Ole Miss Football: 4 Bold Rebels Predictions For Week 4 vs. Alabama

The Ole Miss Rebels will meet the Alabama Crimson Tide in what looks to be a loaded Week 4 slate of games. What makes this matchup of value is that it will once again be Nick Saban facing one of his former assistants in Lane Kiffin. Saban has already lost to one former assistant this season in Steve Sarkisian; will Kiffin be another?

*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Kiffin has never beaten Saban to date, going 0-4 against the future Hall of Fame head coach. One was before Kiffin was Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama, going back to 2009 when he was the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. Even early in his head coaching career, Kiffin took a Volunteers team into Tuscaloosa and only lost by two points after Tennessee missed a 44-yard field goal blocked by Alabama defender Terrence Cody, giving the Crimson Tide a 12-10 victory.

Since that time, Kiffin and Ole Miss have been beaten and outscored in their last three outings, 135-93. But even before Kiffin, Ole Miss hadn’t fared well, having lost a total of seven of their last meetings. The one slight silver lining in that is the last time Ole Miss football beat Alabama back in 2015 was in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels will be back there on Saturday, where they will hope to beat a reeling Alabama football team that’s already lost one and looked possibly worse in a win in the following game against South Florida last weekend. Can Kiffin and Ole Miss finally do it? If there’s any year, this one seems like a good one. Let’s get into some Ole Miss football Week 4 predictions.

4. Ole Miss has more rushing yards than Alabama

Alabama has been known for their strong stable of running backs over the years. Just go look at some of the past Heisman winners since Saban took over the program. But on Saturday, Ole Miss will rush for more yards than the Crimson Tide.

Ole Miss football is averaging almost 200 yards of rushing per game, Team Rankings. Just last week, the Rebels had just a yard shy of 300 yards against Georgia Tech, with most of that coming from quarterback Jaxson Dart. Dart rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns, not to mention his 251 yards and one touchdown through the air. Alabama has a bad history with rushing quarterbacks.

3. Ole Miss continues the bad trend for Alabama’s offensive line

There are a number of surprising things about Alabama this season, but what may be most surprising is how horrendous their offensive line play has been. Alabama has surrendered an unbelievable 12 sacks this season in just three games. Ole Miss will definitely look to take advantage and exploit that. Granted, they’ll now have to deal with a more mobile quarterback in Jalen Milroe. The Longhorns were able to sack Milroe five times; however, the Ole Miss defensive front isn’t that of Texas.

South Florida also recorded five sacks on two Alabama quarterbacks last Saturday not named Milroe. Milroe can at least make some moves out of the pocket and avoid defenders; it’s when he starts looking downfield that is the problem. Ole Miss still has a field day, getting four sacks.

2. Ole Miss football gets an early lead

There’s a good chance that Kiffin is going to have his Rebels’ team amped for this game. Most teams in the country now see a wounded Alabama team that is unlike those of past years. The Rebels have all the capabilities to start hot and fast against Alabama, getting them off track early. Kiffin has already made some peculiar remarks concerning the Crimson Tide defense. Ole Miss takes an early lead by 10 or more going into the half.

1. Kiffin gets his win — Ole Miss beats Alabama

If indeed Ole Miss does get that early lead, they likely win the game. Alabama doesn’t look like a team this year that can play from behind. They couldn’t against Texas. The Longhorns ended up controlling that game throughout and never let up. The Rebels will need a similar approach if they want to beat the Crimson Tide. As difficult as it is to still count Alabama out, this really does feel like a year where they are a 2-3 loss team. Of course, that could change and change quickly, starting with Ole Miss. But I don’t think that happens. Kiffin finally gets his victory over Saban, thus making every delusional Alabama fan call for Saban’s head while simultaneously seeking Kiffin as his replacement in the process.