Alabama defensive back Eddie Jackson (4) breaks loose for a punt return touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college foorball game against Mississippi, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, M.
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Ole Miss then gave up a Crimson Tide defensive score on its first series of the second half, fell down by 18 with about five minutes to go, but scored twice late to steal a backdoor cover as 10-point home dogs.
To put the Rebels’ woes into proper perspective: the rest of the FBS has only two losses after holding a 20-point lead.
Georgia, under first-year coach Kirby Smart, turned heads with its season-opening win over North Carolina. Ole Miss still has games against undefeated Georgia, Arkansas and Texas A&M and potential Alabama-party-crasher LSU on its schedule and can knock the Bulldogs a game back in the SEC East with an upset on Saturday. “We knew September was going to be this way, and it is time for us to get back out and find a way to finish a game”.
Saban divided last Saturday’s 48-43 victory over Ole Miss into three perplexing parts.
We went with Oklahoma in a huge showdown against Ohio State, but the Sooners came up on the losing end of a 45-24 defeat.
The Bulldogs trailed 14-13 in that one before pulling out the 26-24 win over the FCS foe.
Tennessee 28, OH 19 – Joshua Dobbs threw a pair of 20-yard touchdown passes to Josh Malone and ran for a third score as the No. 15 Vols overcame injuries and a suspension to hold off the visiting Bobcats.
Tuesday after Georgia’s practice, Smart re-addressed the media as the Bulldogs continue preparation for the Rebels.
UConn 13, Virginia 10 – Walk-on kicker Alex Furbank missed a 20-yard field-goal attempt for the Cavaliers (0-3) as time expired, allowing the host Huskies (2-1) to get the nonleague win. Defensive-wise, they’re going young and fast, and it’s going to be a challenge. This time, however, they will hold the lead and get a much-needed victory. They racked up 231 yards on the ground against the Tiger, led by running back Trayveon Williams’ 127 yards on just eight carries. St. 20: Leonard Fournette returned from a bruised left ankle and rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns. “We’re decimated right now with injuries”, coach Butch Jones said.
“Besides getting three turnovers, there is nothing big that we talk about”, Bulldogs outside linebacker Chuks Amaechi said. Look for Alabama to be fairly conservative in the second half with mostly reserves playing. Each team has a lot to prove based on its performance through the first three weeks, so Saturday’s game might be where two teams diverge in a wood.
“When you ask how do we do that better, we have to create opportunities for our kids to be successful in”.
Coach Paul Haynes says his players won’t be intimidated as they prepare to meet the nation’s No. 1 team.
Ole Miss is as talented as they come. The Rebels, however, couldn’t sustain the momentum from Stringfellow’s 44-yard reception, but netted points from the drive with a 23-yard field goal by kicker Gary Wunderlich to push the advantage to 10-3.
Alabama; The number one team in the country played its kryptonite yesterday in the form of Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss. Intangibles: Ole Miss. The Rebels must put the FSU and Alabama losses behind them. “We kind of got stung early in this game and I’m really proud of the way our players just kept battling and battling”. “They’re going to pound the ball”.
There was plenty to smile about after Alabama ended a two-year winless streak against the Rebels.
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Kelly is trying to make sure that doesn’t happen again against Georgia. “I think that we were trying to run the ball on the perimeter to see if we could get them exhausted, which we did”. With all of the side to side running for the Rebels’ defense, the staff hoped that once the second half started, the Landshark defense would be worn out. Justin Rankin leads the Golden Flashes in rushing with 178 yards and a touchdown and Nick Holley is the top receiver with 12 catches and two touchdowns. Kent State averages only 299 yards per game on offense and 25.3 points per game.
