Jim Brown-US PRESSWIRE
The Alabama Crimson Tide are gearing up for their second Southeastern Conference matchup of the season as the Ole Miss Rebels come to Tuscaloosa on Saturday. The game with Ole Miss begins a string of six consecutive conference games for the Tide.
Alabama throttled Arkansas 52-0 in their conference opener two weeks ago, and will face an Ole Miss team that went 2-10 last season and that they beat 52-7 in Oxford a year ago.
Under first year head coach Hugh Freeze, the Rebels are off to a 3-1 start and have already eclipsed their 2011 win total. With the way Arkansas has played this year, the game against the Rebels on Saturday is Alabama’s toughest SEC test so far this year.
To date, the Rebels have played better than a handful of teams in the conference such as Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and possibly even Auburn and Missouri. In any case, the Rebels are far from the cellar team they were a year ago, and Hugh Freeze has revitalized them in a short period of time.
Of course, Colonel Reb hasn’t beaten a quality opponent yet, with their three wins coming against Central Arkansas, UTEP, and Tulane. The only good team they have played through the first four weeks was Texas, and they were beaten handily by 35 points.
Still, there is no denying that this is an improved football team from a year ago, and they aren’t going to roll over like they did last year.
The big reason for Ole Miss’ revitalization this year has been a much improved offense.
The Rebs ranked 114th in the country in total offense last year, 107th in passing, 83rd in rushing, and 116th in scoring. Ole Miss averaged 16 points per game in 2011, and through four games in 2012 they have put up 37 points per game.
They put up 31 points on a good Texas defense, but unfortunately they allowed the Longhorns to race up and down the field for 66 points.
Ole Miss is led on offense by dual-threat quarterback Bo Wallace. The JUCO transfer beat out West Virginia transfer Barry Brunetti for the starting job and has performed admirably so far. The biggest problem with their offense last season was the inconsistency from the quarterback position.
Wallace has completed 64 percent of his passes for 717 yards and 7 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. Three of his four picks were thrown in the loss to Texas. Wallace has run the ball 44 times and is second on the team with 179 yards and two touchdowns.
The Rebels run a no-huddle attack with a combination of zone-read plays, and that has left Wallace open to taking some hits. Wallace was taken out of the game against Tulane last week in the third quarter with a hurt shoulder. Wallace is expected to play in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, but don’t be surprised if Barry Brunetti sees some action at some point on Saturday night.
At 260 yards per game, Ole Miss has the top rushing offense in the SEC, and rank 11th in the country. Junior Jeff Scott leads the team with 268 rushing yards on just 31 carries, which is good for an 8.6 yard per carry average.
At 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds, Scott isn’t the kind of back that has had success against Alabama. He scored a touchdown against the Crimson Tide a year ago, but had only 11 rushing yards on 7 carries.
Randall Mackey and I’Tavius Mathers will see time at running back as well. Mackey is a converted quarterback, and has 172 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Mathers is a highly touted freshman, but he’s only seen 16 carries through four games.
At receiver, there is no doubt that sophomore Donte Moncrief is the best of the group, and he will provide a big test to the Alabama secondary. Moncrief was one of the most sought after recruits in the nation two years ago, and he is living up to the potential so far in 2012.
Moncrief has 343 receiving yards this year, which is more than a third of the Rebels’ passing output in 2012. He’s averaging 18.1 yards per catch and has a touchdown reception in all four games. He has two 100+ yard receiving games in 2012, coming against Central Arkansas and Texas.
Junior Korvic Neat is the team’s second leading receiver, and he is a smaller shiftier receiver as opposed to Moncrief. Neat is 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds. He has 151 yards on 14 receptions.
Junior Ja-Mes Logan is off to a slow start in 2012, but he is still a threat in the receiving game. Senior tight end Jamal Mosley had 4 catches for 79 yards in the opener, but he has been quiet since then.
The Rebels brought back only one returning starter on the offensive line in 2012, and while they have dominated on the ground, they have given up 11 sacks for an average of 2.75 per game. The bad news is they are facing the best defensive front they have seen this year, so it could be a long night for quarterback Bo Wallace.
The Rebels have run the ball very well so far in 2012, but Alabama’s defense has dominated against the run, giving up 62 yards per game on the ground. Alabama has also already faced a dual-threat quarterback in Michigan’s Denard Robinson, so they should be better prepared to stop Bo Wallace.
While Ole Miss is a much improved team from a year ago, I don’t expect Colonel Reb to do a whole lot offensively against the Crimson Tide’s stout defense.
On Friday, I’ll break down the beleaguered Ole Miss defense.
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