Ole Miss unlocked the secret to beating Alabama.

That’s what you’ve read and heard all week, that all Clemson has to do to upset the Tide in the national championship game Monday night is follow the easy-to-understand instructions Hugh Freeze so kindly left behind.

Alabama fans remember that game. Everybody else seems to have misremembered …

Yes, Chad Kelly was unstoppable, throwing for 341 yards and 3 TDs, running for another.

True, Ole Miss was explosive, scoring on plays of 66 and 73 yards, accounting for half of the 60-yard plays Alabama allowed all season.

Indeed, the Rebels were prolific. Their 43 points not only were the most Alabama allowed this season, but the third-most anybody has scored on the Tide since Nick Saban took over in 2007.

A funny thing about that game — very little that happened are things that Clemson can count on recreating through its scheme.

Here then, are six reasons what happened on Sept. 19 will have no bearing on Monday night.

6. Alabama knows who Calvin Ridley is now: The freshman sensation was just three games into his college career and had caught all of six passes for 59 yards. He caught six more short throws against the Rebels but wasn’t a go-to threat.

Why that’s relevant: Ridley had just 28 yards receiving against Ole Miss. He still hadn’t scored his first touchdown. He’s now the centerpiece in the passing game, and he’s coming off an 8-catch, 138-yard, 2-TD performance against Michigan State.

5. Five, as in turnovers: Alabama committed five turnovers — almost one-third of its season total. The quarterbacks threw three interceptions, and the Tide also lost two fumbles. Those turnovers led directly to 21 Ole Miss points — on touchdown drives of 26 yards, 18 yards and 31 yards.

Why that’s relevant: Clemson is minus-1 in turnover margin this season, and Alabama has committed just one turnover in its last three games.

4. Big deficit turned Derrick Henry into a second-half spectator: Ole Miss had leads of 30-10 and 43-24, which explains why Henry had just 10 carries after intermission. He had just 23 for the game.

Why that’s relevant: Henry had 10 consecutive carries in one fourth-quarter drive as Alabama closed out Auburn. It’s almost impossible to envision a scenario in which the Heisman Trophy winner is ignored in the biggest game of the season.

3. Alabama still hadn’t settled on its quarterback: Cooper Bateman, who supposedly is more athletic than Jacob Coker, got a surprise start against Ole Miss after playing well and sharing duties with Coker during the first two games. Bateman completed 11 of 14 but also threw an early interception that set up a short field and Ole Miss’ first touchdown before giving way to Coker.

Why that’s relevant: There’s no question who will start Monday night, and there are a lot fewer questions about whether Coker is capable of delivering after throwing for 286 yards and two touchdowns in the mauling of Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl semifinal.

2. Alabama trailed early, often, throughout: The Tide never led. Twice, after pulling within a touchdown, unlikely stuff happened (more on that in a minute) to stretch the margin. That led to a season-high 59 passes — seven more than the Tide threw against Florida and Auburn combined.

Why that’s relevant: Alabama’s combined deficit margin in its other 13 games this season is 13. Its largest deficit since Ole Miss was five against Florida in the SEC title game — and that came after the Gators’ Antonio Callaway returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown.

1. Ah, those fluke TDs: Those two long TD passes Kelly threw? One came when he bobbled and corralled a high snap, wheeled and threw an ill-advised rainbow, which Alabama could have turned into another pick-six. Instead, Laquon Treadwell tipped the ball as two Tide defenders hit him … directly to Quincy Adeboyejo, who raced 66 yards for six. It was the craziest SEC play of the season … until Arkansas’ fourth-and-25 conversion.

The second long TD, a 73-yard scoring strike to Cody Core, came two plays after Alabama closed within 30-24. That play started with a designed rollout and is absolutely something Clemson will try to scheme. Kelly doesn’t have Watson’s breakaway speed, but he’s a capable runner, and that threat was enough to get Minkah Fitzpatrick to bite.

Why that’s relevant: Alabama didn’t invent “Do Your Job,” but it’s the code by which the defense operates. Its corners typically have zero run responsibility on pass plays, relying on the front seven to handle their own. Had Fitzpatrick done his job and stayed with Core, Kelly likely would have run for a short gain. That play was a mirror image of Nick Marshall’s game-tying 39-yard TD pass to Sammie Coates with 39 seconds left in regulation, the touchdown that helped set up Chris Davis’ winning Kick-Six in 2013.

In both cases, if Alabama’s corner does his job, the big play doesn’t happen.

Watson will press the issue Monday night. He has the ability the get to the edge and force Alabama to decide. He might run for 100 yards. He might throw for 250. He might do a lot of things, but the one thing he shouldn’t do is count on anything that happened in that Ole Miss game to happen again.