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Most Important College Football Game for Each Top 25 Team During 2016 Season

By Zach Bigalke

Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough (9) moves past Mississippi Rebels linebacker DeMarquis Gates (3) during the fourth quarter of the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough (9) moves past Mississippi Rebels linebacker DeMarquis Gates (3) during the fourth quarter of the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough (9) moves past Mississippi Rebels linebacker DeMarquis Gates (3) during the fourth quarter of the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough (9) moves past Mississippi Rebels linebacker DeMarquis Gates (3) during the fourth quarter of the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Alabama Survives Ole Miss Comeback Attempt in 48-43 Win (Sept. 17)

In 2015, Ole Miss came to Tuscaloosa and dealt Alabama its only loss of the season as Chad Kelly threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns. The Crimson Tide mounted a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Rebels in the end. This year the return journey to Oxford nearly derailed Nick Saban’s quest for a wire-to-wire run atop the Top 25 and a perfect regular season, but the Tide managed to prevent Ole Miss from starting a proper winning streak.

Down 24-17 at halftime after trailing by double digits for most of the first half, the Crimson Tide rallied to survive their biggest road test of 2016. No team managed to keep the score within single digits of Alabama this season except Ole Miss, but once the two teams came out for the second half the Rebels were unable to keep pace any longer. This time around Hugh Freeze’s team was the one trying to come back in vain, as Kelly threw for 421 yards and three scores this time around in the losing effort.

By surviving their first SEC test of the season, Alabama weathered the biggest storm they would see during the regular season. While a single loss was never going to doom the Tide from reaching the College Football Playoff, hanging on to remain undefeated allowed Saban’s crew to ensure that it nabbed the top seed and got to stay close for their semifinal against Washington at the Peach Bowl.

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