Takeaways from Ole Miss Week

1. Najee Harris is a GROWN man.

Najee might not only be going for the school record book, his eyes could be set on the Heisman as well. With a near perfect performance (excluding the fumble on the goal line) Harris carried the bulk of the load with 23 carries netting him 209 yards and tying a  school record 5 touchdowns.

His size and power continued to wear down the defense throughout the night. Harris also showed his pass catching ability by adding 42 yards receiving.

Brian Robinson also contributed 76 yards and allowed Harris some rest and the offense to stay on schedule. The offensive line did an excellent job only allowing one sack and dominating the trenches. This kind of effort will be needed against Georgia next week.

2. DeVonta Smith

Silky Smooth Smith was at it again on Saturday and clocked in 164 yards on 13 catches and a touchdown. Some would say it’s business as usual but this is a massive win for the offense.

This is the 3^rd different 100-yard receiver in 3 weeks. With Waddle and Metchie being the focal point in the previous weeks it opened up the game for Smith. With three possible No.1 receivers the offense continues to become more diversified and harder to stop.

Smith would also contribute a crucial running touchdown that made it a two-possession game late in the 4^th.

3. Defense

Now imagine ordering a 40 piece for a family get together. You’re thinking Chic-Fil- A, Popeyes, or KFC would be the first option. Apparently, the Alabama defense has something to offer with a 48 Piece meal with some biscuits on the side.

The defense failed in every facet of the game and struggled at every level. Poor tackling, blown assignments, and lack of cohesion plagued the Tide all game. Leaving Alabama's defense exposed for the whole college football world to see.

The defensive line was virtually nonexistent allowing Ole Miss to penetrate the interior and the opposing line was able to flow to the second level on a consistent basis.  While allowing 160 yards on the ground by half time, pass game was better but still mediocre. With only three hurries and two sacks many opportunities were missed, and the edge was almost never set.

The linebackers were no better while being perpetually out of position and beat in coverage. Bad tackling and poor angles contributed to the Tide’s lapses on key 3^rd and 4^th downs.

The secondary joined the party as well. For the second week in a row the Tide was torched by a tight end and gave up a 68-yard touchdown on a bad gamble that costed the Tide six early in the 3^rd quarter. Subsequently a safety would get juked out of his shoes on the goal line and give up a score that tied the game up at 35-35.

Now to be fair Lane Kiffin was a coordinator for Alabama from 2014-2016 and probably had access to intel such as defensive signals, tendencies, and players weaknesses /strengths. These thoughts were echoed by Dylan Moses and Coach Saban during their post- game pressers, but that’s something we’ll never know.

What we do know is come next week a performance like this will have Alabama looking like Auburn fans after Georgia put a whooping on them earlier this season. The Crimson Tide's defense has got to tighten up.

647 total yards just isn’t going to cut it.

Who’s accountable for this atrocity of a defensive game? Is it time for Pete Golding to file for unemployment or is it a lack of execution by the players? I say both.

But what do I know? I’m just the intern.