchdowns in each of his past four games.
Mac Jones is a serious Hesiman contender
On any other night, Jones would have the biggest talking point in Alabama’s offense. The redshirt junior posted his second straight 400-yard game, becoming the first-ever Crimson Tide player to accomplish the feat.
“We just trust our training, that was kind of a big point,” Jones said. “They were going to give us looks that we haven’t seen, and we knew we had to pretty much be perfect. It goes back to practice and having trust in my teammates.”
Jones got off to another hot start, completing his first 12 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. The string of completions gave him 13 consecutive passes in a row without an incompletion dating back to Alabama’s game against Texas A&M. That run is good enough for third all-time by an Alabama quarterback.
“We do a good job, our coaching staff preparing us for those opening plays, and then obviously us executing,” Jones said. “The offensive line gave me plenty of time. I don’t even think I got hit tonight. The receivers made their plays, and obviously, our two running backs, Najee Harris and B-Rob (Brian Robinson) did a great job getting good carries that helped set up play-action and things that we wanted to do.
Through three games, Jones leads the nation with a 220.35 passer rating. He also ranks No. 4 in the nation averaging 367 yards per game through the air.
DeVonta Smith still owns Ole Miss
Another year, another record performance against Ole Miss. For a second straight season, Smith wreaked havoc on the Rebels, tying Alabama’s single-game record with 13 receptions. Last year the Amite, La. native pulled in 11 receptions against Ole Miss, setting the single-game school records for receiving yards with 274 and receiving touchdowns with five.
Smith also recorded a rushing touchdown Saturday night, taking an end-around handoff 14-yards for a score to give Alabama a 56-45 lead with 3:16 remaining.
Alabama has had a different leading receiver in all three of its games as Jaylen Waddle topped the Tide with 134 receiving yards against Missouri while John Metchie III led Alabama with 181 yards through the air against Texas A&M.
Jordan Battle to miss the first half against Georgia
Alabama’s defense was dealt an additional blow Saturday as sophomore safety Jordan Battle was ejected from the game for targeting with 2:14 left in the fourth quarter. Because the ejection occurred in the second half, Battle will now be forced to miss the first half of Alabama’s game against No. 3 Georgia.
Battle’s penalty occurred following a 46-yard reception from Ole Miss receiver Elijiah Moore. Before leaving the game, the Alabama safety recorded 11 tackles and a pass breakup.
