Bama ‘Hate’ Week or ‘Respect’ Week

By Anna Belson and Raegan Cohn

HottyToddy Interns

And just like that, we arrive at one of the most anticipated weeks in college football: Bama Hate Week. Ole Miss fans from all over contributed to #Bamahateweek via social media. 

Here are a couple tweets from this week:

The Ole Miss athletics page joined in on the fun as well, posting this on their Instagram page:

The rivalry between these two teams goes as far back as 1894. The overall record is 54-10-2 with Alabama in the lead. The Rebels’ last victory came in the thrilling game led by Chad Kelly in 2015. The final score was 43-37. 

When former Offensive Coordinator for Alabama, Lane Kiffin, decided to become the 39th Head Coach for Ole Miss, the rivalry deepened between the two teams. With Kiffin leading the charge, the Rebels are 0-3 vs. Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide.   

In 2020, Lane Kiffin managed to keep a steady game with Alabama; The Rebels entered halftime tied at 21. Prior to this year, Alabama had consecutively blown out Ole Miss three years in a row. Matt Corral, the Ole Miss quarterback at the time, and Mac Jones, the Alabama quarterback at the time, were neck and neck with their long scoring drives. Up until the fourth quarter, neither team was up more than a touchdown. 

Alabama took the lead when wide receiver DeVonta Smith scored a 14-yard touchdown. The Crimson Tide beat the Rebels 63-48, which became known as the highest-scoring game in the history of the rivalry. 

This year, Ole Miss has a chance to end Alabama’s winning streak as Alabama has been struggling defensively so far. The Tide did not force any turnovers during the Texas game and did not make many aggressive tackles or sacks. This could give the Ole Miss offense an advantage and allow Lane Kiffin to get clever with The Rebels’ offensive attack.