Alabama vs. Ole Miss: Score and Twitter Reaction

The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) entered Saturday looking to snap a two-game losing skid against the 19th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels (1-2), and they succeeded with a frantic 48-43 win at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.  

While it wasn't pretty, Alabama rebounded from an early 24-3 deficit to outscore Ole Miss 31-19 in the second half and ward off a late charge by the Rebels that was facilitated by a recovered onside kick and subsequent touchdown pass to A.J. Brown that cut the deficit to five. 

According to Saturday Down South, the win marked the Crimson Tide's first from 21 points down since 1989.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts struggled through the air with 158 yards on 19-of-31 passing, but he did serious damage with his legs to the tune of 18 carries for 146 yards. 

Running back Damien Harris added 144 yards on 16 carries. He also did a nice job of co-anchoring Alabama's offense before defensive lineman Jonathan Allen took a deflected Chad Kelly pass 75 yards for a touchdown to help put the Crimson Tide up 18 with just over five minutes remaining: 

Kelly, to his credit, was effective throughout when targeting receivers downfield. The senior finished 26-of-41 for 421 yards and three touchdowns, but the Rebels' inability to establish a consistent ground game (3.3 yards per carry) doomed their quest to pull off the upset. 

However, the Crimson Tide weren't always in control. 

Not only was the pressure on Alabama following losses against the Rebels in 2014 and 2015, but the offense came out flat thanks to a jittery Hurts and conservative play-calling from offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. 

Hurts was generally limited to throws at or behind the line of scrimmage during the game's early stages, and he averaged a paltry 3.9 yards per pass attempt during the first half.

According to ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough, Kiffin may have been trying too hard to shield the inexperienced Hurts from a swarming Ole Miss defense: 

As if those inefficiencies weren't bad enough, Kelly didn't appear fazed by Alabama's star-studded front seven over the game's first 30 minutes. 

Displaying a calm demeanor and poise in the pocket, Kelly fired home his first touchdown of the game—a 63-yard bomb to a wide-open Evan Engram: 

On Alabama's next offensive series, its problems multiplied. Hurts fumbled after he was drilled on a short dropback, and Rebels defensive lineman John Youngblood scooped up the loose ball and bolted 44 yards to the house to give Ole Miss a 24-3 lead after the extra point:

But just when it looked like the Rebels were going to pull away, the Tide responded.

Hurts led the offense on a three-play, 50-yard scoring drive to cut the deficit to 14, and an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown by Eddie Jackson just over a minute later continued to build Alabama's confidence entering halftime. 

Down seven at that point, the Tide started to roll. 

With Kelly backed up in the shadow of his own goalposts, Alabama linebacker Ryan Anderson secured a strip-sack that allowed Da'Ron Payne to scoop the ball up, plunge into the end zone and tie the game at 24 following the extra point, as the SEC on CBS documented: 

And while the Rebels had plenty of opportunities to mount a comeback as Alabama's lead oscillated between three and seven points, they repeatedly came up empty.

To wit, Ole Miss finished the day 5-of-15 on third downs. Conversely, Alabama converted 7-of-15 and kept the chains moving at a more consistent pace to tally a time-of-possession edge in excess of 10 minutes. 

The Rebels now need to regroup with a home game against the Georgia Bulldogs looming on Sept. 24. 

Although its College Football Playoff hopes are effectively dashed, Ole Miss has the talent on both sides of the ball to make some noise in the SEC as the season progresses. 

Alabama, meanwhile, has an excellent opportunity to start 5-0 with back-to-back home games against Kent State and Kentucky on deck over the next two weeks. 

Those clashes should afford Alabama's true freshman signal-caller time to build his confidence, while head coach Nick Saban's defense will focus on regaining elite defensive form before an Oct. 8 meeting with the Arkansas Razorbacks. 

Postgame Reaction

Saban was quick to give props to both schools after the heavyweight bout, via Josh Gauntt of WBRC Fox:

But in the warm conditions that Oxford provided, he also took a moment to give himself some credit, via Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News:

Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze on the other hand wasn't happy with his team, via Hugh Kellenberger of the Clarion-Ledger:

After blowing two leads of 21 points or more, Freeze and the Rebels will try to turn their season around, via the Daily Mississippian:

Ole Miss' Top 25 ranking is in serious jeopardy, and it could get worse with Georgia coming up. 

While Alabama's upcoming schedule looks favorable with games against Kent State and Kentucky, the Tide will meet Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU in the five weeks after. All four of those teams are currently ranked.