Published Oct 5, 2020
Observations as Alabama begins preparations for Ole Miss
circle avatar
Tony Tsoukalas  •  TideIllustrated
Managing Editor
Twitter
@Tony_Tsoukalas
info icon
Embed content not available

A few mental errors still need to be smoothed over, but for the most part, Alabama has breezed past its first two opponents with relative ease. After rolling over Missouri in its season opener two weeks ago, the Crimson Tide tore apart Texas A&M over the weekend in a 52-24 blowout inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Next up for No. 2 Alabama is a trip to Oxford, Miss to take on an Ole Miss team coached by former Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. Alabama (2-0) is currently a 24-point favorite over the Rebels (1-1), who are coming off a 42-41 overtime victory against Kentucky over the weekend. Here’s what we learned about the Tide on Monday as it begins its preparation for the Rebels.

Advertisement

Barmore should continue to help Alabama’s pass rush

One of Alabama’s biggest pass-rushing threats was back in action last week as Christian Barmore returned from a knee injury that kept him out of the season opener against Missouri. Playing in 37 snaps against Texas A&M, the 6-foot-5, 310-pounder flashed his ability to get in the backfield, tallying two quarterback hurries and a quarterback hit while earning a 74.9 pass-rushing grade from Pro Football Focus.

“He's good,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during his Monday afternoon Zoom call with reporters. “He'll play more and more as we go.”

Saban added that Barmore practiced well last week and is continuing to progress, stating that the defensive lineman’s role should continue to increase. Barmore earned Freshman All-SEC honors last year, recording six tackles for loss and two sacks with five quarterback pressures and two pass breakups over 12 games.

Despite providing plenty of pressure this past weekend, Alabama was unable to record a sack on Kellen Mond. The Texas A&M quarterback completed 25 of 44 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. While Alabama wasn’t able to bring down Mond in time to prevent a few big plays through the air, the Tide did limit the dual-threat passer to just 19 yards on eight carries.

“I think the front did a pretty good job of pressuring the quarterback,” Saban said after the game. “We only lost contain one time today. Kellen didn’t run over the lot like he did last year against us. They pushed the pocket well. They affected him some. I thought we did a good job of executing pressures that we had.”

Alabama will need to continue to improve its defensive pressure this week as it goes up against an Ole Miss team that ranks No. 2 in the SEC averaging 381.5 yards per game through the air. The Rebels are averaging 38.5 points per game while quarterback Matt Corral completed 24 of 29 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns during last week’s win over Kentucky.

Tide faces a tough test in stopping Ole Miss receivers 

Despite posting back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time in his career, Jaylen Waddle will be the second hottest receiver on the field this weekend.

Premium subscribers continue reading here

Not yet a premium subscriber of BamaInsider.com?

Free 30-Days To BamaInsider.com - Start here


info icon
Embed content not available