Improving to 5-0, the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide routed the Ole Miss Rebels (2-3) on September 28, 59-31.

Trailing 10-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Tide put the game away with 31 unanswered points in the second quarter. Throwing for 418 yards, junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tossed six touchdown passes in the game. With the outstanding effort, Tagovailoa has now thrown 23 touchdowns without an interception on the season.

Despite only carrying the football nine times, junior running back Najee Harris led Alabama with 71 rushing yards. Receiving a team-high 10 carries, fellow junior Brian Robinson Jr. added 60 yards.

The real star of the game, though, was junior wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Hauling in 11 passes, Smith set program records with 274 receiving yards and five touchdown catches in the win. Averaging 17.3 yards per catch on 31 receptions in 2019, Smith’s eight touchdowns put him within striking distance of the single season touchdown reception record at Alabama (16 by Amari Cooper in 2014).

Idle on Saturday, Alabama next plays in College Station vs. the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies on October 12. Putting this off time to use, ESPN’s Football Power Index released Alabama’s updated game-by-game win probabilities:

  • Oct. 12 at No. 25 Texas A&M (83.2 percent)
  • Oct. 19 vs. Tennessee (97.4 percent)
  • Oct. 26 vs. Arkansas (98.9 percent)
  • Nov. 9 vs. No. 5 LSU (75.9 percent)
  • Nov. 16 at Mississippi State (88.3 percent)
  • Nov. 23 vs. Western Carolina (100 percent)
  • Nov. 30 at No. 7 Auburn (65.5 percent)