OXFORD, Miss. — Tua Tagovailoa dropped back before delivering a 12-yard bullet to Irv Smith in the end zone, quieting a once-deafening crowd inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. After a rocky start, Alabama had a three-touchdown lead and 241 yards of offense. There was still 4:40 left in the first quarter.
Alabama dismantled a porous Ole Miss defense, blowing the Rebels out 62-7 in its SEC opener. The Crimson Tide piled up 516 total yards while holding the nation’s No. 2 offense at bay for most of the game. Alabama is the first team in SEC history to score 50 or more points in its first three games. The last time Alabama had three straight 50-point wins at any point in the season was in 1945.
In its last three meetings against Ole Miss, Alabama has outscored the Rebels 176-53. Saturday’s 60-point performance is the Crimson Tide’s second straight against Ole Miss after beating the Rebels 66-3 in Bryant-Denny Stadium last season.
Ole Miss punched Alabama in the mouth early as quarterback Jordan Ta’amu hit D.K. Metcalf for a 75-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage. From there, it was all Crimson Tide. Ole Miss’ lead lasted a total of one minute and 10 seconds as Alabama answered back with a 43-yard touchdown run from Damien Harris on its ensuing possession. The Crimson Tide then found the end zone on seven of its next nine possession to take a commanding 49-7 lead into the half.
Making his first road start, Tagovailoa completed 11 of 15 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore quarterback completed all three of his third-down passes on the day, moving to a perfect 13-for-13 in such situations on the season. He started Alabama’s first seven possessions before being replaced by Jalen Hurts, who led the Crimson Tide to back-to-back scoring drives before the half. Hurts finished the night 7 of 10 for 85 yards and two touchdowns and an interception.
Jerry Jeudy had his third straight game with two receiving touchdowns, finishing the day with three receptions for a career-high 136 yards. Damien Harris led the team with 62 yards on the ground while adding 23 more yards on four receptions. Najee Harris finished with 38 rushing yards, including a 10-yard touchdown run.
Following his 75-yard touchdown to start the game, Ta’amu finished the night 7 of 22 for 133 yards with an interception. The Hawaii native, who grew up 10 miles away from Tagovailoa, came into the game with a 206.09 quarterback rating. Saturday, Alabama held him to a pedestrian 79.4.
Xavier McKinney extended Alabama’s streak to three straight games with a defensive touchdown as when he returned an interception 30 yards for a score in the third quarter. Deionte Thompson recorded his second interception of the season, stepping front of a pass in the first quarter. Christian Miller had 2.5 sacks to go with five tackles, while Quinnen Williams led the team with six stops.
Alabama’s 28 points in the first quarter equaled the most its scored in the opening quarter of a game during the Nick Saban era. The Crimson Tide previously scored 28 points in the first quarter against Duke in 2010 and Charleston Southern in 2015.
Alabama will return home to Bryant-Denny Stadium next week as it hosts Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.
