One play told the entire story.
Ole Miss faced a third-and-6 in its own territory.
Shea Patterson’s pass was intended for DaMarkus Lodge. Levi Wallace had other ideas. Wallace fought through Lodge, who didn’t put up much of a fight in the process, intercepted Patterson’s pass and returned it for a touchdown. Lodge could have turned and chased Wallace. He didn’t.
Just like that, Alabama led 14-0.
Make no mistake, Lodge’s effort _ or lack thereof _ wasn’t the difference Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. Ole Miss was thoroughly dismantled in Bryant-Denny Stadium, losing 66-3. Blaming Saturday’s shellacking on one play or one player is simply foolhardy.
Ole Miss wasn’t winning Saturday unless Alabama somehow beat itself with the Rebels on the field, and that’s not what the Crimson Tide does.
Alabama doesn’t commit turnovers. It stops the run. It runs the football. It creates third-and-long situations and then punishes the quarterback. You know the rest. To beat Alabama, a team has to have dynamic quarterback play, a highly competent offensive line, receivers who win one-on-one matchups and a defense that creates havoc.
On Saturday, Ole Miss had none of the above. Instead, the Rebels’ offense looked far too simple for Nick Saban, Jeremy Pruitt and Alabama. The lack of a running game was borderline suicidal. Third down was a nightmare for Ole Miss’ offense. The Rebels’ defense missed tackle after tackle, left receivers open in the secondary and was porous throughout.
Look, this was always a loss. The Rebels were a 28-point underdog in Las Vegas. Alabama entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 1 nationally. It’s now 26-2 in its last 28 Southeastern Conference games. Those two losses came to Ole Miss in 2014 and again in 2015. On Saturday night, those games felt like they happened decades ago.
There’s no easy fix for Ole Miss’ predicament, neither in the short term or the long term. In six-plus days, Ole Miss plays at Auburn, which destroyed Mississippi State Saturday. Vanderbilt is next. As crazy as it sounds, Ole Miss’ next best shot at a win is Oct. 21 when LSU comes to Oxford. The Tigers lost to Troy Saturday night in Baton Rouge, Exhibit A for Ross Bjork and Co. regarding why sentimental hires are a recipe for disaster.
Arkansas can score. So can Kentucky and Texas A&M. Mississippi State certainly looks more beatable now than it did a couple of weeks ago, but who knows what Ole Miss’ emotional state will be at that point? Ole Miss is deficient at multiple spots. That’s not getting fixed, certainly not by a staff full of guys who have to be thinking about their own futures as temperatures cool and the end of the season nears.
Long term, does the short term even matter? Ole Miss’ focus should be on two things — prayers that the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions shows mercy and on a coaching search. There are plenty of candidates out there who would bring enthusiasm to Oxford — UCF’s Scott Frost, Memphis’ Mike Norvell, UTSA’s Frank Wilson, Troy’s Neal Brown (?), just to name a few.
So welcome to the dog days of the 2017 football season, where losses are going to be difficult to avoid and effort is going to be just as tough to engender.
I’d tell you it can’t get worse, but after Saturday, and given the hand Ole Miss holds as the calendar turns to October, that would be an empty promise.
