Ole Miss Football: 5 Reasons the Rebels will beat Alabama

Since 2014 Ole Miss football has beaten Alabama twice. Here are five reasons the Rebels can once again pull the upset over the Crimson Tide.

Going into last years matchup, Ole Miss was riding a two game win streak against Alabama. The Rebels won in a thriller in 2014, 23-17. Then quarterback Chad Kelly led the Rebels into Tuscaloosa in 2015 and stole a 43-37 win. In 2016, Ole Miss jumped out to a 24-3 lead and it looked as if the Rebels might once again beat Alabama. Then Alabama got it going against a severely undermanned defense and the Tide went on to win 48-43.

Despite the loss, Ole Miss still held their own (at least on offense) with Alabama for the third year in a row. Which now begs the question, how will Ole Miss do this season? The Rebels have looked good at times this season, particularly on offense behind the steady hand of sophomore quarterback Shea Patterson. The Rebels ran into a brick wall against Cal two weeks ago, resulting in the Rebels first loss of the year. Ole Miss then had a bye week to get healthy and prepare for their trip to Alabama. In the meantime, Alabama has looked great, particularly last week in their domination of Vanderbilt. The question remains, will the Ole Miss offense continue to give Alabama and Nick Saban fits?

Ole Miss has the tools on offense to put up points, and if their defense continues to play the way they did against Cal, then they just might have a shot. Here are five reasons why the Rebels can win this Saturday, beginning with none other than their young quarterback.