Alabama will host Ole Miss on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT inside of Bryant Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide (4-0, 1-0 in the SEC) enters the week as 35-point favorites over the Rebels (2-2, 1-0), according to VegasInsider.com. Check back here throughout the week for coverage on the matchup

10 Recruiting thoughts from Bone

Weekend visitors

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama worked indoors Wednesday as it held its third practice in preparation for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss. Players were dressed in full pads for the workout. Here are some notes from the viewing period.

— Defensive lineman D.J. Dale (knee) and linebacker Markail Benton (hamstring) returned to action Wednesday after being limited the past two days.

— Terrell Lewis had a brace on his right knee but was participating in drills with the rest of the outside linebackers.

— Miller Forristall was working with the tight ends. I did not spot him during the viewing period Tuesday, but he was a full participant Wednesday.

— Alabama’s first unit on offensive line continues to be Alex Leatherwood, Evan Neal, Chris Owens, Landon Dickerson and Jedrick Wills Jr. from left to right.

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Alabama by the numbers

70 — Alabama ranks first in the SEC and No. 2 in the nation with four plays of 70 yards or more this season. Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III has three of them, including a 74-yard touchdown reception last week against Southern Miss, an 81-yard touchdown reception against South Carolina and a 75-yard touchdown run against New Mexico State. Keilan Robinson has the other one with a 74-yard run against New Mexico State.

28 — Alabama has won 28 straight games inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium. Ole Miss is the last team to beat Alabama at home, defeating the Crimson Tide 43-37 in 2015.

17 — With 1,983 career receiving yards, Jerry Jeudy is just 17 yards away from reaching the 2,000 mark. Only five other Alabama receivers have achieved the feat — Amari Cooper (3,463), D.J. Hall (2,923), Calvin Ridley (2,781), Julio Jones (2,653) and Ozzie Newsome (2,070).

13 — Freshman Justin Eboigbe became the 13th Alabama player to make his first-career start this season when he took the field for the Tide’s opening defensive play against Southern Miss last week. Other players to earn their first start this season include running backs Najee Harris and Jerome Ford, offensive linemen Landon Dickerson, Evan Neal and Chris Owens, defensive lineman D.J. Dale, linebackers Christian Harris and Shane Lee, defensive backs Josh Jobe, Jared Mayden and Jordan Battle and placekicker/punter Will Reichard.

4.2 — Tua Tagovailoa threw five touchdown passes on 21 attempts against Southern Miss. That’s an average of one touchdown pass for every 4.2 attempts.

Ole Miss by the numbers

70 — Ole Miss has allowed 70 or less rushing yards in three straight contests for the first time since 1999.

46.4 — Ole Miss punter Mac Brown ranks third in the SEC and 12th nationally averaging 46.4 yards per punt. Seven of Brown’s 18 punts this season have been more than 50 yards.

20 — Ole Miss receiver Elijah Moore saw a career-high 20 targets last week against California, recording 11 receptions for 102 yards. For perspective, Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III has only been targeted 18 times this season.

15 — Ole Miss is just one of 15 teams in the nation that have thrown one or fewer interceptions through the first four games of the season. Alabama is also part of that list.

4.25 — Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks ninth nationally with only 4.25 penalties committed per game this season.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama worked outside Tuesday as it held its second practice in preparation for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss. Players were dressed in full pads and worked under partly-cloudy, 90-degree weather. Here are some notes from the media viewing period.

— Outside linebacker Terrell Lewis (knee) was back in action. Defense lineman D.J. Dale (knee) and inside linebacker Markail Benton remained limited.

— Miller Forristall was not spotted with the rest of the tight ends. Major Tennison led the unit followed by Giles Amos, Cameron Latu and Jahleel Billingsley.

— Kicker Will Reichard was seen dressed out and walking toward the indoor facility before practice.

— Deonte Brown worked at right guard on Alabama’s second unit during drills.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama worked outside Monday as it began preparations for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss. Players were dressed in shorts and shells and practiced under sunny, 89-degree weather. Here are some notes from the media viewing period.

— Outside linebacker Terrell Lewis (knee) and defensive tackle D.J. Dale (knee) were both present at practice but were not participating in drills. Lewis had a brace on his right knee. Nick Saban said the two should return to action Tuesday and will likely be available for Saturday’s game.

— Kicker Will Reichard was with the rest of the specialists indoors. He was going through the motions on field goals but didn’t kick the ball.

— Redshirt sophomore Markail Benton appeared to be limited and was wearing a hamstring-support strip on his left leg. Benton did not suit up during last week's game against Southern Miss. Shane Lee led the inside linebackers followed by Christian Harris, Ale Kaho and Jaylen Moody.

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Saban’s opening: Just reviewing the last game, probably the most complete game we’ve played in all phases, offense, defense and special teams.

Observations: A lot of us seem to feel the same way after watching the Crimson Tide stomp on Southern Miss. The Tide had over 500-yards of offense, allowed just one touchdown on defense, and had just one penalty.

Saban on Ole Miss: We’re excited about the SEC home opener here this Saturday on CBS. It’s an opportunity to play what could be arguably the best team we’ve played so far this year. I know Ole Miss had a tough loss last week. But they’ve played well in a couple of games and had a couple of good wins. The quarterback’s playing really well for them. The backup quarterback came in and played even better in the game last week. They’ve got a really good runner. They’ve got some really good skill players at receiver. Got good specialists, good return guys. Their defense has been al ot more aggressive this year in terms of creating negative plays, sacks, tackles for loss. Those types of things. This is a well-coached team and this is a team that we’ve struggled with some in the past. We’re certainly going to have to have a great week of preparation to be able to play well in this game

.Observations: I was a little surprised that Saban referred to Ole Miss as the best team will face up to this point. The Rebels lost to Memphis 15-10 in the opener, beat Arkansas 31-17, beat SE Louisiana 40-29, and lost to Cal 28-20 this past Saturday. While the past does not reflect the future, in the last two matchups, the Crimson Tide has pasted more than 120 points on the Rebels.

Saban on the changes in college football: It used to be a lot more closed formations, now everything is spread and open. I think space play is much more important than it used to be years ago. People throw a 2-yard pass on an RPO and it turns into a 70-yard play. The game has just opened up to where horizontally and vertically you’ve got to cover the entire field. In the old days, I don’t think it was really that way. And I think that’s created a lot more explosive plays on offense, and people who have good skill players and a good quarterback have a chance to really take advantage of some of those things, and it makes it much more difficult on defense. I think the combination of those things probably has changed our league just like it’s changed football in general.

Observations: Basically, the new RPO style is a hybrid of a passing and running attack. And if you have speed at the skill positions, you can be more effective than the old days when it was 3-4-yards per pop. College football has changed for sure, the potent offense > great defense.

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The Alabama coaching staff named seven players of the week across eight total slots following the Tide’s 49-7 win over Southern Miss last Saturday.

Offense: Najee Harris, Henry Ruggs III and Jedrick Wills Jr.

Defense: Anfernee Jennings and Xavier McKinney

Special teams: Slade Bolden, Jaylen Moody and Ruggs

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