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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Even though the University of Alabama has recently dominated the series with Ole Miss, not having lost since 2003 and is 8-2 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the No. 11 Rebels have the Crimson Tide full attention.
Nick Saban seemed to be especially respectful of the Ole Miss defense during his press conference on Monday afternoon:
“When you’re playing teams like Ole Miss, especially when you’re playing on the road in the SEC, there are a lot of huge challenges. First of all, playing on the road itself. Game management, noise, all those kinds of things are going to be a real challenge for us but the biggest challenge is going to be their team and the quality of their team.
“And I think the things that they do as a unit are going to be real challenges for us. Preparation is really, really important in a game like this. You’ve got to do a good job on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so that you can go there, feel confident that you can execute because that will be the most important thing, is how we execute.
“They do a lot of multiples of things on offense in terms of formations, how they utilize players. Our players have to do a good job of preparing for that so that we can there and be able to execute.
“Their defense is really, really aggressive and very fast. Best defensive team we’ve played all year. This is the best team that we’ve played all year, but their defense is especially quick, run well, good pressure team up front.
“They have a ball-hawking secondary which has picked off a lot of passes. Some of it is created by pressure and the scheme, some of it the quality of players that they have.
“Bo Wallace is a third-year starter. Has done a really, really good job of executing their offense. Knows where he’s going to go with the ball, what he’s going to do with it. They do a really good job with their no-huddle pace of play in terms of being able to run the plays that they want to run based on the looks that they get.
“(Laquon) Treadwell is a really, really good receiver. Offensive line is much better than it’s been in the past, and certainly very capable of whether it’s running the ball or pass protection. They’ve played well on special teams.
“He does a really good job of their no-huddle pace of play. This team plays really, really hard, plays with a lot of passion. They have played extremely well in their first four games of the year as a team total, offensive, defense and special teams.
“This is going to be a very challenging game for us.”
Incidentally, Saban is 10-1 (11-1 before the vacated win in 2007) for his career against Ole Miss. The lone loss was with LSU, 35-24 in Baton Rouge in 2001.
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
