Alabama vs. Ole Miss: Score and Twitter Reaction

A furious second-half rally keyed by quarterback Bo Wallace helped No. 11 Ole Miss pull off a stunning, 23-17 upset over the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday in a hard-fought SEC showdown.

Ole Miss Football brought up a pertinent fact in the immediate aftermath:

Stuart Scott of ESPN noted how long it has been since the Rebels last got off to a 5-0 start:

CBS Sports' Jon Solomon reports an interesting note on this loss for Nick Saban:

After an excessive celebration penalty threatened to harm the Rebels after they had just tied the game at 17, Alabama kick returner Christion Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving it right back to the home team.

An ill-advised gadget play on 2nd-and-goal was redeemed by Wallace's eventual game-winning 10-yard touchdown toss to running back Jaylen Walton, who slipped past safety Landon Collins to haul it in.

Wallace's will matched the words he spoke before the game, per ESPN.com's Greg Ostendorf:

"

Honestly, I'm just going into it like any other week. I've been here for two years. I've played against top-10 teams -- never with the opportunity that we have right now and being undefeated -- but I can't think about that too much, especially being the quarterback. I have to be the one that's even-keeled the whole time and when guys get riled up, settle them down.

"

Former Alabama QB Joe Namath summarized the day well for his alma mater:

Fifth-year senior quarterback Blake Sims did what he could to lead a late Crimson Tide comeback attempt. A desperate heave into double coverage was picked off by Rebels defensive back Senquez Golson with less than one minute remaining.

Alabama linebacker Cyrus Jones appeared to grab the facemask of Rebels ball-carrier I'Tavius Mathers before punching the ball out, picking it up and racing down the sidelines to stretch Alabama's lead to 14-3 just before halftime. The referees didn't catch the apparent penalty, much to the chagrin of the Ole Miss fans at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

NFL.com's Chase Goodbread weighed in on the play that gave the visitors a big edge:

The Tide looked flat early on and trailed 3-0 after the first quarter. John Middlekauff of Comcast SportsNet used an interesting political analogy to describe offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin's game plan:

Sims helped the Tide get rolling in bold fashion on a 12-play, 68-yard drive, capping it off with a one-yard touchdown scamper on a nice play fake.

It appeared Sims and Co. would go on cruise control when Alabama possessed the ball for more than seven minutes to start the second half. However, two ill-advised forays on the perimeter caused Sims to lose yards on the final first and third downs of the drive, leading to a missed field-goal attempt.

That opened up a window for the hosts to get back into it, which the Rebels took advantage of. Wallace hit Evan Engram on a 50-yard strike before finding Laquon Treadwell for a 14-yard TD to cut the lead to 14-10.

ESPN's College GameDay noted how significant the trip to paydirt was, as it had to be quite the morale boost for the home underdogs:

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah had high praise for Treadwell after the sophomore shook off multiple tackles before arriving in the end zone:

Sims and Alabama quickly responded. With coverage bracketed over to star wideout Amari Cooper, O.J. Howard broke free deep on the near side of the field, where Sims hit him in stride for a gain of 53 yards.

But another negative run to the outside, this time by Derrick Henry, put Alabama in a tough third-down situation. The play was compounded by an injury to center Ryan Kelly. A false start followed, but a play-it-safe carry by Henry led to Adam Griffith converting a 44-yard field goal.

Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports weighed in on how the Tide were making mistakes at inopportune times:

A 17-10 lead entering the fourth quarter—not to mention a big stop to deny Ole Miss a chance to answer Alabama's field goal—was likely all head coach Nick Saban could have asked for, given the quality of football wasn't up to his high standards.

History suggested Alabama would hold on, given the success under the circumstances during Saban's tenure:

Wallace rifled a pass to Engram down the seam with less than nine minutes remaining in the fourth, but the tight end dropped what could have been the equalizing touchdown. Engram redeemed himself later on the drive with a third-down catch that preceded Wallace hitting Vince Sanders for the tying 34-yard score.

Alex Scarborough of ESPN was critical of the Crimson Tide secondary following that play:

Alabama will hope to dig deep and get back on track as it is on the road again next week for a matchup with Arkansas.

The Razorbacks have lost to Auburn and in overtime to Texas A&M this year, but they can run the football (316.6 yards rushing per game this season). It figures to be an interesting matchup if Arkansas can get going on the ground early.

Saturday marked a massive triumph for Ole Miss, yet it must put it in the past quickly to avoid a letdown on the road next week against the Aggies. With Texas A&M coming off a defeat, it will be interesting to see whether Ole Miss can continue setting the pace in the SEC West division.