No. 15 Ole Miss Gears up for No. 13 Alabama

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

No. 15 Ole Miss steps into conference action for the first time this season as they travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to take on the No. 13 Crimson Tide. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and can be seen on CBS.

Ole Miss has come out of the gates strong at 3-0 to open the season after a 48-23 victory over Georgia Tech last Saturday night. Against Georgia Tech, the Rebels offense had five plays of 35+ yards with four of them coming in the fourth quarter.

This season, the Rebels have Jaxson Dart at quarterback, who leads the conference in yards per attempt at 12.5 (No. 2 FBS), yards per completion at 18.9 (No. 2 FBS) and passing efficiency at 202.5 (No. 6 FBS). He also leads all SEC quarterbacks in rushing at 71.0 ypg, as well as fourth overall at 6.7 per carry.

Sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins leads the SEC with four rushing TD and is tied for No. 8 all-time at Ole Miss with 20.

Alabama enters the week 2-1, coming off a 17-3 road win over South Florida. The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 12 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the AP rankings with the only defeat of the season a 34-24 loss to No. 10 Texas.

Alabama averages 32.3 points per game and 196.0 rushing yards per game. Jalen Milroe, Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson have all seen time under center for the Tide. Senior running backs Roydell Williams and Jase McClellan have shared the load on the ground for the Crimson Tide with 177 rushing yards and 158. Isaiah Bond leads Alabama with 10 catches for 152 yards and one TD.

Defensively, linebacker Deontae Lawson leads Alabama with 25 total tackles, including 3.5 TFLs and two sacks.

Saturday’s matchup will be the 71^st all-time meeting between the two programs. Alabama holds the advantage 57-10-2. The last Ole Miss victory in Bryant-Denny Stadium came in 2015.