Maybe Ole Miss got caught looking ahead to this week’s matchup with No. 1 Alabama.
The Rebels overcame a lackluster first half defensively to pull away from Southern Illinois 76-41 on Saturday.
Ole Miss has scored 123 points in two games and hopes to find the end zone a few times Saturday night when Alabama visits. The Crimson Tide beat the Rebels 66-3 in Tuscaloosa last year. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
Ole Miss opened as a 21.5-point home underdog to top-ranked Alabama, according to oddsshark.com.
Alabama defeated Louisville 51-14 in its season opener before smoking Arkansas State 57-7 on Saturday.
Ole Miss and Alabama each own one of the nation's top scoring offenses through the first two weeks of the college football season. Ole Miss ranks third nationally averaging 61.5 points per game. Alabama's average of 54.0 points per game stands at 10th in the country.
It is on the defensive side of the football where these two teams contrast the most. While Alabama has yielded just 21 points through two games, Ole Miss has allowed 68.
Ole Miss coach Matt Luke praised an offense that amassed 646 yards and averaged 9.9 yards per play and a quarterback, Jordan Ta’amu, who passed for a career-high 448 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
But all of that was overshadowed by a pitiful defensive outing.
“Defensively we didn’t come out ready to play. That’s own me 100 percent,” Luke said. “A lot of it was mindset. It certainly wasn’t indicative of what we expect.”
The Rebels outscored Southern Illinois 41-3 in the second half as the defense forced three turnovers and had two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. However, it was not total dominance after halftime. The Salukis (1-1) had 299 yards in the first half, 330 in the second.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com
