Mississippi at Alabama

Mississippi at Alabama

KICKOFF: Saturday, 3:30 ET

SERIES: Alabama leads 44-9-2

2008 RANKINGS: Rebels: offense 46th (4th SEC), pass 54th (5th), run 49th (4th), defense 53rd (11th), pass 89th (12th), run 35th (9th); Crimson Tide: offense 52nd (5th SEC), pass 104th (11th), run 15th (1st), defense 10th (2nd), pass 66th (10th), run 2nd (1st)

POLLS: Alabama (2nd AP, 2nd coaches)

PREDICTION: Alabama 20-14

KEYS TO THE GAME: The Rebels nearly upset the Crimson Tide last year, falling 27-24 at home, but this Alabama team is on another level. Alabama is outscoring its opponents by 20 points a game even after a close shave with Kentucky last week. The Rebels, who had an extra week to prepare, must take better care of the football to have a chance. They are averaging a healthy 29.2 points per game, but they are minus-6 in turnover margin, having lost five fumbles and thrown 10 interceptions. The success of Alabama's offense can be traced back to its offensive line. Left tackle Andre Smith was out last week with an illness. But he's back, and as long as the veteran front line — a group that Saban has put so much responsibility for leadership on — the rest of the offense can be expected to work just fine. The big stat: The Tide leads the league in time of possession, at just over 33 minutes per game.

FAST FACTS: Rebels — Senior LB Tony Fein is averaging eight tackles over the last three games ... Freshman RB Brandon Bolden leads the Rebels with 297 rushing yards, an indication of how Ole Miss doesn't overload any one back ... The defense is allowing opponents to complete 65.5 percent of their throws. No other SEC team allows even 60 percent. Crimson Tide — The defense is holding opponents to 50.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks second nationally ... Alabama is 9-2 under Nick Saban when it holds opponents to 100 rushing yards or less ... Alabama has scored on its opening possession in four of six games this season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Rebels

DE Greg Hardy — The standout junior, who led the SEC with 10 sacks last year, took heat for a lackluster effort against South Carolina. He still leads the Rebels with two and a half sacks and has three and a half tackles for loss.
QB Jevan Snead — The sophomore transfer from Texas is completing just 55.2 percent of his throws, with nine TDs and nine interceptions. But he's averaging 212 passing yards per game, which ranks third in the SEC.
S Jamarca Sanford — He is averaging 9.3 tackles per game after notching 13 in the loss to South Carolina.


Crimson Tide

RB Glen Coffee — Coffee is the SEC's most productive running back. With 708 yards rushing and five touchdowns, he leads Arkansas's Michael Smith by 109 yards. Coffee is averaging 7.9 yards per attempt.
LB Rolando McClain — He has 44 tackles, averaging 7.3 per game, and ranks 10th in the SEC. Linebacker was supposed to be a question mark for Alabama this season. McClain's play has made sure it hasn't been.
PK Leigh Tiffin — Tiffin is one of nine placekickers in the SEC who has not missed an extra point, but no one has attempted more than the 23 attempted and made by Tiffin.

INJURY WATCH:

Rebels
Coach Houston Nutt dismissed rumors about DE Greg Hardy being kicked off the team. Hardy was criticized for a subpar effort in the loss to South Carolina. "My phone blew up this weekend about his 'dismissal,' and his mom called me to ask if it was true, and I told her absolutely not," Nutt said. "I would probably tell Greg first and then the mom for sure. All that didn't happen. He had a great week last week."


Crimson Tide
LT Andre Smith missed last week with an undisclosed illness, but he is back on the practice field this week — along with everyone else. Saban said, "Everybody is healthy. So everybody is ready to go."

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