How Worried Should Alabama Fans Really Be About Ole Miss?

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Everyone is vulnerable.

That looks like the theme for the 2014 college football season so far. The top teams in the country have, more or less, been standing on a rickety foundation.

Thursday night, that all came crashing down. Oregon lost a shocker to Arizona that sent the college football dominoes flying.

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The old adage “any given Saturday” (or Thursday) is a cliche, but it’s a cliche because it’s true. For Alabama fans, that makes this week that much scarier.

The Crimson Tide are on the road in Oxford this weekend for their biggest game of the season against an Ole Miss team that looks dangerous. Should Alabama fans be worried about meeting Oregon’s fate Friday night?

There’s a lot to like about this Ole Miss team, and in some ways, it plays to Alabama’s weakness.

Bo Wallace has thrown the ball well this season, and Laquon Treadwell is as tough a matchup at wide receiver as they come in the SEC.

Wallace is No. 7 in the country in completion percentage (71) and No. 13 in yards per game (317.8). The Crimson Tide’s secondary, meanwhile, gave up 365 yards through the air to the only team it's played this year with a high-level passing game.

That’s why it’s make-or-break time for this Alabama secondary, which will look a little different than it did in the opener.

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“They have a real good offense,” linebacker Denzel Devall said. “The scheme they run is run pretty good with their quarterback. It all starts with him. We'll have our hands full, but that's why we've been practicing.”

The Rebels have a defense built to rattle an inexperienced quarterback like Blake Sims.

Ole Miss does a terrific job of affecting the quarterback, as evidenced by its nine interceptions so far this year. And those nine interceptions were caught by seven different defenders. They can beat you in a variety of ways.

There’s also the challenge of the team’s first true road test of the season.

Sims has been terrific so far this season, but it’s largely been at home, save the season opener in Atlanta, where Alabama still had a majority in the crowd.

That won’t be the case this week.

“I think the big thing about playing on the road that you have to deal with is the noise factor offensively in terms of being able to manage the game—silent count, those kinds of things are a little different,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I think that’s the biggest challenge, and we have to create some of those situations in practice so the players have to learn how to communicate and that we can execute with noise not affecting us.”

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How Sims manages that hostile environment for the first time will go a long way in determining Alabama’s success.

There’s a lot that works in Alabama’s favor, though.

For one, the Rebels haven’t been able to run the ball consistently this season. They average 169.75 rushing yards per game, which puts them at just No. 75 in the country.

Neither of Ole Miss' top two backs—Jaylen Walton and I'Tavius Mathers—tops 6’0” or 200 pounds. Alabama’s massive front seven shouldn’t have much of a problem in that department.

The Crimson Tide, meanwhile, should be able to run the ball with a good amount of success. New offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has maximized the talents of his three star running backs, T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake. They can showcase their skills in the right situations without getting worn down in the process.

If you ran a computer simulation of this game 1,000 times, Alabama would come out on top more times than not. But these games are not played on paper. That wouldn’t be very fun.

If Thursday night was any indication, every team is vulnerable. And could fall at any time.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats come from CFBStats.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.