OXFORD -- Jerrion Ealy knows the opportunity ahead of Ole Miss on Oct. 2 in Tuscaloosa.

He knows his Rebels, currently ranked No. 13 in both major national polls, are going to get a shot at likely unbeaten, likely No. 1, defending national champion Alabama at 2:30 p.m. on that Saturday afternoon in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"I don't believe there's anybody who can beat us but ourselves," Ealy said. "So if we go out there and don't beat ourselves, we're in good shape."

Ealy acknowledged there's a different mindset inside the Manning Center than when he first arrived in Oxford in 2019. That season ended in disappointment and the firing of Matt Luke and his all but one member of his coaching staff. Enter Lane Kiffin, Jeff Lebby and Co., and suddenly, Ole Miss' offense is one of the most explosive units in college football.

"It is a big difference from when I first got here," Ealy said. "I would say this, and not to say with the old coaching staff that football wasn't important, but with this football staff, it's highly different. It's very, very different. Football is very important and we have the team and the right systems in place offensively and defensively to go out and showcase our ability to the best of our abilities. ...And the preparations. I feel like we're a lot better prepared now than we were my freshman year."

"It was just like we're preparing for them. We didn't go out and actually prepare for them, but everybody practiced like we were playing 'Bama Saturday. That's how we have to practice, even though we have a bye. I still think we should practice like we're going to go out and play. Why not get ready now so you don't have to get ready later?"

So far this season, Ealy is still searching for his role a bit in the Rebels' four-headed rushing attack. Ealy has 188 yards rushing and one touchdown on 31 carries, five more yards than Henry Parrish Jr. has accumulated through three games. Quarterback Matt Corral has 33 rushes for 158 yards and five touchdowns while Snoop Conner has picked up 125 yards and three TDs on the ground.

"You never know how a season goes," said Ealy, who has added six receptions for 78 yards. "You can only have aspirations and hope the way it goes the way you want it to go. This is life, so therefore, everything is not going to go your way.

"I feel like for my part, I've been slacking a little bit, so over these next couple of weeks, I have to go out and make a strong impression. Just with the touches I've been given, it feels like I've left a lot of yards out there. I have to get better over the next couple of weeks."

Ealy was asked about NIL deals on Tuesday, the day after Ole Miss football and Tupelo-based Blue Delta Jeans consummated a deal. Ealy said he hasn't pursued many NIL deals of his own.

"I let that off the field stuff be off the field," Ealy said. "Right now, I'm focused on going out and winning a national championship, just like I promised the people of Mississippi in 2019."

Lakia Henry remembers Oct. 10, 2020. Alabama rolled into Oxford and accumulated a staggering 723 yards of total offense en route to a 63-48 win.

"I know we have a really tough time," Henry said. "I know our offense could have won the game if the defense had gotten a couple of stops. I know it was a defensive loss. That's how I look at it. We have to get stops. They're a great team, but we're a great team, too. So I feel if we get a lot of stops and we do our job, it'll be a really good game."

So far, Ole Miss has showed improvement on defense in the second year under co-defensive coordinators DJ Durkin and Chris Partridge. The Rebels are giving up 136 yards per game on the ground and 208.7 yards per game through the air.

"We're not where we want to be right now," Henry said. "We have to be a lot better but it's a good start. Our defense is getting better and we're just going to continue to get better each week.

"To me, to have identity, you have to have arrived, and I don't think we've arrived yet. We're just starting to get into a groove and find out who we really are. We have a lot of work to do but it's a really good starting point for our defense."

Henry has eight tackles so far this season, and he and Maryland transfer Chance Campbell have been developing chemistry as a linebacker tandem. Campbell has a team-best 19 tackles through three games.

"Chance Campbell is a great linebacker," Henry said. "He's really smart. We communicate very well. Chance is a next-level linebacker. I mean, he's legit. I'm glad we've got him."

Ole Miss’ Matt Corral was selected as the Davey O’Brien Award National Quarterback of the Week Tuesday for week three of the college football season.

On Saturday, Corral tied a school record by accounting for seven touchdowns (four rushing, three passing) and totaled 403 yards of offense in less than three full quarters of action in a 61-21 victory over Tulane.

Overall, Corral completed 23-of-31 pass attempts for 335 yards and carried the ball 13 times for 68 yards. In the contest, the product of Ventura, California, became the second FBS player ever to throw three touchdowns and rush for four in the same game.

Corral, who was a semifinalist for the 2020 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, has also received SEC Offensive Player of the Week and FBS Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week accolades. He is one of just three players nationally to be named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 list twice in three weeks this season.

The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award, the oldest and most prestigious college quarterback award, was first issued in 1981. In 1938, O’Brien, who wore No. 8 as a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.