First place in the SEC West is on the line Saturday as the No. 12 Mississippi Rebels (3-0) travel to face No. 1 Alabama (4-0). The visitors are trying to prove they are for real, and there would be no better way than for Lane Kiffin to knock off Nick Saban and the Tide.
Kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, and the game will be televised by CBS.
Alabama leads the series 56-10-2 and has won five in a row with at least 48 points in each game. The last time Ole Miss won was in 2015, as they went on the road for a 43-37 win. The Tide are 14-1 in the last 15 home games in the series and won 63-48 last year in Mississippi.
Corral Ready for Next Step
The Ole Miss offense is off to a great start in three games under the leadership of quarterback Matt Corral. Kiffin’s squad is averaging 52.7 points per game, and they are at 336.7 passing yards per game and 298.7 rushing yards per game. Their 635.3 yards per game and 7.5 yards per play are among the best in the nation.
Corral has completed 68.8 percent of his passes on the season for 997 yards. He has nine touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 158 yards and five scores. Corral had a big game against the Tide last season with 365 passing yards, 40 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.
Corral’s top target has been Dontario Drummond, who has 20 catches for 339 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Jonathan Minto has 15 catches for 290 yards and three scores, while Braylon Sanders has two touchdowns and an average of 16.7 yards per reception.
Jerrion Ealy leads the Rebels with 188 rushing yards and is one of four players with at least 100 yards and a touchdown. Snoop Conner has three rushing touchdowns while Henry Parrish Jr. leads the team at 7.1 yards per rush.
Tide Continue to Roll
Last season the Tide went into Oxford and tallied 63 points on 723 total yards. They accounted for seven rushing touchdowns and 306 yards on 39 carries. Bryce Young will look to replicate the day turned in by Mac Jones last year when the Tide quarterback went 28-for-32 for 417 yards.
In his first four starts, Young has accounted for 1,124 passing yards and 15 touchdowns while completing more than 72 percent of his passes. Young has one interception and has completed touchdown passes to eight different players.
His big-play weapon is Jameson Williams, who has 12 catches for 299 yards and three touchdowns. John Metchie III has a team-leading 24 receptions for 240 yards and a score, while tight end Cameron Latu leads the Tide with four touchdown catches.
Running back Brian Robinson Jr. had a touchdown against Mississippi last season. He’s scored twice this year with 208 yards on 37 carries for an average of 5.6 yards per carry. Three other Tide running backs have scored while both Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams are over 100 yards.
Betting Analysis
- Mississippi Rebels +14.5 (-105). +500 Moneyline
- Alabama Crimson Tide -14.5 (-115). -720 Moneyline
- Total Points: 80. Over -110. Under -110
Saban is 23-0 against his former assistants, and Kiffin will need a flawless game to break that trend. Corral has the talent and the weapons to win in Tuscaloosa, but he will need the Rebels defense to give him a chance by slowing down Young and the Tide. The Alabama crowd will be revved up and ready to go, and any Ole Miss mistakes will be costly as this game has points written all over it.
Betting Pick: Over 80 points (-11)
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