In the most recent game against No. 1 Alabama, which the Rebels dropped by a 48-43 margin, a school-record and state of MS record crowd of 66,176 enjoyed all the other areas of improvement to the stadium, such as three new videoboard displays, a bowled-in north end zone, a south end zone field club, new sound system and new concessions and restrooms.
Advertisement
Their chance to show Saban came sooner than expected. For two straight seasons, Ole Miss has defeated the Crimson Tide and are one of the few teams in CFB that can lay claim to that honor.
“He rushed for (146) yards so he made some big plays on third downs and made some big plays in the game”, Wommack said.
“But when you look at things, the devil is kind of in the details”, Saban said. Another big-boy touchdown, courtesy of a rumbling 75-yard interception return by Jonathan Allen, seemed to ice it at 48-30, but Ole Miss made two last-ditch efforts, including a handsome 37-yard touchdown pass from Chad Kelly to A.J.
The latest came from true freshman quarterback Jacob Eason, who tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Isaiah McKenzie on a 4th-and-10 play with 1:29 remaining against Missouri on Saturday.
This week, the Alabama senior lobbied to be the Crimson Tide’s punt returner. The Seminoles’ only bright spot was 10 straight points to get within 14-10 before Jackson took over.
The score gave the Tide a 48-30 lead after heading into the half with a 24-3 deficit. First, the polished senior quarterback Chad Kelly found the NFL-bound tight end Evan Engram so alone up the right hash that he looked to be running across a prairie. That’s two crushing losses after enormous second-quarter leads.
Just over a minute later, Eddie Jackson returned an Ole Miss punt 85 yards with 1:05 in the second quarter to trim the Rebels’ lead to 24-17, where it would stand for the half.
In the third quarter, Alabama tied the game at 24 after Chad Kelly was hit at the one and fumbled the ball, which the Tide recovered and converted for a touchdown. But the play was overturned and the Rebels settled for a field goal to tie it at 27-27 with 1:47 left in the third.
“An unbelievable game for fans to watch, and a really hard game for an old coach to try to suffer through”, Alabama Coach Nick Saban said, but of course, the 64-year-old coach also said, “We’ve got coaches getting IV. I am excited about getting back on the field with those young guys”. He also ran for 33 yards and a touchdown.The Huskies overcame an early 10-0 deficit with two fourth-quarter scores. Both lines just could not hold up and play an entire game. Running back Bo Scarbrough finished the drive with a 1-yard score to make it 34-27.
“I’m really proud of the effort of our football team”, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “He’s a new element for Alabama and they sure exploited it on us today and they have other people so far so they have another line of offense with him”.
Hurts became the first Alabama quarterback to rush for 100-plus yards in a game since 2001. I don’t know about you, but right at that moment, I felt as if the Crimson Tide would win the game.
Advertisement
The sole reason why Ole Miss entered the season as a potential contender in the SEC West was the arm of Kelly. Ole Miss responded with a 78-yard touchdown drive, then recovered the onside kick. I’m glad we’re in the fight.
