Recap -- #15 Ole Miss at #2 Alabama

Ole Miss Goes Back to Back on Alabama

HC Hugh Freeze Hugging QB Chad Kelly and LB C.J. Johnson After the Win

 



Alabama entered Saturday night's game looking for revenge on the Ole Miss Rebels after having lost to the Rebels the year before in one of the biggest upsets in Ole Miss Football history.

 

 

Ole Miss(3-0, 1-0) left Bryant-Denny Stadium with its first win in Tuscaloosa since 1988. Yes, that's a long time, folks. None of the players on either roster were alive when the Rebels last won there. 27 years to be exact. The Crimson Tide(2-1, 0-1) had been 25-1 in Tuscaloosa against Ole Miss and had NEVER lost two straight at any time in the series.

 

 

The last two games versus Alabama have gone down to the wire and were settled with the assistance of key Rebel interceptions.

 

 

Ole Miss Head Coach Hugh Freeze, in an interview postgame with ESPN sideline reporter Heather Cox, said, "We certainly think we're at a point now where it's not a shock...I still say it would be an upset in most peoples eyes to do it here". Certainly, unless you missed the memo, everybody is calling this an upset, but the Rebels think of this as a new normal.

 

 

Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly played tremendously in his first big road test in the SEC. He went 18-33, 341 yards, and 4 total TD's(1 rushing). In the first half, Hugh Freeze said that Kelly needed to settle down and calm down his adrenaline a bit, but in the second half, Kelly was outstanding. He outplayed Jake Coker and Cooper Bateman, and Kelly is being talked about by many around the country.

 

 

Laremy Tunsil was not available for this game against the best front seven in college football. Surprisingly, it didn't affect the outcome of the game, but Ole Miss will need their best offensive player for many key games this year. It is still unknown when he will return.

 

 

The defense for Ole Miss played all right, but toward the end of the game, the Landshark D was giving up many points and letting the Tide right back into the game. Luckily, the Rebels escaped, but Alabama can sure wear a team down. No, it does not matter how good your defense is; Alabama will wear any team down. Even a team with Robert Nkemdiche. Robert Nkemdiche is double-teamed basically every play, and he still managed to get 6 tackles, .5 sacks, and 2 TFL. He'll make good money in the NFL some day...

 

 

Ole Miss has moved to number 3 in the AP Poll while Alabama has dropped to 12. In the USA Today Coaches Poll, Ole Miss moved to 5 while Alabama dropped to 12.

 

 

ICYMI: This play is possibly the craziest play I've ever seen involving Ole Miss (66-yard TD to Quincy Adeboyejo).

ICYMI Part 2: Here, on that twitter page, is a video of Hugh Freeze dancing with the team with the song "Back to Back" by Drake in the background. You'll have to scroll a good bit to find it, but the tweet says, "Ole Miss back to back". Ironic because Ole Miss beat Alabama Back to Back. See the connection?

 

 

FINAL: Ole Miss 43, Alabama 37

 

Next Game: vs. Vanderbilt at 6:00 PM CST(ESPNU).

 

Hotty Toddy. On to the next one...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



#15 Ole Miss at #2 Alabama FB Preview

Ole Miss Ready for a Big Road Test

(Top) Bryant Denny-Stadium, (Bottom Left) WR Laquon Treadwell, (Bottom Right) TE O.J. Howard

