Ole Miss Offense on Fire Right Now, but How Will It Fare vs. Alabama Next Week?

Someone forgot to tell Ole Miss that it was "Sluggish Saturday" in college football—especially in the SEC.

On the same Week 2 afternoon that saw Auburn narrowly avoid a devastating loss to FCS foe Jacksonville State and a handful of league teams get off to slow starts, the Rebels played their best offensive ball in school history.

Ole Miss' 73-21 beatdown of Fresno State in Oxford was a direct carryover from last week's 76-3 trouncing of UT-Martin. Forget about another slow start for a SEC team. The Rebels broke program records Saturday, per the team's official Twitter account and David Brandt of the Associated Press:

The Rebels had 608 total yards against Fresno State, a team that went to a bowl game last season and played in the Mountain West Championship Game. Six different players found the end zone on offense, including do-it-all defensive star Robert Nkemdiche (via OMRebelNation.com):

Hey, when you're firing on all cylinders offensively, everyone wants to get involved.

And Ole Miss' best-ever offensive groove couldn't come at a better time—leading right into next Saturday's road game against No. 2 Alabama.

The Crimson Tide will be an exponentially tougher defensive matchup than the ones from UT-Martin and Fresno State, of course.

But any preseason question one had about the Ole Miss offense has been answered emphatically in the first two games of the season.

Thomas Graning/Associated Press

In his first two career starts at Ole Miss, quarterback Chad Kelly has been a confident and extremely efficient replacement for Bo Wallace.

The Rebels saw both "Good Bo" and "Bad Bo" heading into the upset win over Alabama last season. He had 11 touchdown passes against Boise State, Vanderbilt, UL-Lafayette and Memphis, but he also had six interceptions.

Aside from an interception against UT-Martin, they've seen "Excellent Chad."

Kelly was on the money against Fresno State on Saturday, completing 20 of his 25 pass attempts for 346 yards and four touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown, putting himself in elite SEC company at quarterback, per SportsCenter:

ESPN's Danny Kanell, a former quarterback himself, seemed impressed by the play of Ole Miss' offense Saturday with Kelly leading the way:

An in-form Kelly and a deep group of talented targets—nine players recorded receptions Saturday—will be key for the Rebels as they attack an Alabama defense that has its biggest question marks in the secondary.

An inconsistent Wallace threw for three touchdowns against the Tide last season after a shaky performance against Memphis the week before.

Even without star left tackle Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss hasn't allowed an opponent to sack Kelly yet. If that experienced line, with or without Tunsil's talents, can continue to keep Kelly upright as it heads into Tuscaloosa, the Rebels should be in fantastic shape.

Thomas Graning/Associated Press

The front five has also paved the way for some much-needed rushing success in the first two games of 2015.

Ole Miss averaged 9.39 yards per carry in the rout of UT-Martin last week. On Saturday, it averaged 6.3 yards against Fresno State.

Again, those two opponents can't even compare to Alabama's defensive front.

But it's worth noting that those two rushing performances have been some of Ole Miss' best in almost three years. According to Sports-Reference.com, Ole Miss hasn't averaged more than six yards per carry in back-to-back games since 2007.

These first two games have been complete routs, but they've also served as momentum builders for an Ole Miss rushing attack that has averaged fewer than five yards per carry in each of the last four seasons.

On Nkemidche's one-yard touchdown rumble, Parrish Alford of the Daily Journal noted how strong the Ole Miss offensive line looked up front:

The Rebels will need to be able to move the chains on the ground away from home against Alabama. So far this season, they've shown excellent improvement in that category.

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

Next Saturday's epic rematch in Bryant-Denny Stadium will pit a pair of SEC West powerhouses that have recorded back-to-back emphatic victories to start the season as others have been less-than-impressive.

Alabama will be motivated in another one of Nick Saban's patented revenge games, and the defense will most likely be the best Kelly and the Rebels will face all season—especially after the Tide's strong performance against MTSU.

Playing in a hostile environment against the defending SEC champion is completely different from two massive nonconference routs inside the comfort of your own stadium.

Neal McCready passed along head coach Hugh Freeze's comments regarding Ole Miss' readiness when it comes to being a competitive SEC contender:

But it's hard to head into Tuscaloosa with more momentum and more confidence than the Rebels offense.

With the way its uptempo offense is clicking and with the matchup problems it can cause Alabama once again, Ole Miss will be a trendy upset pick next Saturday.

All stats courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. Recruit rankings courtesy of 247Sports.

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.