OXFORD, Miss. — Another test aced. After a slow start, Alabama rallied to blow by Ole Miss in its SEC opener Saturday. The Crimson Tide allowed a 75-yard touchdown on the games first play from scrimmage before rallying for 62 straight points in a 62-7 rout of the Rebels. Here are 10 things we learned from the game.
1. Jerry Jeudy is the next Calvin Ridley, and possibly more
Alabama’s South Florida succession continues. Calvin Ridley has moved on to the NFL as did Amari Cooper before him. However, Alabama continues to ride the latest wave coming out of the Sunshine State.
Jerry Jeudy added to his torrid start to the season, tallying his first career 100-yard game with three catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns against Ole Miss. The sophomore, who grew up close to Ridley in South Florida, looked just like him Saturday night, streaking and juking past defenders with ease.
Jeudy now has two touchdowns in each of Alabama’s three games this season. His 287 yards and six touchdowns through the air lead the team and already surpass his freshman totals. Jeudy also ranks No. 5 in the nation with 26.09 yards per catch, a number that was aided by his 79-yard touchdown Saturday night.
“He made some big plays last year. He was just a freshman, and he didn’t play all the time,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “We have four receivers who can be explosive, and we want to get them all involved,” Saban said. “Jerry plays in the slot, so when people play man-to-man, the chop block is the one that’s really difficult to defend. He does it extremely well, and he made a couple of big-play catches for us today.”
2. Alabama got punched in the mouth and got back up
For the first time this season, Alabama found itself on the wrong side of the scoreboard. It took one play for Ole Miss’ high-powered offense to introduce itself as quarterback Jordan Ta’amu hit D.K. Metcalf in stride down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
From there, Alabama answered back with touchdowns on seven of its next nine possessions while keeping the Rebels off the scoreboard for the remainder of the night. The Crimson Tide limited Ta’amu to 7 of 22 passing for 133 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
“I think it showed tremendous resiliency to take the ball right down the field and score like nothing happened,” Saban said. “Then the defense didn’t give up any more points the rest of the game. These guys have a really explosive offense, very explosive receivers. I thought our guys did a good job after that.”
3. Patrick Surtain came up big
After Savion Smith was beaten by Metcalf on Ole Miss’ opening touchdown, Alabama elected to put in a bigger defensive back to guard the 6-foot-4 receiver. In stepped 6-foot-2 true freshman Patrick Surtain II.
Metcalf caught just one reception after the substitution. Surtain played in 51 snaps and was targeted six times by the Rebels but allowed just one reception for seven yards.
4. Deionte Thompson draws high praise
Surtain wasn’t the only player who performed well against Ole Miss’ offense. Deionte Thompson recorded his second interception of the season to go with four tackles on the night.
Through three games this season, the junior safety has a 94 defensive grade, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s also been noticed by Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, who included Thompson’s name alongside elite company.
5. Alabama’s defense can put up points
Alabama’s defense is almost outscoring its opposition. The Crimson Tide returned an interception for a touchdown for the third straight game as Xavier McKinney stepped in front of a pass from Ta’amu before trotting 30 yards untouched into the end zone. Alabama’s defense has now allowed four touchdowns on the year while accounting for three.
Nick Saban Press Conference
