After an up-and-down start to the season, No. 13 Alabama will open up SEC play today as it hosts No. 13 Ole Miss at 2:30 p.n. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide is currently a 7-point favorite over the Rebels.

Alabama has won its last seven SEC openers dating back to 2016. Ole Miss was the last team to beat Alabama to begin conference play, handing the Tide a 43-37 defeat inside Bryant-Denny Stadium during Week 3 of the 2015 season.

Here’s how TideIlustrated’s staff thinks this year’s SEC opener will play out.

Folks are jumping off the Alabama bandwagon faster than a cryptocurrency, and I think it is unwarranted. Ole Miss is not the team it was a year ago, and the Rebs have issues running the ball and stopping anyone on defense. They looked pretty average against a not-great Georgia Tech defense last week, and the bulk of the offense came on some broken plays on defense and contain issues on Jaxson Dart.

New Tide OC Tommy Rees’ offense has also been mediocre at times and the quarterback yo-yo is far from ideal, but I think Alabama at home will have enough defense to take down Ole Miss.

— Kelly Quinlan, publisher

Over the summer, I picked this as Alabama’s lone loss of the year, thinking Ole Miss might catch an overconfident Crimson Tide team coming off a strong start to the season. Boy, was I wrong.

This isn’t the Alabama team I envisioned during the offseason. Not yet, anyway. I still think the Crimson Tide could develop into an elite team this season. However, it isn’t playing like one at the moment. Lane Kiffin has pushed Nick Saban’s buttons all week off the field and will have enough tricks up his sleeve to come up with a few big plays against Alabama’s defense.

I see this as a coin-flip game, but after previously picking Ole Miss, I’m standing firm on my prediction.

— Tony Tsoukalas, managing editor

Ole Miss has flexed its muscles offensively this season, and it arrives in Tuscaloosa coming off a huge performance in a win against Georgia Tech.

Alabama’s offensive struggles continue in this one, as the inability to have a true home run threat in the ground game puts Alabama in a lot of 3rd and medium and 3rd and long situations.

Defensively, Alabama has the athletes to contain Dart, Judkins, etc., but in this one they will get worn down as Ole Miss looks to control the time of possession.

— Russell Johnson, recruiting editor

Despite how Alabama has looked this season, the Crimson Tide has shown flashes. Alabama is expected to go back to Jalen Milroe as the starter this week, and although his play against Texas was not ideal, Alabama missed on some opportunities in that game that put them behind the chains. After a drenching game last week against South Florida, there were struggles again, but it was clear that the mobility of Milroe is a needed element right now for the Crimson Tide.

Milroe and the team have to come together, and right now, they're under more scrutiny than ever. Ole Miss comes in with an offense that can create downfield, but just like we saw with Florida last weekend when they played Tennessee at home. T-Town should have a good amount of energy and urgency behind what this game means four weeks into the season.

Alabama should rely heavily on the run game and finally open up some holes, creating opportunities in the passing game that Milroe can hit on. It's not the popular opinion, but Alabama wins a game that many are picking the opposition.

— Brandon Howard, recruiting writer

I think this one will be the Crimson Tide’s closest matchup all season long, and it definitely will not disappoint. After two rough weeks in a row, Alabama bounces back and battles out a win at home against a very tough Ole Miss team.

This matchup comes down to Alabama’s defense entirely. I don’t think the offense will be able to put up very many points, so if the defense can just limit the Rebels enough, the Crimson Tide can get away with one on Saturday. Despite what the rankings say, I believe that Alabama is an underdog in this matchup and likely will have to play from behind. Jalen Milroe is now the confirmed starter and Saturday’s matchup will be his proving ground. It’s going to be a battle in Tuscaloosa this weekend, but I think Alabama comes out on top, just barely.

— Dean Harrell, staff writer

I think Milroe will torch this Ole Miss defense led by Pete Golding. His defense struggles against mobile QBs and deep bombs, and Milroe has both. It could become a shootout, but Alabama’s defense has been fantastic through 11 quarters this year. Ole Miss is the sexy upset pick, but give me the Tide at home.

— Jordan Harper, head basketball analyst