Alabama faces big test against Ole Miss

OXFORD, Miss. — It is the sixth game of the season, but third-ranked Alabama faces its second major test today.

The Crimson Tide faces an opponent just as physical, just as fast and just as dangerous when Alabama takes on No. 20 Ole Miss in a nationally televised game.

The Rebels were ranked as high as No. 4 in the country before losing some national esteem with a road loss at South Carolina. That loss didn’t hurt them in the eyes of the Crimson Tide, however.

“To me, this is the best all-around team that we have played,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said.

Linebacker Eryk Anders said he’s expecting a tough game that will be decided along the line of scrimmage.

“They like to run the power,” Anders said. “They like to pound the ball. We like to stop the run. It’s going to be a physical game.”

Unlike several previous Tide opponents, the Rebels boast good balance, and they’ll need it. Alabama’s defense leads the SEC in rushing defense and is second in total defense. Ole Miss junior quarterback Jevan Snead has thrown for two touchdowns in eight of his last nine game, and at least one in his last 13 games.

Dexter McCluster is the Rebels’ all-around threat, lining up as a receiver, a running back and even the quarterback in the Ole Miss Wild Rebel formation. Senior Shay Hodge leads the Rebels in receiving and is sixth in the SEC in catches and receiving yards per game.

But Saban stressed their ability to run the football. His concern is Alabama’s linebackers, still trying to fill the absence of Dont’a Hightower, who was lost for the season with a knee injury against Arkansas. The Tide gave up 133 yards on the ground to Kentucky last week, the only opponent to top 100 yards this season.

“This team is a two-back, running team that does a lot of different things relative to formations and personnel utilizations,” Saban said. “We’re going to have to play very physical, and we probably need to get our most physical players out there to play. And I’m not sure what the best way to do that is right now. That’s something we’ll evaluate this week in practice.”

Cory Reamer, who moved from outside linebacker inside to Hightower’s spot, expects the Rebels to test the linebackers just as Kentucky did.

“They were trying to run at the linebackers, depending on where we were lining up,” Reamer said. “They were definitely trying to take advantage of us, trying to run a lot of stretch runs and a lot of power at me and Eryk and some at Courtney (Upshaw), too. I feel like we did a good job. …
Unfortunately, we didn’t play as well as we needed to. It’s something we have to work on and something we have to get better at.”

Rebel coach Houston Nutt said Reamer doesn’t have Hightower’s size, but said he looks quicker.

“I didn’t notice any difference,” Nutt said. “He looks pretty good to me.”

Nutt said his team must avoid third-and-long to be effective against Alabama. He said converting on third-on-long “is hard against air,” let alone Saban’s defense.

“That has been our biggest problem,” he said. “It is just too difficult. Real estate is very valuable. Each time a back, receiver or tight end touches a ball — get north. You can’t run sideways on these guys.”

Saban has been complimentary of Nutt, who is 5-8 against teams ranked in the top 5, generally against teams considered physically superior.

“He changes with the kind of players he has,” Saban said when asked to explain the challenge that Nutt presents. “When he had Matt Jones he did things he doesn’t do now. When (Darren) McFadden was there with the invention of the wildcat … it was something they did quite a bit of and had a lot of success with.

“The capabilities of the players ... I always felt he got as much out of the players he had as anyone we ever played. I always had a lot of respect for his ability to do that.”