With just over three minutes left in Saturday night’s game against Ole Miss, Alabama quarterback Jake Coker walked out onto the field with a chance to win the game. The Crimson Tide had battled back from a 19 point fourth quarter deficit to draw within six.
“I think we did [wear Ole Miss down], honestly,” left tackle Cam Robinson said. “Our style of play had taken a toll on them.”
Two plays into what should have been Alabama’s final drive, Coker let a deep ball go as he was hit and the pass fell right into the arms of Rebel Tony Bridges.
For Alabama fans, it was déjà vu. They had watched Ole Miss win by the exact same margin last season. Coker, like Sims last year, didn’t even need to take a shot that far down field, and like Sims, he would come to regret not having more patience.
Alabama’s defense got the team the ball back, but 30 seconds wasn’t enough time to run an effective offense. That’s not to say that the effort went unnoticed.
“You’ve never been in that situation before, so you never know how a team is going to respond, but I liked the resiliency that we showed,” Saban said. “I was pleased with the way the players responded in the game.”
In the aftermath of the game, the Rebels celebrated. It was a historic win for the program. Ole Miss had only won once in Tuscaloosa and had never beaten the Crimson Tide in consecutive seasons.
Seeing the goal post come down last year might have bothered Alabama fans, but the fact that nothing like that happened this year should bother them even more. The Rebel fan base believed in its team. Competing with, instead of upsetting, Alabama might be the new expectation.
A few days prior to the game, Saban spoke about Alabama’s need to be adaptable when playing the Rebels, but the adjustments Alabama makes after the loss will be just as crucial to the team’s success. Alabama’s identity, especially offensively, remains uncertain, but Alabama might have finally found a quarterback.
“I think we need to continue to develop [an identity on offense],” Saban said. “Jake [Coker] came into the game and played with some passion and showed great leadership and energy when he played.”
The Crimson Tide does not have long to figure out that identity. Only one game separates the Crimson Tide from a road date against No. 7 Georgia. A win would keep Alabama alive in the playoff conversation, and a loss would all but eliminate it.
As risky as they are, big games against teams like Georgia and No. 8 LSU might be Alabama’s best shot at making it into the playoff this year. A few weeks ago, the SEC West looked like a division race that was wide open, but things look different this side of Saturday.
Now Arkansas has lost two straight, and Auburn’s offense seems stuck in reverse more often than not. All of a sudden, the Ole Miss game became a clash between what could likely end up being the two best teams in the division.
Alabama didn’t come out on the right side of things, but players aren’t allowing themselves to look too far ahead.
“We lose one game, [and] the sky’s falling because that’s kind of the standard we’ve set for ourselves,” Robinson said. “We lost to Ole Miss [last year] and we obviously made it to the playoffs. We’ll get it together.”
Alabama currently needs Ole Miss to lose two of its remaining seven SEC games to make it to Atlanta. The Rebels managed to lose three down the stretch last season, but their schedule seems to set up more favorably for them this season. The only ranked opponents left on their schedule have to travel to Oxford.
Cornerback Cyrus Jones said the team never lost hope on Saturday. He said the loss hurt, but the team isn’t going to blame each other going forward.
“We going to come in, ready to work, hungry, and we’re just going to learn from this,” Jones said. “The season’s not over. Just this one game doesn’t define our season.”
