Ole Miss a pretender, Alabama the only playoff contender in the SEC
Ole Miss almost screwed up the SEC’s chances for another national championship, but Alabama simply wouldn’t allow it.
Similar to the Florida State game in Week 1, the Rebels raced out to a three-score lead in the second quarter and prepared to throw a grenade on the polls. Instead, Mississippi collapsed again in epic fashion.
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Alabama turned a 24-3 deficit into a 48-43 victory in Oxford, solidifying itself as the premier program in the conference by a wide margin. Breaking a two-year losing streak to the Rebs, the Crimson Tide are now 3-0 and firmly entrenched — Florida State’s blowout loss helped — as the No. 1 team in the country.
For Ole Miss, coach Hugh Freeze and Co. continued to play a Jekyll-and-Hyde brand of football and fell to 1-2.
The final result, while in doubt for quite some time, is actually good news for the league. Only three weeks into the season, it’s already clear that ‘Bama is the only legit College Football Playoff contender.
A loss might have been catastrophic for the Tide and possibly ended their hopes for a third straight trip to the Final Four. They still have road dates at Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU, not to mention home matchups with two teams — Texas A&M and Auburn — that have tasted success over Big Al recently.
Even if Ole Miss had beaten Alabama a third consecutive time, there was no reason to believe the Rebels could run the table in the West.
In 2014, the Rebels upset the Crimson Tide but eventually lost to LSU, Arkansas and Auburn. Last season, Mississippi again failed to gain any momentum after a big win over ‘Bama with losses to Florida, Memphis and Arkansas.
Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Despite all the defections, the Tide are arguably better at this point in 2016 than they were a year ago. No Jake Coker. No Derrick Henry — he won the Heisman Trophy, by the way. No Ryan Kelly. All those all-conference defenders currently in the NFL. And don’t forget how special Cyrus Jones was as a return man.
Unthinkable not too long ago, Alabama coach Nick Saban has now completely turned his offense over to a true freshman quarterback.
No longer sharing snaps with Blake Barnett, Jalen Hurts (above) completed 19-of-31 passes for 158 yards. While he didn’t throw a touchdown, he wasn’t intercepted either. He has shown poise in the pocket beyond his age.
But the real story is Hurts in the running game. Nobody is just going to replace Henry — he set the league’s single-season rushing record in 2015. Bo Scarbrough has disappointed to some degree. Damien Harris has been better than expected, but the main man on the ground Saturday was Hurts.
He ran 18 times for 146 yards, with an incredible percentage of them designed runs for the fleet-footed rookie.
Both the attempts and yardage are records for a QB during Saban’s decade-long tenure in Tuscaloosa. Hurts is also the first Crimson Tide signal caller to run and throw for 100-plus in the same game since Tyler Watts in 2001.
It’s stunning to see how much Saban has transformed his approach offensively. Coordinator Lane Kiffin deserves some credit for adding the spread and hurry-up elements, but it’s Saban’s team — what he says goes. Even if he doesn’t agree with how much rules now slant in the offense’s favor, that doesn’t mean he won’t exploit them.
Conversely, the Rebs don’t seem to be able to make any adjustments. What works early doesn’t always work late.
For example, Ole Miss had first-and-goal from the 1-yard line down 27-24 in the third quarter. Kelly proceeded to take a shotgun snap. Predictably, Ole Miss couldn’t pound the ball into the end zone and had to settle for a tying field goal.
Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
On the ensuing possession, after working its way down to the 1, ‘Bama employed a heavy set and blew the Rebels off the ball — hand-in-the-dirt tight ends and lead-blocker fullbacks are actually on the Tide’s roster. Scarbrough (above) barreled across the goal line for the touchdown. Taking a 34-27 lead, Alabama never trailed again.
Yes, Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly threw for 421 yards and 3 TDs. However, both of his turnovers resulted in defensive scores.
The Rebs had the Seminoles down 28-6 and looking for answers in the season opener, yet they failed to put the game away. Week 3 had a similar feel to it, up 24-3 but unable to drive that final nail in the coffin.
The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, proved to have the ability to take a punch and get off the mat — then deliver a knockout punch of their own. Following a jaw-dropping 52-6 thrashing of USC in Week 1 and a ho-hum 38-10 drubbing of Western Kentucky seven days later, ‘Bama was yet to be tested. Go ahead and check that box now.
An argument can be made that the SEC is losing its once suffocating grip as the best conference in the America.
The East doesn’t provide the league any balance. After struggling with another inferior opponent Saturday, Tennessee doesn’t appear ready to make the leap. If the Vols are the class of the division … (yawn).
As for the West, even with no easy outs on a weekly basis, it’s still Alabama and everybody else. The Crimson Tide have separated themselves considerably from Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. Even if one of them delivers an upset, a letdown — coupled with a ‘Bama resurrection — is inevitable.
The SEC isn’t getting two teams in the playoff. It’ll either be one or none at all. And the Tide are the only qualified candidates.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
