Tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET, No. 21 ranked Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC) takes on No.1 Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at Bryant-Denny stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The game can be live streamed for free here. Fans of Ole Miss can listen to the game on WAMY-AM 1580 while Alabama fans can do the same at 92.9 The Game.
Alabama's offense has been a bit stagnant as of late, but it comes into the game boasting a nine-game winning streak over Ole Miss. Alabama only rushed for 66 yards last week in a 31-6 victory over Colorado, marking its fewest amount of rushing yards since 2010. The Crimson Tide posted an impressive 568 yards in a 49-42 victory over Texas A&M--then ranked No.6--on the road on Sept. 14, but amassed only 206 in a season-opening win over Virginia Tech before finishing with 338 last week.
The defense and special teams has put up five total touchdowns so far this season, helping keep Alabama afloat. The Tide's average for rushing yards (132.0) is worst in the league while its total offensive yards per game (370.7) ranks second worst.
Head coach Nick Saban knows the team needs to do something to turn those horrifying numbers around.
"We obviously have a difficult game coming up, and we need to get it right," Saban told ESPN. "We didn't do a very good job on third down. We couldn't run the ball, couldn't finish a lot of drives, and consequently (Colorado State) stayed in the game and we could never put them away."
Alabama also wasn't helped by the fact that Saban held out two of the team's important offensive pieces were last week due to injuries in order to preserve them for today's game.
Receiver Amari Cooper and guard Anthony Steen were held out of last week's win in preparation for the challenge set before them today. Cooper has six receptions for 72 yards with no touchdowns through two games following a season where he mounted 59 receptions for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Ole Miss, meanwhile is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 1989 but history is not on its side heading into the contest after nine straight losses to Alabama. Ole Miss won its only SEC contest against Vanderbilt back on Aug. 29. The Rebels are second best in the conference in average points (38) and rushing yards (250) per game.
The team is coming off a bye week after defeating Texas Sept. 14 when Jeff Scott rushed for 164 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown while quarterback Bo Wallace went 17-for-25 for 177 yards while throwing for two touchdowns.
"I think we can put points on them," Wallace said of the Tide per ESPN. "I think we can put points on anybody. We've just go to show up and play. It's the same thing every week -- let's stay on schedule, control the tempo and don't have any turnovers."
Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron went 20-for-26 with a touchdown and an interception last week.
Alabama is looking to improve on its offense and stay undefeated while Ole Miss is looking to end the string of losses suffered at the hands of Alabama the last nine times the two teams have squared off when these two teams collide tonight.
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