Alabama is fresh off a 59-0 victory over Vanderbilt, but the Tide won’t have a lot of time to celebrate before they turn their attention to recent nemesis Ole Miss.

Ole Miss didn’t play in Week 4, so it’ll almost certainly be ready for an Alabama team that sits at No. 1 in almost every major poll. The Rebels’ offense, in particular, again could cause the Tide’s defense issues.

So far, quarterback Shea Patterson leads the SEC in passing yards per game by a wide margin — 427 yards compared to second place (Missouri’s Drew Lock) who sits at 278.8. In addition, he ranks first in passing touchdowns (11) and second in completion percentage (70.5 percent).

Patterson has done this in just three games.

Patterson’s success isn’t a surprising development, either. The sophomore quarterback is a former 5-star prospect who was the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the 2016 recruiting class. NFL scouts ultimate will determine whether his style translates, but there’s no questioning it at the college level.

Patterson is far from a one-man show. He is surrounded by high-end talent. Yes, the Rebels lost tight end Evan Engram, who was known to give the Alabama defense trouble, but Patterson has a talented trio of receivers in A.J. Brown, DaMarkus Lodge and D.K. Metcalf. They’re big, fast and physical.

Brown leads the group with 16 receptions for 389 yards and 4 touchdowns. At 6-1, 225 pounds, he has the size and strength to become a running back after the catch, as shown here:

https://twitter.com/ljacarlton/status/904529478231187456

While there are weaknesses along the Rebels offensive line that the Tide hope to expose, left tackle won’t be one of them. Greg Little, another former 5-star who was a top 5 player in the 2016 recruiting class, keeps Patterson’s blindside protected. He was named to the second-team of the 2017 Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team, and rightfully so after being a Freshman All-American with 5 starts in 2016.

Ole Miss has scored 109 points in its past three games against Alabama. No other SEC team from 2014-16 has scored more than Auburn’s 69.

Patterson hasn’t faced the Tide yet, but his style has proven effective against Alabama.

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

There is no doubt that it’ll be a tough test, but the Alabama defense has started to shown signs of life following two weeks of mediocre football. The Tide was absolutely dominant in Saturday’s win over the Commodores, holding them to 78 yards of total offense and zero points.

There will be some who point to another sack-less game, but the unit did seem to muster up more pressure than those statistics show. In addition, the Vanderbilt quarterbacks only attempted 22 passes, completing just 7 for 38 yards. The defensive backs were aggressively effective in coverage, but the pass rush did contribute.

The return of edge rushers Anfernee Jennings, Rashaan Evans and Dylan Moses really provided the defense with a boost. While that wasn’t shown in the box score — the trio only combined for 4 tackles — their presence should be even more crucial versus that high-powered Ole Miss offense that likes to throw the ball over 40 times per game (40.7 to be exact).

Stopping a pocket passer like Kyle Shurmur is an easier task than corralling the more mobile, more dangerous Patterson. That test will determine how far Alabama’s defense has come this season.

Losing your top two edge rushers in Christian Miller and Terrell Lewis during the first game was a major blow, but that shouldn’t slow down Alabama as the season progresses. It’s a matter of if those losses will continue to effect them in any significant way against the Ole Miss offense once they roll into Tuscaloosa on next Saturday night.

One thing you can count on, however. Don’t expect Ole Miss to give Alabama any bulletin board material after witnessing the negative impact Florida State president John Thrasher and  Vanderbilt defensive lineman Nifae Lealao’s comments had on their respective teams against the Tide.