Alabama improved its record to 5-0 by defeating Ole Miss Saturday night by a score of 33-14.  The Tide actually trailed for the first time this year after Ole Miss took a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter.  The deficit was both rare and short-lived.

     Christion Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to quickly put Alabama back in front.  Fifteen seconds is all it took for the number one ranked team to take the lead for good.  The return led to a 21-point second quarter and gave Alabama a 27-7 halftime advantage.

     That’s the good news.

     The victory could prove to be a costly one.  Wide receiver DeAndrew White and running back Dee Hart both left the game with apparent knee injuries.  Both players will be evaluated to determine the severity of their injuries.

     White’s early absence gave highly rated freshman Amari Cooper a chance to step up and he took full advantage of the opportunity.  Cooper caught eight passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns.  The talented freshman is definitely a player to watch.  He has the talent to be one of the best receivers to ever play for Alabama.

     Cooper’s play was the bright spot for the offense. Time and again, the Tide had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns.

     Alabama was able to gain just 305 total yards (180 passing, 125 rushing) on an undersized but swarming Ole Miss defense.  The Rebels continually played eight men near the line of scrimmage to defend the running game.  That strategy gave Alabama a chance to stretch the field with the passing game.  McCarron very rarely took advantage of the opportunity and continually threw short passes that seemingly played right into the hands of the Ole Miss game plan.

     Defensively, Alabama held the Ole Miss no-huddle offense in check for most of the night.  The Rebels were able to put together two long drives for touchdowns, but managed little else.  They finished with a total of 218 yards (138 passing, 80 rushing).

     Junior cornerback Dee Milliner had an excellent game with one interception, four pass break-ups and four tackles.

     Milliner’s interception was one of three on the night, all of which came in the second quarter.

     “We just needed somebody to make a play in the game,” Milliner said.  “They threw the ball up in the air a lot.  We just try to make plays”.

     Alabama will now get an off week to evaluate its early season play, get some much-needed rest and prepare for the more difficult second half of the season.

     Other than a glorified scrimmage against Western Carolina on November 17^th, each of the final seven games will provide challenges for the Tide.  Alabama will be the favorite in each of those games, and could possibly win all of them even with B-game performances like they showed Saturday night.

     That type of lackluster, sub-par performance could also result in a loss for this team somewhere along the way.  Saban challenges his teams to play to a level of excellence and to establish an identity.  So far, this team has continued to win convincingly, but has yet to play up to its ability.  Tougher challenges await and one way or another that identity will be established.

     Missouri is the next opponent and is a team similar in some ways to the Ole Miss squad Alabama just faced.  The Tigers will use the hurry up offense and will try to use a face-paced tempo to keep the Crimson Tide defense on its heels.  Like Ole Miss, Missouri has an undersized defensive unit and they’ll likely use a similar strategy to try and stymie the Alabama running game.  They’ll also have the home field advantage and would love nothing more than to get an SEC victory over a top-ranked Alabama team.

     The following week, Alabama travels to Knoxville to play a Tennessee team capable of putting lots of points on the board, but seemingly incapable of keeping their opponents from doing the same.  The Volunteers gave a strong effort against Georgia on Saturday, but lost 51-44.  Tyler Bray and the Tennessee passing game will challenge the Alabama secondary, but the Tide offense should be able to put up big numbers against a porous Tennessee defense.

     Mississippi State will travel to Tuscaloosa on October 27^th setting up what could be a battle between a pair of unbeaten teams.  Before that matchup, the Bulldogs will face Kentucky, Tennessee and Middle Tennessee State.  Only Tennessee should be a challenge.  The Bulldogs have a solid defense and a much-improved offense.   Quarterback Tyler Russell has given the team a legitimate passing threat to go with their always stout running game.

     Much of the early season talk and attention has drifted forward to the November 3^rd showdown against LSU, but the Tide’s full attention will be needed against the Bulldogs.

     Alabama is a very good football team, maybe the best in the country.  They also have much room for improvement.  You can bet the word identity will be mentioned around the football complex during practice this week.