It’s a big GameDay for Alabama Football fans. Hosting a ranked SEC team in Bryant-Denny is always a big deal for Crimson Tide fans. The weather is expected to be cloudy with an expected high of 84 early in the game. There is only a small chance of rain and winds will be light. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:39 PM CST.
Other Alabama Football fans will see the game on CBS with the broadcast team of Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Jamie Erdahl. Crimson Tide fans are advised that in between critiquing every penalty call, Danielson does actually know something about football.
Much has been made about the Saban vs. Kiffin matchup and Nick’s record of 23-0 against former assistants. This superb ESPN piece by Chris Lowe and Alex Scarborough suggested Kiffin has been the former Tide assistant who learned the most from Saban.
Earlier in the week, we dared to state Kiffin has the best chance to beat Saban. We also asked what many Alabama football fans want to know, will Kiffin and Ole Miss steal Tide signals.
A little Alabama Football and Ole Miss History
Thanks to PrideOfTheTide.com for some interesting data. In the history of Ole Miss football, no Ole Miss head coach (based on a three-game minimum) has a winning record against the Crimson Tide. Hugh Freeze has the best losing record at 2-3 and The Reverend had to cheat to do that. As Ole Miss head coaches, Houston Nutt, Ed Orgeron and Tommy Tuberville were a combined 0-11 against the Crimson Tide. Overall the Crimson Tide leads the series 56-10-2.
A couple of the most notable games took place in the 1960s. In 1964, the Sugar Bowl was played in bitter cold, after snow had fallen on New Orleans the night before. Ole Miss was ranked No. 7 and the Tide was No.8. The Tide won 12-7 on four Tim Davis field goals. Most noteworthy was a player who did not play. Joe Namath was suspended and not allowed to travel with the team to New Orleans.
The October 1969 game proved college football was sensational as a prime-time television event. The Tide beat Archie Manning 33-32. Afterward, at midfield, Bear Bryant and Ole Miss coach Johnny Vaught agreed it was the ugliest game either one had ever coached.
A few more memorable Tide vs. Ole Miss game snapshots are available here.
Latest News and Buzz
- Brian Robinson Jr. is expected to play, though his sore ribs may not have fully healed.
- Ole Miss is expected to be without key receiver, Jonathan Mingo. Though Ole Miss message boards claim Mingo is ‘questionable for Saturday, it has been widely reported, Mingo will miss multiple games. He has 15 receptions for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Mingo is an important part of Lane Kiffin’s offense. John Rhys Plumlee will likely be called upon to step into the role.
- While Nick Saban has been imploring Tide fans to be deafening throughout the game, the Tide head coach has also been given some suggestions. Thursday night on Hey Coach, Saban said Miss Terry wants him to blitz more. Saban’s response to that suggestion was,
"I’ve never said this to Miss Terry, but I’m a secondary coach and secondary coaches that play for coaches that blitz a lot, they end up sleeping under the bridge and twitching because they’re always putting the backend in a tough situation."
More than a few Alabama football fans agree with Miss Terry.
Alabama Crimson Tide Game Notes
Going into week five of college football, there were 26 undefeated FBS teams. At the most, there will be 21 by late Saturday night.
Quite a few national pundits are predicting an Ole Miss win. They might be correct, but Nick Saban’s relaxed demeanor Thursday night is a good predictor of a Crimson Tide victory.