Run game wrinkle, continuity give Ole Miss the offensive edge vs. Alabama

Ole Miss visits Alabama for what has become a pivotal SEC West showdown in Week 4. And the visiting Rebels might have a surprising offensive edge.

Previewing the matchup with On3’s Andy Staples, On3 college football analyst Clark Brooks shared a few tidbits on the Rebels and why they give him confidence in the Ole Miss offense succeeding against a stout Alabama defense. It starts with the fact the Rebels aren’t starting anew offensively in 2023.

“They knew their strengths and weakness from their backfield and that cannot be overlooked at the early part of the season. They didn’t have to basically reinvent themselves. They didn’t have to have a new voice in the room. They didn’t have to try and, you know, put duct tape on a broken system,” Brooks said.

And where there is continuity for the Rebels, there is flux for the Crimson Tide. Alabama has a new offensive coordinator in Tommy Rees and will be going back to quarterback Jalen Milroe as the starter.

While Milroe is as dangerous a rushing threat from the quarterback position as anybody, Brooks is actually high on the Ole Miss quarterback run game and Jaxson Dart to make a difference. He highlighted one schematic wrinkle that he thinks the Rebels can hit on.

Ole Miss likes to run “bash” looks on read-option calls, essentially flipping the roles of the quarterback and running back as runners. Normally, the running back is set to follow the blockers while the quarterback and read a backside end or overhang defender to potentially pull the ball and get in space against a backside corner or safety. On bash plays, the running back gets to challenge the backside edge while the quarterback follows the offensive line.

With Dart rolling behind the offensive line and star sophomore tailback Quinshon Judkins potentially getting into one-on-one situations in space, Brooks thinks the Rebels can get some advantageous looks, especially marrying these run looks with variations of flood passing concepts.

And it’ll be up to the Alabama secondary to play sound and tackle in space to prevent explosives.

“Now, the caveat is they usually run this stuff against bad secondaries. And the last time I checked, Alabama’s secondary is at least one of the units they like to puff their chest out about along with those running backs. So, even though I do think that this Ole Miss offense does have some vulnerabilities, the scheme at work with the talent level they have at wide receiver and the quarterback position, I think is definitely going to give them the edge in this matchup,” Brooks said.