Week three upset alert — No. 1 Alabama
Is the third time a charm or will Alabama once again fall to the Ole Miss Rebels? In a busy week three in the SEC, the top-ranked Crimson Tide are on upset alert for their trip to Oxford.
Football at Ole Miss. Photo courtesy of Flickr. Photo obtained by creativecommons.org
After an upset-filled opening week, the SEC managed to avoid disaster in week two. The conference went 12-2, the only losses coming in intra-conference matchups. Georgia survived a close call with Nicholls State, winning 26-24, and Arkansas managed to pull off a double-overtime win against TCU in Fort Worth. If week one was cause for alarm in SEC country, week two was the sprinkler system going off and putting out any fires that may have started.
Several games stick out as possible upsets in week three. South Carolina is favored against East Carolina despite looking underwhelming thus far (and being coached by Will Muschamp) and No. 17 Texas A&M is an underdog playing at unranked Auburn. However, the main attraction in SEC play this weekend is No. 1 Alabama traveling to Oxford to take on No. 19 Ole Miss. The Rebels have toppled Alabama two years in a row and have a chance to do it again, putting the top-ranked Crimson Tide back on upset alert this week.
‘Bama was absolutely dominant in week one, tearing apart an overmatched USC. After going down 3-0 in the first quarter, the Tide rolled over the Trojans 52-6. They followed an impressive season opener up with a 38-10 victory over Western Kentucky. The Tide did not look particularly dominant putting away their Conference USA opponent, but they are still clearly the best team in the nation.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss jumped off to a huge lead against the Florida State Seminoles before collapsing in the second half and losing. In week two, they handed a lopsided 38-13 loss to Wofford. Their solid, yet uneven play has earned them the no. 19 spot in the AP Poll.
Alabama is a 11-point favorite for this weekend’s game, and will likely be favored in every game for the rest of the season. Of course, they were also favored to win their last two matchups against the Rebels, and both of those would end up in a loss for the Tide. In fact, Ole Miss has handed the Tide their only regular season loss in each of the last two seasons. Alabama is looking to change that pattern by winning in Oxford this weekend.
The 2014 upset came in part thanks to uncharacteristically sloppy play by Alabama. The Tide finished with two turnovers (including a late interception from quarterback Blake Sims that sealed the game) and committed eight penalties. Quarterback Bo Wallace and the Rebels were able to take advantage of those mistakes and a rough day for the Alabama secondary to steal the win. In 2015, ‘Bama was able to cut down on penalties, committing only four. Unfortunately for them, they were even worse at taking care of the ball, finishing with two lost fumbles and a trio of interceptions. Quarterback Chad Kelly threw for three touchdowns and Robert and Denzel Nkemdiche were the stars in an impressive defensive performance for their second straight upset win over the Tide.
It is never wise to expect a team, especially one as good as Alabama, to make mistakes, but the Crimson Tide have uncharacteristically committed a number of penalties this year. In their game against Western Kentucky, the team lost 84 yards on a whopping 12 penalties. And though the Nkemdiche brothers have both left the program since, there is still plenty of talent on the defensive line in Oxford. If Alabama continues to make unforced errors and the Rebel defense can keep a lid on an explosive Crimson Tide offense, Kelly is talented enough to lead his team to yet another upset win.
Edited by Dalton King
Featured image by Phillip Stewart
Quinn is an assistant sports editor for TNJN and a sophomore majoring in Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennesse. When he's not writing, he's probably doing something else. You can follow him on Twitter (@QuinnNotCook) or e-mail him at qpilkey@vols.utk.edu.
