BLOG — Two weeks after getting beat by 35 points by then No. 14 Texas, the Ole Miss Rebels performed much better against the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday night.Ole Miss may have lost 33-14 to Alabama in its Southeastern Conference opener at Bryant-Denny Stadium, but the feeling after the game was more upbeat thanks to a much more physical showing on defense and offense.
The Rebels (3-2 overall) made some mistakes and had several gaffes on special teams, but coach Hugh Freeze like the effort and attitude of his team compared to the game with the Longhorns. Ole Miss led 7-6 early in the second quarter when Jeff Scott scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive. The Rebels’ lead was short lived, however, as Alabama’s Christion Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to put Alabama back ahead to stay.
Ole Miss played three quarterbacks — Randall Mackey saw some snaps in both halves – and finished with 218 total yards against a defense that was only allowing 185 to opponents coming in and ranked No. 3 overall in the nation. The Rebels also held Alabama’s vaunted running game in check as they only gave up 125 yards on 34 carries.
Below is a segment of Freeze’s post-game press conference with the media following the loss.
(September 30, 2012)
