The Alabama Crimson Tide are rolling. They've scored 108 points in two games, rank fifth in all of college football in passing efficiency this season, and Nick Saban's defense is shaping up to be another all-time great unit in Tuscaloosa.
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After cruising wins against the Louisville Cardinals and Arkansas State Red Wolves, it's time for the Tide to start their "real season." At least, that's the way Saban put it at his weekly press conference on Monday, as the Crimson Tide prepare to take on the Ole Miss Rebels' high-powered offense.
On Monday, Saban addressed reporters, but began the press conference by saying that this week is the most important for his team in terms of preparation.
Watch Coach Saban's Monday Press Conference Live presented by @CadenceBank https://t.co/DEtrhgMYHj
— Alabama Athletics (@UA_Athletics) September 10, 2018
"The real season is really starting now," Saban said. "I think that SEC play coming up — we've had some gifts given to us in the first couple games — and I don't think that's going to happen. I think the players have to know the importance of stepping it up a notch in terms of level of preparation, and what we need to do to continue to improve to be able to play well against a really good team on the road."
The Crimson Tide will travel to Oxford, Mississippi to take on Matt Luke's Ole Miss Rebels, who have started the season on FIRE offensively.
Ole Miss ranks second in the nation in passing offense (407.5 YPG), eighth in total offense (596.0 YPG) and are averaging an insane 61.5 points per game. The inherent problem behind those gaudy numbers is that the Rebels have been horrible on defense, having allowed the team to rack up huge offensive numbers.
Currently, Ole Miss is allowing a dreadful 557.5 yards per game, which ranks them 123rd in the country.
"Obviously Matt Luke has done a really, really good job there," Saban said of the Rebels. "They're playing as well there offensively as anybody in the country. They got a lot of weapons. The quarterback is playing extremely well. They've got three really, really good receivers that all very productive and capable of making explosive plays."
"This is going to be a very challenging game for us," Saban added.
Alabama safety Deionte Thompson on Ole Miss’ trio of wide receivers: “These are three NFL-caliber guys.”
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) September 10, 2018
Saban on playing Ole Miss' offense: "The RPOs make it important that the DBs understand that there aren't just running plays, they're also passing plays on every down."
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) September 10, 2018
Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta'amu and wide receiver A.J. Brown lead the Ole Miss attack that will have to outshoot an Alabama offense that can hurt defenses in every way imaginable.
Sophomore Tua Tagovailoa has been lights out as the starter so far for Nick Saban's team, and junior Jalen Hurts is proving that he deserves all the snaps he can get in this Crimson Tide offense.
The biggest matchup this week will be the Ole Miss receivers versus the Alabama secondary. Whichever unit holds up its end of the bargain, that team is likely to come out on top.
Then again, anytime Alabama takes the field, you're going to need more than one or two positional wins to knock off the Tide dynasty.
