Alabama Football: Offensive Report Card vs Ole Miss

Alabama football moved to 8-2 with a big SEC West road win against the Rebels of Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon. Despite trailing for most of the game, Bama pulled out a 30-24 victory.

The Alabama offense, which has struggled mightily over its last two outings, started very slow. It looked like it was going to be another long day after the offense had a horrendous opening quarter. The Crimson Tide’s first three drives netted just 22 yards on 13 plays.

While the unit would find its stride, scoring points on six of its next nine possessions to close out the game, the Alabama offense still displayed obvious issues. Bama finished the game with just 317 yards on 4.6 yards per play. It also failed to generate big plays. A 35-yard catch-and-run by Ja’Corey Brooks on a broken play was Alabama’s only play of 20-plus yards all afternoon. The longest run for the Tide running game was a 14-yard scramble by Bryce Young.

Alabama’s offense failed to close out the game in the fourth quarter, given multiple opportunities. Heading into the final period, the game was tied 24-24. The Bama offense had three possessions, each beginning with favorable field position, and mustered just six total points.

The first drive of the quarter began in Rebel territory. Alabama worked its way down to the 5-yard line and could not punch it into the end zone. After a quick three-and-out on its next possession, the Tide got it one more time with a chance to ice the game. It worked its way into field goal range once again before stalling. Despite dominating the quarter, Bama led just 30-24 and left more than two minutes on the clock. This is the recipe to lose a game in dramatic fashion, but Alabama did enough to survive in the end.