For the 25th time during the Nick Saban era, College Gameday will broadcast from the site of a University of Alabama football game. College Gameday will be at the site of Ole Miss versus Alabama for the second year in a row. This game is a big one. Ole Miss was the only team to beat Alabama in the regular season in 2014, and I am SURE Alabama fans, coaches, and players have not forgotten about that big upset. According to Bleacher Report, Nick Saban has never lost a league home opener in his tenure at Alabama(8-0). Alabama is 25-1 against Ole Miss at Alabama, a stat which includes 12 straight victories. Needless to say, this game at Alabama will hold arguably Ole Miss' most talented team in a very long time. Both of these teams have new starting quarterbacks(Ole Miss' being Chad Kelly and Alabama's being Jacob Coker), and we will really see what these quarterbacks are made of under the bright lights at Bryant-Denny Stadium. So far, Chad Kelly has looked better for sure, BUT Ole Miss has played two horrific teams: UT-Martin and Fresno State. Against Fresno State, Kelly was the man under center for 7 drives...all were touchdowns. However, Jacob Coker has not played great, but he has not played awfully. This weekend we will found out MUCH about these two squads, and the quarterback position is a big one. It is still unknown whether arguably Ole Miss' best player, Laremy Tunsil, will debut his season on Saturday, but it is a huge concern for the Rebels. Having him would obviously boost the Rebels' chance of getting the win on Saturday. Most importantly, the nation's best offensive tackle would make it much easier on Chad Kelly and the running game. Saying Ole Miss needs Laremy Tunsil is an understatement. If I were you(Ole Miss fans), I would expect a good game but a loss. I honestly believe the Rebels have a good shot to win this one, but I would not get my hopes up in this road test. There are still so many question marks for both teams, but I know that this is a chance for revenge for Alabama, it is in Tuscaloosa, it is a night game on ESPN, and it will be a CRAZY Bama atmosphere.

PREDICTION: #2 Alabama 31, #15 Ole Miss 23.

Line: Alabama -6.5

Channel/Time: ESPN, 8:15 PM(Central Time)

Commentators: Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler

Hotty Toddy!

Recap -- Ole Miss vs. UT-Martin

Ole Miss DOMINATES UT-Martin, 76-3

Junior WR Laquon Treadwell Leaping After a Reception

The Ole Miss Rebels were looking to answer some questions in their "cupcake" season-opener versus the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks. The most important of all the questions was the quarterback position. On Monday, Head Coach Hugh Freeze told the media that Junior Chad Kelly would be the starter for Saturday's game, and that was the case. Although it was against an FCS team, Kelly looked great. In my opinion, Kelly should be the clear-cut starter. Obviously, he will need to back up his performance today with another good performance against Fresno State next Saturday(2:30 PM, ESPN2). Kelly went 9-15, 211 yards, 3 total TD's(1 rushing), and one interception. (BTW, that INT occurred because of a Laquon Treadwell drop that bounced off his hands). The other two QB's, Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade, played well, not great. Buchanan went 4-6, 58 yards, 2 TD's, and Kincade went 6-7, 55 yards, and 1 TD. Another question for the Rebels was the ground game. Again, Ole Miss did play UT-Martin, but the running game looked very good. The Rebels had 338 total rushing yards on Saturday, and their leading rusher was fourth-string Eugene Brazley with 88 yards, a total which includes a 70-yard touchdown. Senior starting running back Jaylen Walton had 3 carries, 65 yards, and 2 TD's. That big question mark aligns with the big offensive line question mark. There are still questions with the offensive line, but perhaps, the biggest question is Laremy Tunsil. Tunsil was suspended for the game today as the NCAA investigates a case involving him and agents(old story). Mel Kiper, Jr., predicted Tunsil to be chosen number two in the 2016 draft behind Ohio State's Joey Bosa. It is still unknown whether we will see him in uniform against Fresno State. ICYMI, Robert Nkemdiche obtained his first college touchdown as he rumbled 31 yards down the sideline on a pass from Ryan Buchanan. "That was for mom," Nkemdiche said. "It's rare that she can come. Coach Freeze and I came up with it, and we worked on it in practice." 76 points will tell any normal person how the offense played. Defensively, the Rebels were not so great. Arguably, the BEST defense in the entire country gave up 290 total yards to an inferior football team. Rebel Defensive Coordinator Dave Wommack, I'm sure, was not pleased with their performance, but they did only give up 3 points. Overall, this was a great game for Ole Miss, and there were some big question marks that are coming closer and closer to being answered in Oxford, Mississippi.