‘Bama hammers Rebs

Published 12:00 am Sunday, October 11, 2009

OXFORD — On a drizzly, overcast day, Ole Miss’ hopes for a trip to the SEC Championship game absorbed a fatal blow.

Alabama kicker Leigh Tiffin drilled a season-high five field goals and the ’Bama defense harried quarterback Jevan Snead into four interceptions as the third-ranked Tide ripped No. 16 Ole Miss 22-3 on Saturday.

Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC) didn’t get a sack in the contest, but held the Rebels to only 212 yards and forced five turnovers. Snead was 11-for-34 for 140 yards.

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Color Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt impressed.

“The bottom line is Alabama is an awful good football team,” Nutt said. “We helped them. One thing we didn’t want to do is give them turnovers, give them gifts, especially against a good team. This is the fastest defense if you went from 1 to 11. From corners to safeties to linebackers to defensive linemen, this is the best I’ve seen.”

Despite the Tide defense dominating affairs, the Rebels (3-2, 1-2) were able to get back in the game in the second half. Joshua Shene’s 25-yard field goal capped the Rebels’ best drive of the day midway through the third quarter and cut the deficit to 16-3.

However, the Alabama defense came up big again. Cornerback Kareem Jackson jumped Bolden’s route and raced all the way to the Rebel 16 with 14:31 remaining. Alabama’s Trent Richardson coughed up a fumble on the Rebel 9, but on the ensuing drive, Snead’s pass was intercepted by Tide linebacker Rolando McClain.

Snead and the Rebels had one more opportunity, but on fourth-and-20, Snead was stopped shy of the sticks and Alabama managed to run out the clock.

“We knew coming into this game that they had a great defense and they showed it,” Snead said. “We knew going into it from film that they were quick, they jump routes, they fly around and they’re definitely one of the quickest I’ve ever seen. They played every single snap and didn’t make many mistakes.”

There was little room for optimism early for the announced crowed of 62,557, a Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium record.

Snead suffered through a miserable first half, completing only 2 of 12 passes for 14 yards with two interceptions.

“We hit their quarterback just about every time in the first half and I think it affected him,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We got the stops when we needed to and it was a really great defensive effort.”

Ole Miss’ defense also held firm for most of the game. The longest of Tiffin’s five field goals was 31 yards. Ole Miss stymied two Alabama drives into the red zone in the first half, then stopped another after the Tide blocked a punt and took over at the Ole Miss 6.

Right before the end of the half on fourth-and-1, the Tide scrambled out in an unbalanced formation and Mark Ingram raced 36 yards for a score to go up 16-0 with 55 seconds left.

“I don’t know if it was the call, but I was just surprised by the play they ran,” Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix said. “Fourth-and-1, most of the time, you think quarterback sneak. We brought pressure up the middle and they tossed it outside.”

Despite that play, one of the few positives for Ole Miss was the defense, which held the Tide to a season-low in points and only one touchdown.

Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, who came into the game ranked sixth in the nation in passing efficiency, completed only 15 of 34 passes for 147 yards and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season.

“I thought our defense was outstanding,” Nutt said. “From the first play to the last play, they played all the way through.”