McCready: Pop quizzes are done for Rebels; now time for the first big exam

OXFORD — The daily pop quizzes are over. Those grades are recorded. At the end of the semester, they won’t mean much.

It’s exam time. The dates — Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 — were right there on the syllabus on the first day of class. Hell, that syllabus was available at pre-registration. The final grade won’t hinge on the results of those tests for Ole Miss, but they’ll be a huge part of the final grade.

Here’s the crazy part: After all the hype regarding how difficult the first test would be, it turns out the damn thing might be open book.

Let’s be clear here: No. 17 Ole Miss, which improved to 3-0 Saturday night with a 48-23 win over Georgia Tech, has its flaws. That’s a certainty. It's an understatement. We'll dive into them here in a moment However, No. 10 Alabama, which will entertain the Rebels in Tuscaloosa next Saturday (2:30 p.m., CBS), just might not be very good.

The Crimson Tide, a week removed from a home loss to Texas, was awful on offense in a sloppy 17-3 win at South Florida Saturday afternoon.

Bottom line is this, if you’ll allow the exam analogy to continue for just another moment: A course that was believed to be brutal when the semester started is suddenly quite passable.

Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson combined to complete 10 of 23 passes for 107 yards against South Florida. Jalen Milroe, who started Alabama’s first two games, didn’t play. The Tide offensive line did neither quarterback any favors. The running game isn’t stellar. There aren’t the constellation of star receivers we’re used to seeing in Tuscaloosa. In short, Alabama’s offense, under the direction of first-year coordinator Tommy Rees, is pedestrian.

This isn’t to say Ole Miss shouldn’t recognize Alabama Respect Week over the next few days, but the Tide isn’t exactly fearsome right now.

Now that test on Sept. 30 is looking pretty stout again. LSU dominated Mississippi State in Starkville, 41-14, looking quite formidable in the process. Ole Miss must improve a ton to have a shot against the Tigers. Texas A&M got well against ULM and is much improved on offense.

To pile on Alabama a bit, it’s not a total stretch to believe Alabama is the fourth best team in the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division. I realize that sentence might be copied and pasted and shoved in my face repeatedly over the next 2 1/2 months, but admit it; you’re thinking it too.

Arkansas was awful defensively in a home loss to BYU. Mississippi State was completely overmatched in the aforementioned loss to LSU. Auburn isn't talented enough yet to compete with the top of the division.

In other words, opportunity is abundant for Ole Miss right now.

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Now, there are a laundry list of things the Rebels must fix. First and foremost, Ole Miss needs to get healthy on offense. Tight end Caden Prieskorn still hasn’t played a snap since transferring from Memphis. He spent Saturday night watching on the sidelines wearing a boot on his injured foot. Wide receiver Tre Harris, who has five touchdown receptions already this season, didn’t play Saturday after suffering a knee injury in a win last weekend at Tulane. Another wide receiver, Zakhari Franklin, dressed but did not play Saturday. The UTSA transfer, who required August surgery, still hasn’t made his Ole Miss debut. All-American running back Quinshon Judkins played Saturday despite being doubtful earlier in the day, per ESPN’s Chris Low, who is closely tied to Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. Judkins rushed seven times in the first half for 27 yards and finished with 37 yards on 13 carries.

The bright spot for Ole Miss Saturday, once again, was quarterback Jaxson Dart, who was basically brilliant carrying the Rebels' offense. He was 10-of-18 passing for 251 yards and a touchdown while adding 136 yards and two touchdowns rushing on 14 carries.His production is excellent, but I suspect Ole Miss would like to establish a more traditional running game here soon. Getting your quarterback hit repeatedly is not a recipe for long-term success in the SEC.

Ole Miss’ defense wasn't super impressive Saturday. Georgia Tech managed just three first-half points, but that was a bit misleading. The Yellow Jackets had a field goal blocked, failed to convert on a fourth-and-goal and then settled for a 22-yard field goal with 1:09 left before the half. In the first half, Georgia Tech had 40 offensive plays, nine more than Ole Miss. Give the Rebels credit for making stops, but that’s not a meaningless stat. The Yellow Jackets finished with 477 yards of total offense, including 310 through the air and 167 on the ground.

The Rebels gave up two third-quarter touchdowns Saturday and didn't really get comfortable until a Caden Davis field goal with 7:45 left, letting fans begin to turn their eyes east to Alabama. Two fourth-quarter explosive plays, one a touchdown pass from Dart to Jordan Watkins and then another long throw from Dart to Dayton Wade to set up a 1-yard Judkins TD, made the final score look like more of a blowout than it actually was.

But Georgia Tech won't matter weeks from now. Hell, it won't matter Sunday morning. It was a pop quiz.

The storylines next week are plentiful. Kiffin is still looking for his first victory over Nick Saban. Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding spent the past five seasons in the same capacity at Alabama. The winner takes a huge step in the race for the SEC West. The loser slides way down that mountain.

For Ole Miss, the game simply couldn’t be bigger. A win would set up an electric atmosphere and an even bigger opportunity in Oxford a week later versus LSU. A loss, meanwhile, would likely derail a lot of momentum and make an SEC title incredibly difficult to attain.

So it’s exam time. It’s a big one. Study up. Line up some extra tutoring. A lot of the season’s final grade rides on this one.