Rebels seek clean game against No. 1 Alabama

Sep 26, 2017 - 1:29 AM Taking on the top-ranked team in the country is a tall enough task.

Ole Miss doesn't want to give Alabama any help.

The Rebels will be trying not to cause as much self-inflicted damage as they have in recent weeks when they head to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to take on the top-ranked Crimson Tide (8 p.m., ESPN). The Rebels (2-1) are the second-most penalized team in the Southeastern Conference, accumulating more than 73 penalty yards per game.

It got ugly the last time out for Ole Miss, which racked up a whopping 16 penalties in its 27-16 loss at Cal. Most of those came up front with holds and false starts along an offensive line that lost center Sean Rawlings to an ankle injury in the first half and likely won't have him against the Crimson Tide.

Coming off an open date, the Rebels have had an extra week to prepare for the 100,000-plus fans that will pack into Bryant-Denny Stadium. Ole Miss has piped crowd noise into its practices, which interim coach Matt Luke said has helped.

"That's obviously been an area of focus for us," Luke said. "The open date gave us a chance to work on some of that. We think we got those things corrected, but when you get out there in front of 100,000 people, you've got to go execute and do it. But it has been better."

The high number of flags pushed Ole Miss' average to more than 10 penalties a game, a number that would make it virtually impossible for the Rebels to get their second consecutive win in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Ole Miss won 43-37 in 2015 for just its second win ever in Tuscaloosa.

Fresh off a 59-0 pasting of Vanderbilt, Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC) leads the SEC in scoring and is second in total offense and total defense. The Crimson Tide has once again proven to be stout against the run, holding teams to a league-low 70.2 yards per game, and is tops in rushing after racking up 496 yards on the ground against Vanderbilt, the most ever under head coach Nick Saban.

On the strength of the nation's fourth-best passing offense, Ole Miss enters Saturday's game with the top offense in the SEC. But Alabama will be by far the biggest test in the young season for the Rebels, who often stayed behind the chains against Cal because of the all the penalties and committed three turnovers, one of which resulted in a touchdown for the Bears.

Ole Miss may find the going just as tough Saturday if the Rebels aren't able to stay out of their own way.

"Execution and playing mistake-free football on offense is going to be the emphasis and the key for us on Saturday," offensive coordinator Phil Longo said.

--QB Shea Patterson has come out smoking. The former five-star signee has completed nearly 71 percent of his passes for 1,281 yards and 11 touchdowns against just four interceptions, although three of those came his last time out against Cal. With one of the deepest and more talented receiving corps in the Southeastern Conference, the signal caller is directing the nation's fourth-ranked passing offense after three games.

--WR A.J. Brown will give Ole Miss a physical mismatch against most defenses this season. Also lining up in the slot at times to try to find mismatches against bigger linebackers and smaller safeties, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Brown leads the SEC with 129.7 receiving yards per game and is tied for the team lead with four touchdown catches.

--DE Marquis Haynes is one of the best pass rushers in the SEC and is a threat to any offense off the edge with his speed. He's not getting many chances right now with teams having so much success against the Rebels on the ground and has just half a sack through three games.