Alabama Football: Defense answers the bell against Ole Miss

If the offense for Alabama Football showed some promise against Ole Miss, the defense might’ve finally realized its immense potential.

Bama’s defensive performance against Lane Kiffin’s offense was incredibly promising, and one of the Tide’s more disciplined games in years on that side of the ball.

Kevin Steele’s unit swarmed to the ball for most of the afternoon, holding an offense that was previously averaging north of 52 points per game to just 10. After a couple of blown coverages that led to an easy touchdown drive on Ole Miss’ second possession, Alabama virtually shut the Rebels down.

For the game, it held Ole Miss to 301 yards of total offense. Dual threat quarterback Jaxson Dart entered the contest averaging over 12 yards per attempt, as the Rebels had made a living on explosive plays through the air in their first three games. By combining a fierce pass rush and smothering coverage, Bama held him under 7.0 YPA.

Perhaps the Alabama defense is not getting the national recognition it deserves, but that shouldn’t matter. If it continues to perform at a high level, Alabama Football will keep winning, and national respect will soon become inevitable.