Ole Miss coach Matt Luke shared something on Monday that’s common knowledge.

He said that the key for Shea Patterson against Alabama’s pass rush is to get rid of the ball fast.

Groundbreaking stuff, right?

Ole Miss knows the formula to beat Alabama as well as anyone. As the Rebels’ offensive coordinator, Luke helped engineer two wins against Alabama in 2014 and 2015. He and everyone else knows that you don’t beat Alabama by slowing the game down and trying to win it between the tackles.

The common denominator in Alabama’s losses in the Nick Saban era is no secret. You need a mobile quarterback who can run an up-tempo offense, stretch the field and hit on a handful of deep passing plays. Deshaun Watson, Chad Kelly, Bo Wallace, Nick Marshall and Johnny Manziel all fit that mold.

With Shea Patterson and some freakishly talented wideouts, Ole Miss still has the ability to do that. So why is it that the Rebels — the only team to beat Alabama in the regular season since the Kick-Six — are four-touchdown underdogs Saturday?

Well, some of the ingredients are there, but a few too many are missing.

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Whenever I try and tell myself that this Ole Miss team can go wire to wire with Alabama, I come back to one thing.

It’s still a battle of Luke vs. Saban. The guy with zero career wins vs. Power 5 teams will try to get on the board against the guy with five rings.

And if you want to go off recency bias, that doesn’t favor Luke, either. In Ole Miss’ last game, Luke was completely out-coached by Justin Wilcox in a loss to Cal. The Rebels didn’t score in the second half. That’s not exactly the sign of a coach who knows how to adjust yet.

Saban’s team, on the other hand, just put up 59 points against the team that entered the weekend leading FBS in scoring defense.

After seeing what Alabama did to Vanderbilt’s stout defense, I fear what’s in store for the Rebels. Yes, the Tide can still run all over teams. No, Ole Miss still hasn’t shown it can slow down a real offense.

Remember when the Rebels held Alabama to 17 points in that 2014 stunner? They had the No. 13 defense in America that season. Remember when Ole Miss picked off three passes in that 2015 shootout? That defense ranked No. 3 in the SEC in turnovers gained. Oh, and this Alabama team hasn’t turned the ball over yet.

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Call me crazy, but I don’t see this year’s Ole Miss defense playing at that kind of level, much less against its toughest challenge of the season.

From an entertainment standpoint, Alabama-Ole Miss should still check plenty of boxes. It’ll be fascinating to see what Patterson can do against the Alabama defense. Fair or not, many will use Saturday as the one and only barometer to measure his upside.

It’s too bad Patterson can’t go back and play against Alabama with those 2014 and 2015 teams. He looks capable of doing everything Kelly and Wallace did in their signature victories against the Tide. Ole Miss’ 2017 receivers might even be better suited to go 60 minutes with Alabama’s vaunted secondary than those 2014 and 2015 groups were.

But we’re living in the present. Today’s reality suggests that it’ll take a complete effort to beat Alabama. A few highlight-reel passing plays won’t be enough to take down No. 1. Ole Miss will try to play fast and gas the Tide defense, but as Luke knows, that isn’t the only key.

If it were, his team sure as heck wouldn’t be four-touchdown underdogs.