Ole Miss faces the Tide Saturday, and despite some lackluster play, Bama is still Bama

Alabama lost its opener to Texas in Tuscaloosa and then struggled at South Alabama due to a weather delay and indifferent, it seemed like, play.

But make no mistake, Ole Miss fans, Bama is still Bama in many ways.

All you have to do is do a cursory examination of their roster to see that it is littered, dominated really, with four and five star players from top to bottom. Every year, Alabama is in the Top 5 in the nation in recruiting and a lot of times they appear at the very top.

What’s the difference this year so far? No Tua. No Jalen. No Matt. No Bryce.

What does that tell us? What we already knew – if you don’t have a good quarterback your chances of high national success are slim to none no matter how good you are everywhere else. Quarterback is just that important.

Alabama’s Jalen Milroe is the heir apparent to Bryce Young, but he hasn’t started off the way Tide fans had hoped or envisioned. Make no mistake, however, he is a stud athlete who can run with the best of them and he will only get better in the passing game. All he needs is reps, which is why it was puzzling when Alabama Coach Nick Saban opted for two of his other QBs against South Florida last Saturday.

It’s already been decided, Milroe will be taking the snaps against the Rebels and the Ole Miss defense had better be prepared to contain him, pressure him and rattle him in the pocket. If he gets outside of containment, look out. Danger. Big danger.

The Alabama defense also seems to be a little bit off from their norm, but that’s not for a lack of talent. The previous four years the Tide defense has been under the direction of Pete Golding, now calling the defensive shots at Ole Miss.

Now, there seems to be something amiss with the Tide stoppers. Who knows what it is, but with a defensive mind like Saban’s, don’t expect it to stay amiss for long.

While Alabama was proven by Texas to be gettable this season, they are still one of the measuring sticks as to where your own program stands. If you beat them, you move up the totem pole instantly. There are only a handful of football programs one can say that about right now – Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama. There is an intentional omission of No. 2 Michigan because of Jim Harbaugh, our least favorite coach in all sports.

Yes, a win over Alabama, even an Alabama that doesn’t have their normal look, is still a major feather in one’s cap. Those wins don’t come often or easily. This one will be no different.

The Rebels, however, have an ace of sorts up their sleeves. The returning players remember how close they were to knocking off the Tide last year, an Alabama team that still had DE Will Anderson and Young on their roster.

Rebel Quarterback Jaxson Dart remembers it well. He has already mentioned it in passing a couple of times as if he has had this game circled on his calendar since last season’s heartbreaking, and some say season-changing, loss to them.

Ole Miss should go into the game with confidence. They should, however, understand the tough task in front of them. That’s a terrifically hard place to play and this is still a very talented roster.

Bama is still Bama in a lot of ways.

We are about to see if this is a different Ole Miss or not.

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