By Ian S Palmer
The Ole Miss Rebels are on the road this weekend as they will be taking on SEC rivals the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this Saturday, September 19. The Rebels are currently ranked number 17 and have been playing well on both sides of the ball with a 2-0 record, but are facing second-ranked Alabama, who are also 2-0 to start the 2015 college football campaign.
College Football Betting – Ole Miss vs Alabama
BOVADA BETTING LINE:
- Bovada Oddsmakers currently have the Crimson Tide listed as 7-point favorites versus the Rebels, while the game’s total has not yet been posted.
The Ole Miss Rebels were one of the top defensive sides last year as they allowed an average of just 16 points against per game, which was the best in the country. This year’s defense could even be better as it’s allowed only 24 points against in their first two contests. Along with the excellent defense, the Rebels’ offense has also been in top form. The squad hammered UT-Martin by a score of 76-3 in their season opener and then thumped Fresno State 73-21 last weekend.
Junior quarterback Chad Kelly is leading the offense with 457 passing yards and half a dozen touchdowns so far with an interception. He’s also chipped in with a couple of running scores. Kelly is blessed with several excellent targets in Markell Pack, Cody Core, DaMarkus Lodge and Quincy Adeboyejo. Each one of them scored a touchdown in week one. Adeboyejo then went on to add three more touchdowns on five catches last week and gained 120 yards.
Kelly has a strong arm and that could be a factor against the Crimson Tide’s passing defense. Alabama has conceded 417 total passing yards in their two games. The Rebels’ defensive offense has been better than expected as defensive backs Chief Brown and Trae Elston each came up with a pick-six against Fresno State and Elston has one in each game. Ole Miss will need to test Crimson Tide’s senior quarterback Jake Coker as he’s thrown just seven touchdown passes in his career along with a pair of interceptions. Ole Miss has gone 4-1 against the spread in their last five encounters in Alabama and has lost all five games.
Alabama Crimson Tide won their season opener 35-17 over Wisconsin and downed Middle Tennessee 37-10 last week. The Tide lost a few key players during the offseason however Jake Coker has been playing well along with running back Derrick Henry. Coker tossed a touchdown pass and an interception along with 214 yards against Middle Tennessee, with all of it coming in the first half. Henry carried the ball for three touchdowns on 18 carries and gained 96 yards. Robert Foster has done his best to replace departed wide receiver Amari Cooper and he has a pair of touchdowns so far while Kenyan Drake has chipped in with one. Ole Miss has a good secondary, but their run defense has conceded more than 100 yards in each of their two games.
Alabama will try to put the pressure on Rebels’ quarterback Kelly as Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jonathan Allen have three sacks between them. The Tide will try to slow down the passing offense, but need to be careful since the Rebels’ are good on the ground with nine touchdowns and 553 yards this year. Alabama Crimson Tide is 5-5 against the spread in their past 10 home matches and has won nine of them.