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Alabama Football – What I Learned Watching the Tide Play Ole Miss

By Dave Ozment

Oct 4, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson head coach Nick Saban walks on to the field prior to the game against Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson head coach Nick Saban walks on to the field prior to the game against Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2016 Alabama football team moved to 3-0 after prevailing 48-43 over the Rebels of Ole Miss, but what did we learn from Saturday?

ICYMI: Alabama Football vs Ole Miss-Three Takeaways from the Game

With each passing week, we’ll learn more about the 2016 Alabama football squad.  We’ll spot trends as they emerge and puzzle at both the positive and negative outliers throughout the Tide’s season.

In this weekly feature, I’ll highlight a handful of the lessons this team is teaching me.

Saban the Zen Jockey

In this space last week, I commented as to how I believe Saban really likes this squad. After Saturday’s performance, he may be falling in love. Sure, this was not the flawless performance the taskmaster of perfection is typically after, but sometimes perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama football head coach Nick Saban runs off the field at the end of the second quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama football head coach Nick Saban runs off the field at the end of the second quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /

How many times have we heard Saban preach mindset, playing each play while ignoring the scoreboard, and the significance of battling through adversity? What better example of this coming to fruition do we need than the Tide’s performance Saturday against Ole Miss?

Further, watching the team exhibit such mindfulness with their play allowed the “old coach” (his words), to enjoy the moment himself. I’ll stop short of suggesting that coach relaxed but he softened the edge, smiled, and embraced the moment. Saban refused the whip after mistakes may have cost his team the game and even awarded the team an extra day off. A subtle play that may help his squad down the stretch.

Offensive Line Realignment

Offensive lines are like puzzles, the parts fit together better when they are all in the right place. So what if it took three weeks to sort out the replacement at center, differentiate left and right guards, and extract penance from a very large young man? The results were finally manifest as the Tide amassed 334 yards on the ground. More so, the Tide was able to grind out 14 first downs with the running game, including a critical third-down conversion that allowed Alabama to run out the clock.

Freshman Invasion

Sep 3, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Trevon Diggs (7) in action during the game against the USC Trojans at AT&T Stadium. Alabama defeats USC 52-6. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Trevon Diggs (7) in action during the game against the USC Trojans at AT&T Stadium. Alabama defeats USC 52-6. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

For all the talk about Alabama having a deep roster and all the negative recruiting bluster about youngsters riding the pines in Tuscaloosa, Saturday sure told another story. Forget about Jalen and Jonah, those tails of freshmen starters while impressive are getting stale. Especially when you consider Joshua Jacobs and Trevon Diggs both getting first quarter snaps in the backfield, and how about Miller Forristall at HB/TE and Shy Carter stepping up at Star – plus all the youngsters contributing on special teams. It is fun to watch as these developing players promise to form the core of Tide squads for years to come.

Viva Mo Smith

Plain and simple, the Tide could have really benefited by having Mo Smith on the roster on Saturday – Kendall Sheffield, too, for that matter.

I understand Mo’s decision to move on and I won’t begrudge it though I’d love to still have him in Crimson. He had a business decision, a brand decision to make. Stay in Tuscaloosa as a sixth or seventh DB or move to Athens and be an on-field ambassador for the new coaching staff. Resign himself to a late round draft grade or shoot for a mid-round score, or even higher. Bet on himself or bet again on the system?

As fans, it’s easy to get disjointed about his decision but as a thinking man, it’s equally easy, just not as reflexive. to understand and appreciate it.

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But all the same, as the Tide manned a fourth quarter crunch time defensive backfield with the inexperienced likes of Shy Carter, Deionte Thompson, and Hootie Jones, I would have breathed a little easier had I known the Tide could roll out a seasoned vet like Mo to lead the way.

Thank You, Kent State

With no disrespect intended, I’m glad to see Kent State rolling up on the schedule this week. With injuries aplenty on the Tide roster, the opportunity to ease into a contest with a lesser opponent is a welcomed site for the Tide.

Rest assured, the team will need to appreciate the opponent, Saban’s alma mater, to ensure the Zen remains chill, but this is an opponent that should allow the Tide to rest the weary while continuing to provide experience to the back half of the rotations.

Next: Crimson Tide in Familiar Spot in Polls After Week 3

Check back as I continue to track these and new items as they emerge from the field.  Also be sure to check out our podcasts as I explore and debate these topics and many more in a more animated format.

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