TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — West Virginia used it. So did Florida Atlantic, Southern Miss, and, yes, even Florida.

Alabama facing a hurry-up, no-huddle offense has not just become old news it’s all the No. 3 Crimson Tide has seen through the first four games.

“We haven’t faced a play of huddle all year long,” Nick Saban said. “It’s the way of the world now.”

It’s also the way of No. 11 Ole Miss, which has scored just two touchdowns against Alabama during its two meetings with Hugh Freeze at the helm. It lost 33-14 in 2012, and was shut out last year 25-0, although due to a scheduling glitch both games were played in Tuscaloosa.

This time it’ll be played at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS), which presents some different problems for the Crimson Tide defense, but there’s little doubt that it’ll be prepared.

“We’ve been practicing it since January, February, whenever we started spring ball,” senior linebacker Trey DePriest said. “Pretty much every day we’ve practiced against it, so that tells me it’s not really a problem.”

Except for West Virginia in the opener, when there was occasional confusion without DePriest, who was serving a suspension, there haven’t been the problems one normally sees against a HUNH offense: Players not ready for snaps, substitution issues, or hesitation.

In comparison, two years year ago Ole Miss was really the first fast-paced offense that Alabama saw. Last year it wasn’t, and coming into the game the Rebels were averaging 38 points, 250 rushing yards, 240 passing yards, and 490 total yards.

Ole Miss O vs. Alabama D
Category, 2012, 2013
First downs 16; 11
Third-down efficiency 8-17; 4-14
Fourth-down efficiency 2-2; 1-4
Total yards 218; 205
Passing 138; 159
Comp.-Att.-Int. 19-33; 17-32
Yards per pass 4.2; 5.0
Rushing 80; 46
Rushing attempts 35; 25
Yards per rush 2.3; 1.8
Penalties 2-15; 5-29
Turnovers 3; 2
Fumbles lost 0; 1
Passes intercepted 3; 1
Possession 25:01; 21:31

The biggest difference between the games was that when Ole Miss got Alabama’s defense on its heels in 2012 it scored on two long touchdown drives.

In 2013, it didn’t. The Rebels had only one significant drive, 10 plays for 73 yards, which ended at the Alabama 7. Freeze was down 16-0 at the time and instead of attempting a field goal he, perhaps thinking that scoring on two more possessions might be asking a little too much, decided to go for it on fourth down.

After it failed Ole Miss never seriously threatened to score again.

A key element in both games was ball control, which Alabama has dominated. Thanks to a rushing edge of 254-46 yards, the Tide had an advantage of 38 minutes and 29 seconds to 21:31 last year, and 34:59 to 25:01 in 2012. So far this season Alabama is averaging 35:03 even though the last 7:53 of the Florida Atlantic game was cancelled due to inclement weather.

“One of the things that has helped us defensively is that we’ve been able to control the ball offensively, and that’s going to be a challenge for us against this team because they create a lot of negative plays with their quickness up front, their stunting, their moving, penetrating,” Saban said. “It’s going to be really important that we can minimize those so that we can control the football on offense.”

The coach also noted that he’d like to have a bigger rotation of players for this game, and not just on the line but with the linebackers and defensive backs too.

Last year the Rebels went after one of those players, cornerback Eddie Jackson, who was a freshman at the time. They threw eight passes at him, not including a couple of screens, resulting in just one big gain due to botched coverage when defensive coordinator Kirby Smart called an audible and he didn’t get the change.

However, on the subsequent snap Ole Miss quickly ran another play at Jackson, an option pass by wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, which the cornerback ended up picking off.

“(We’re) very comfortable,” DePriest said. “We were ready for it a year ago, but we just didn’t play it the right way.”

Mostly he was referring to what Alabama did against Auburn and Oklahoma, both losses at the end of the season. So when critics continue to claim that Alabama is susceptible to HUNH spread attacks, it only makes the Crimson Tide want to prove them wrong.

“Just staying focused,” junior safety Landon Collins said is the key. “We know we’re going to go in and have a tough game and they’re going to come physical. Just the fans and the place we’re playing is different from our place. We have to have the mindset to control and finish our plays and finish what we need to go do.”