Ole Miss vs. Alabama: 1st half notes

The Rebels built an early lead and never surrendered it despite a number of Tide rallies.

Alabama has allowed at least 42 points in three of its past six games.

Mississippi has been setting records behind transfer quarterback Chad Kelly. On the next series, Bateman hit senior wide out Richard Mullaney over the middle for 11 yards and a first down inside the 5. It’s the type of start to a season that would be puzzling if we didn’t see it, and now it seems unimaginable that things could have played out any other way.

Lee made a spectacular interception and returned it for a 41-yard touchdown in the third quarter to make it 20-10, but unlike last week, when the Buckeyes shook free of Hawaii in the second half, they couldn’t ditch Northern Illinois (2-1). Kelly went 18-33 with 341 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Mason Rudolph completed 17 of 23 passes for 280 yards and two TDs, and Chris Carson rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries for Oklahoma State. The Ohio State running back’s equally as risky . David Cutcliffe’s Duke offenses have averaged 32 points a game for three straight years.

In 2014, Ole Miss notched its tenth win in program history against Alabama.

When Alabama took the field on its first possession, Cooper Bateman was at quarterback. It fails to acknowledge a team that could be good enough to finally win the Southeastern Conference Western Division. In 1988, the then-Hurons led by Jim Harkema posted a 17-12 non-league triumph at Football Championship Subdivision foe Youngstown State University, September 10.

Jake Coker came off the bench and almost brought Alabama back from a 20-point deficit.

Ole Miss’ defensive front looked up to the task of stopping Derrick Henry early, as the Tide’s running game only gained 81 yards in the first half. It marked the 24th point conceded off a turnover by the Crimson Tide that night.

No two college football dynasties are exactly alike, but they all look the same at the end.

So the question is: can Ole Miss do it again? They ran uptempo offense when they needed to establish a rhythm.

After halftime, the Rebels responded with the craziest play of the game. Then the veneer of invincibility gets stripped away and those moments tend to come more frequently and forcefully. Chad Kelly was playing in his first SEC game, but it was hard to tell.

On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore defensive back A.J. Moore forced another fumble for the Rebels, and a Carlos Davis recovery gave Ole Miss great field positioning. That five-play, 87-yard touchdown drive made it 24-10 in favor of Ole Miss in the opening minutes of the half. Coker completed 21-of-45 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

No. 24 Wisconsin 28, Troy 3: Two-way player Tanner McEvoy had one of the Badgers’ three touchdown runs in a game where two of his teammates were ejected for targeting and play was delayed briefly in the fourth quarter because of an errant fire alarm.

Boston College said Wade would be out for the rest of the season because of an ankle injury he suffered Friday night in a 14-0 loss to No. 9 Florida State.

But those were the only speed bumps in an otherwise solid performance.

In the second quarter, Kenyan Drake fumbled a kickoff of his own, which Ole Miss cashed in for a touchdown four plays later. They’ve both put up strong numbers with only one interception apiece and an array of playmakers to choose from. Tide placekicker Adam Griffith is 0 for 4 on field goals.

Austin Hooper and Devon Cajuste caught touchdown passes as Hogan finally beat USC for the first time in his career, snapping the Trojans’ two-game winning streak in the lively in-state rivalry. There was 40 seconds to go in the game, something like that.

However, Alabama did its best to make it a game.

The sportsbook odds have Alabama as eight to nine point favorites on the spread at home with an over/under total of 53 points for the game.