Alabama vs Ole Miss Recap: 3 things we learned after the game

What did we learn after the SEC West matchup of Alabama and Ole Miss? Alabama is good, Ole Miss has problems.

A game in which Ole Miss started out with a 24-3 lead, quickly turned into a romp by the Crimson Tide, followed by a furious comeback attempt by the Rebels, as Ole Miss squandered a big lead once again to a top 5 team and lost by a score of 48-43.

Alabama proved that its defense is better than it has been in recent year as it quickly shut the Rebels down on offense and let Jalen Hurts take the game from there, as Alabama ended its two game losing streak to Ole Miss. Hurts was great, always in control of the game and never made a critical mistake after the Crimson Tide got back in the game and got the lead.

After getting the big lead, the Rebels quickly lost momentum as the Rebels went three and out on three consecutive drives and the Crimson Tide started scoring and never really let up or were stopped. Like against FSU, Ole Miss allowed Alabama momentum before the half and it ended up hurting them in the end.

Here is what we learned after this Saturday’s matchup:

1. Alabama does have a running game. 

The Crimson Tide rushed for 334 yards, which is by far their most in a game this season. Concerns over the Alabama offensive line and running game were put to rest early in the second half. The largest catalyst for the running game was Jalen Hurts, as he was able to routinely roll out and have big gains, while running back Damien Harris was able to keep pounding the ball up the middle and eventually rip off long runs.

2. Ole Miss has problems as a team. 

The Rebels started out on fire, again, but were quickly put away by Alabama before the half, much in the same way as they were against Florida State. Both lines just could not hold up and play an entire game. The Rebels offense was explosive, then faded away, and then came back to life when it was too little too late. If the Rebels are going to take control of their season then they have to fix these problems or things will not be getting better any time soon.

3. Alabama has a clear path to the SEC Championship.

Ole Miss was the hurdle that Alabama couldn’t get over the past two seasons and had to depend on other teams to beat the Rebels in order to get into the SEC Championship game. Now the Crimson Tide hold the keys and are in the drivers seat. Alabama can worry about themselves and themselves only, they just have to keep playing the way they are and they will find themselves back in the SEC title game and in the college football playoffs.

Highlights:

Alabama will remain No. 1 in the country and will head back to Tuscaloosa to take on Nick Saban’s alma mater, Kent State next Saturday, while Ole Miss stays in Oxford to take on the Georgia Bulldogs.