By Parrish Alford
Grind City Media Correspondent
OXFORD – The 2014 and 2015 seasons were good times for the Ole Miss Rebels. They reached No. 3 in the polls and played in back-to-back New Year’s Six bowl games.
They won a lot of football games, none that thrust them into the national consciousness more than beating Alabama. Twice.
The Rebels became part of the national conversation. So comfortable were they in their new success that chancellor Jeff Vitter would joke about the feats.
“How is Ole Miss like the moon?” Vitter quipped. “They both control the tide.”
Even last year when Alabama won 48-43, Ole Miss controlled much of the first half. A Crimson Tide victory was more in line with the history of the series, but Alabama had to sweat. The moon and stars weren’t exactly in proper alignment, Tide fans would say.
They were close enough, however, to see the Rebels’ temporary empire crumbling. Self-imposed NCAA sanctions already in place – and more expected later this fall – the drop was inevitable.
So when Ole Miss (2-1) visits Tuscaloosa Saturday night for ESPN’s primetime national game at the site of the greatest victory of the short yet ultra-successful Hugh Freeze Era, will the Rebels have a realistic chance against No. 1-ranked Alabama (4-0)?
Realistically, no. But more on that in a bit.
Ole Miss is familiar with success and high-scoring games against Alabama, but opened the week as a 28-point underdog entering Saturday’s game in Tuscaloosa. Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
What is more fascinating about this rivalry is that Ole Miss has won two of the last three meetings and was reasonably close to three straight against the four-time national champion under Nick Saban.
How? Start with talent.
Robert Nkemdiche’s Ole Miss career was marked by his potential and not necessarily his production. But he showed up big in the two Alabama wins with a total of 11 tackles before becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick on the heels of those performances.
In the 2015 game in Tuscaloosa, Nkemdiche was a constant source of disruption in the Alabama backfield. He finished with six tackles, including 2 ½ tackles for loss and a half sack, in arguably his best game at Ole Miss. No current Ole Miss defensive player comes near demanding the type of attention Nkemdiche did.
Opponents have a healthy respect for senior defensive end Marquis Haynes. But through three games, opponents have been able to neutralize his pressure with either the quick passing game as Cal did in a 27-16 win two weeks ago, or by just running the ball like UT Martin did when it gained 219 yards on the ground in Week 2.
In the 2014 win over Alabama, Ole Miss had an NFL cornerback on its roster in Senquez Golson.
When the Rebels took a six-point lead on Bo Wallace’s 10-yard pass to Jaylen Walton with less than three minutes left, fans groaned when the PAT was blocked. The heartache stage was set for a late Alabama touchdown and winning extra point.
Golson didn’t let that happen. He leaped high in the air to intercept a long pass intended for tight end O.J. Howard on the ensuring drive. Golson was initially ruled out of bounds, but the play was overturned on review. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium erupted with joy.
Many of those same fans send the Rebels off with hope of another upset this weekend. Only Clemson has played the Crimson Tide tighter than Ole Miss the past few seasons. Rebels interim coach Matt Luke, an assistant when Ole Miss last won at Alabama, said those experiences in the recent past should give his team some confidence heading back to Tuscaloosa.
Ole Miss coach Matt Luke says the Rebels face multiple challenges in preparing for Saturday’s game at No. 1 Alabama, but can also draw from success on their previous trip to Tuscaloosa. Credit: Ole Miss Sports Productions
“I think it obviously helps when you’ve got guys that have been there and played in that environment,” Luke said this week. “But the thing about it is two years ago doesn’t mean anything for this year. This year, this team is the one that’s got to go to Tuscaloosa. But the experience does help. Some of those offensive linemen, they’ve (won) in that stadium. So it does help.”
Alabama fans are convinced the Rebels wouldn’t have won in either 2014 or 2015 without the Tide’s turnovers and self-inflicted damage.
The reality is in 2014 Alabama was only minus-1 in the turnover margin. True, Alabama turned the ball over five times in 2015, including once on the opening kick that led to an early Ole Miss field goal. However, three of the turnovers were interceptions aided by physical plays of the Ole Miss defense and Saban being unsettled on his quarterback at that time.
Cooper Bateman started and threw one interception. Jake Coker relieved and threw two more. The most important thing about the turnovers was that Ole Miss had the talent to take advantage of them. That hasn’t always been true in this series.
Also, the Rebels were much more settled than the Tide at quarterback in both games. Ole Miss knew Bo Wallace was its guy. Turnovers were a problem for Wallace throughout his career, but on that day in 2014, he was turnover-free and threw three touchdown passes.
And in 2105, the Rebels were locked in with Chad Kelly after a brief and theatrical quarterback competition in the season’s opening weeks. Kelly threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also scored on a 4-yard run.
Talent showed up elsewhere on offense, too, when wide receiver Laquon Treadwell snagged a touchdown pass while blanketed in coverage. Ole Miss also benefited from the speed of receivers Quincy Adeboyejo and Cody Core when they caught the ball in space.
Alabama fans didn’t have much to celebrate the last time Ole Miss played at Bryant Denny Stadium. Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Kelly was good again last year, but Ole Miss, without Nkemdiche and with suspect linebacker play, was unable to slow the Alabama run game. A 48-43 loss, while disappointing, gave hope that Ole Miss could get its season back on track and achieve the high expectations that surrounded it in the summer.
The Ole Miss fans who had a red Solo Cup, half-full view ignored Alabama’s 503 total yards. Perhaps dominant home wins by the Rebels over Georgia and Memphis in the following weeks helped to hide decay. But it was there.
The defense got progressively worse as the season went on, and it eventually ended with a 55-27 loss to rival Mississippi State.
Now, with a new defensive coordinator but largely the same players, there has been some improvement. But not enough to carry the day at Cal when the offense – explosive in wins over South Alabama and Tennessee-Martin – vanished.
That Ole Miss offense is impressive when the passing game clicks. The Rebels, though, haven’t reached 60 rushing yards in either of the last two games. Cal sacked quarterback Shea Patterson five times. If Cal can pressure him like that Alabama should be able to bother him too.
Plus the Rebels could be without their best receiver, A.J. Brown.
Those two Ole Miss wins over Alabama should not be minimalized. The Rebels earned those wins.
Ole Miss fans, though, should lock them away in their treasure chest of memories.
It might be a while before it happens again.
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