Here’s a breakdown of how Alabama performed statistically during its 59-31 victory over Ole Miss.
HIGHLIGHTS
The good:
— Tua Tagovailoa’s record day saw him reach four separate major milestones. The quarterback threw for a single-game school record of six touchdown passes while also finding the end zone on the ground to set the school's single-game mark for total touchdowns with seven. Tagovailoa’s six passing touchdowns give him 77 on his career, tying him with AJ McCarron for most on Alabama’s all-time list. Tagovailoa also became Alabama’s all-time total touchdowns leader with 86, moving past McCarron (80).
— Tagovailoa has a nation-leading 23 touchdown passes through the first five weeks of the season. He's second in the nation with 1,718 yards through the air.
— Tagovailoa threw for 418 yards against Ole Miss, marking his ninth career game of 300 or more yards through the air at Alabama — the most in school history. The junior has also thrown for more than 290 yards 12 times during his career.
— DeVonta Smith broke two single-game school records, with 274 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns against Ole Miss. His five receiving touchdowns are also an SEC single-game record. Smith became the sixth player in the SEC to score at least two touchdowns and gain 200 or more yards in a game. He accomplished that feat in a quarter.
— Alabama's 31 points in the second quarter against Ole Miss are the most scored by the Crimson Tide in a quarter since it had 35 in the second against Texas A&M in 2014.
— Xavier McKinney tallied a career-high 13 tackles, 10 of which were solo stops. That’s the most in a game by an Alabama player this season.
— Ale Kaho scored his first career touchdown off of a blocked punt in the third quarter, marking Alabama’s 69th non-offensive touchdown of the Nick Saban era.
The bad:
— Alabama allowed a season-high 31 points and 476 total yards against Ole Miss. The Rebels piled up 279 yards on the ground, including 109 rushing yards from true freshman quarterback John Rhys Plumlee who found the end zone from a yard out.
— Alabama trailed for the first time this season when Ole Miss kicker Luke Logan connected on a 33-yard field goal to put the Rebels up 10-7 with 2:36 remaining in the first quarter. It was the first time the Crimson Tide has been on the wrong side of the scoreboard since last season's national championship game against Clemson.
— Alabama continued to struggle with penalties. The Crimson Tide was flagged 10 times for 76 yards. Alabama is averaging 6.8 penalties per game.
Did you know:
Nick Saban is 16-2 in SEC home openers in his career (12-1 with Alabama, 4-1 with LSU). The head coach’s teams have outscored opponents 638-290 in those games.