The Alabama Crimson Tide face their first real test of the 2018 season as they go on the road to Oxford to face the Ole Miss Rebels.
Entering the third week of the 2018 season, the Alabama Crimson Tide are still the top-ranked team in college football. They’ve done nothing to change that perception to this point, beating up on cupcakes in their first two matchups. On Saturday, however, they’ll go on the road to finally face a team with something substantial to throw at them, the Ole Miss Rebels.
With victories over Texas Tech and Southern Illinois, Ole Miss truly hasn’t played anyone to this point either. What’s more, they’ve unfortunately proven that their defense leaves a bit to be desired. Having said that, this offense is legitimate and explosive as can be.
Led by quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, the Rebels can beat opposing defenses in any way they please. Running back Scottie Phillips continues to find success on the ground, but Ta’amu can air it out as well. He’s certainly aided by a stout wide receiver corps, anchored by two potential first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf. They can put up points — a lot of them.
As for the Crimson Tide, they’ve proven to be able to put up points as well with Tua Tagovailoa at the helm of the offense. The highly touted sophomore quarterback is as good as advertised to this point and, after the National Championship Game last year, has proven he can rise to the occasion. With weapons like Damien Harris and Jerry Jeudy there to assist, they can match Ole Miss’ scoring.
Perhaps the key for Alabama to rolling to another SEC victory, however, is their defense. With Raekwon Davis, Mack Wilson and Co. on that side of the ball, the talent is there. Yet, there is some inexperience with this group and, obviously, they haven’t faced anyone with as potent an offense as the Rebels’ yet this season. As such, they’ll have to be at their very best to avoid getting into a shootout.
Details for Saturday’s Game
Date: Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018
Start Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Oxford, MS
Stadium: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: FuboTV, WatchESPN
The oddsmakers clearly expect that there’s going to be a ton of scoring in this Week 3 matchup on Saturday evening. What’s more, they expect Alabama to win by a pretty wide margin. With the high-scoring, however, you have to wonder if this could also be a close shootout.
Betting Odds (Courtesy of Odds Shark)
Point Spread: Alabama -22.5
Moneyline: Alabama -1800, Ole Miss +1400
Over/Under: 70.5
Prediction
As teased when talking about the game lines, I think that this game ultimately devolves into a shootout, even with the Crimson Tide defense involved in the affair. The Ole Miss offense is that good and so is Alabama’s with Tagovailoa. At the end of the day, however, the Tide should prevail, but by a closer margin than many might think going in.
Final Score: Alabama 41, Ole Miss 35