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TideSports.com - CECIL HURT: Now we find out what Alabama learned from Ole Miss win
Cecil Hurt | Sports Editor
You had to wonder about that axe.
There wasn't a good explanation for why Alabama wide receiver ArDarius Stewart was doing when, after a knee injury knocked him out of the game in the second quarter, came to the sideline with an axe. One assumes his purposes were peaceful. Alabama believes in being prepared for anything and perhaps Stewart, unable to help his team on the field, was ready to go chop a cord or two of firewood if it's was needed on a muggy 85-degree afternoon.
Still, you had to wonder. Because over the course of the afternoon, the Crimson Tide made many of the same mistakes that sent head coach Nick Saban into a sideline rage the week before. There were four false start penalties. There was missed execution on offense and defense. There was technically only one turnover -- more the fault of the offensive line than blindsided quarterback Jalen Hurts on that play. But the ultra-rare JK Scott shanked punt -- an 8-yard punt from the normally reliable boomer -- and the Ole Miss onside kick (credit the Rebels for perfect execution) each had the same effect as a turnover would have. And had Bo Scarbrough's final-drive fumbled football, which lay on the turf like a polished pumpkin of disaster before Alabama recovered it, fallen into Rebel hands, who knows what might have happened. We have to assume that it's a long journey from ass-chewing to axe-wielding even for an angry Saban -- but, again, you had to wonder.
What happened in Oxford on Saturday was that Alabama and Ole Miss played a game that was very similar to the one that they played in Tuscaloosa a year ago, filled with strange bounces and big plays, enough positives for either team to win and enough errors for either team to lose. Last year, Alabama lost -- but that stinging defeat also served as a catalyst for the rest of the season, revealing the Alabama leaders and driving the team to a national championship. There were some differences, of course. Ole Miss doesn't seem to have quite as many playmakers on defense as it did in 2015 -- there are no Nkdemiches, certainly. Alabama doesn't have a Derrick Henry but it does have an extra running dimension with Jalen Hurts. But the biggest difference, whatever the smaller ones might have been, was that Alabama won the game. Even Saban seemed pleased, recognizing the effort that accompanied the errors.
The question now: can Alabama learn the same lessons that it learned in last year's Ole Miss game without the pain of a loss? Can it find an identity, which still seems to be in the early stages of crystallization? After the first two weeks, it seemed that identity might be a powerful defense and a nascent but promising offense. Forty-three points on the scoreboard, though, makes that seem less certain even if you are correctly willing to make large allowances for a defense that finished the game without Reuben Foster, Eddie Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick on the field. Alabama showed heart and that is the first component. But it needs to play with wisdom as well as courage.
There is time for that to happen but life on the road in the SEC isn't going to get any easier than it was on Saturday (although there will be no Chad Kelly, who'll no doubt be receiving from lovely parting gifts from Alabama fans happy to see his Ole Miss career coming to a close this winter.) Saban will have to keep preaching the same message that he's emphasized all season long: there is much work to be done. Fortunately for UA, it was done on Saturday without having to resort to sharp-edged forestry tools -- although it came perilously close.
Cecil Hurt | Sports Editor
You had to wonder about that axe.
There wasn't a good explanation for why Alabama wide receiver ArDarius Stewart was doing when, after a knee injury knocked him out of the game in the second quarter, came to the sideline with an axe. One assumes his purposes were peaceful. Alabama believes in being prepared for anything and perhaps Stewart, unable to help his team on the field, was ready to go chop a cord or two of firewood if it's was needed on a muggy 85-degree afternoon.
Still, you had to wonder. Because over the course of the afternoon, the Crimson Tide made many of the same mistakes that sent head coach Nick Saban into a sideline rage the week before. There were four false start penalties. There was missed execution on offense and defense. There was technically only one turnover -- more the fault of the offensive line than blindsided quarterback Jalen Hurts on that play. But the ultra-rare JK Scott shanked punt -- an 8-yard punt from the normally reliable boomer -- and the Ole Miss onside kick (credit the Rebels for perfect execution) each had the same effect as a turnover would have. And had Bo Scarbrough's final-drive fumbled football, which lay on the turf like a polished pumpkin of disaster before Alabama recovered it, fallen into Rebel hands, who knows what might have happened. We have to assume that it's a long journey from ass-chewing to axe-wielding even for an angry Saban -- but, again, you had to wonder.
What happened in Oxford on Saturday was that Alabama and Ole Miss played a game that was very similar to the one that they played in Tuscaloosa a year ago, filled with strange bounces and big plays, enough positives for either team to win and enough errors for either team to lose. Last year, Alabama lost -- but that stinging defeat also served as a catalyst for the rest of the season, revealing the Alabama leaders and driving the team to a national championship. There were some differences, of course. Ole Miss doesn't seem to have quite as many playmakers on defense as it did in 2015 -- there are no Nkdemiches, certainly. Alabama doesn't have a Derrick Henry but it does have an extra running dimension with Jalen Hurts. But the biggest difference, whatever the smaller ones might have been, was that Alabama won the game. Even Saban seemed pleased, recognizing the effort that accompanied the errors.
The question now: can Alabama learn the same lessons that it learned in last year's Ole Miss game without the pain of a loss? Can it find an identity, which still seems to be in the early stages of crystallization? After the first two weeks, it seemed that identity might be a powerful defense and a nascent but promising offense. Forty-three points on the scoreboard, though, makes that seem less certain even if you are correctly willing to make large allowances for a defense that finished the game without Reuben Foster, Eddie Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick on the field. Alabama showed heart and that is the first component. But it needs to play with wisdom as well as courage.
There is time for that to happen but life on the road in the SEC isn't going to get any easier than it was on Saturday (although there will be no Chad Kelly, who'll no doubt be receiving from lovely parting gifts from Alabama fans happy to see his Ole Miss career coming to a close this winter.) Saban will have to keep preaching the same message that he's emphasized all season long: there is much work to be done. Fortunately for UA, it was done on Saturday without having to resort to sharp-edged forestry tools -- although it came perilously close.
