Ole Miss Football: 5 bold predictions for the Rebels in 2017

No. 2 – Ole Miss beats Alabama

Bold predictions? Can’t get much more bold than this, but hear me out. Only one SEC program has multiple wins over Nick Saban in the last five years, Ole Miss. No, the Rebels don’t have some of magic that renders Saban’s coaching dominance moot. Instead they’ve found a way to make more with less, and that starts at the quarterback position.

If you look at the list of quarterbacks that have managed to beat Nick Saban over those past five years it doesn’t take long to spot a trend: Johnny Manziel (’12), Nick Marshall (’13), Trevor Knight (’13), Chad Kelly (’14, ’15), Cardale Jones (’14) and Deshaun Watson (’16). What do those six guys all have in common? Mobility.

Against Alabama, a pocket passer is a sitting target waiting to be crushed. The Crimson Tide can out-talent just about every offensive line in the country with sheer force and ability. They know the best routes to take to get to the quarterback and they’re more than capable of trapping him in the pocket as it collapses.

Quarterbacks that have that extra dimension, like Rebels’ starter Shea Patterson, introduce a degree of uncertainty into every play that’s hard to coach. Saban can call a play from the sideline, but ultimately it’s on the guys on the field to carry it out.

Shea Patterson is going to confuse Nick Saban’s defense. As much as the Tide prepare they haven’t proven themselves capable of keeping someone as mobile as Patterson under control for four quarters. It’s going to be a shootout. It’s going to be messy. But Ole Miss is going into Tuscaloosa and beating Alabama 48 – 46.