Alabama Football vs. Ole Miss Postgame Notes
10/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
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GENERAL NOTES
GAME CAPTAINS: Alabama's captains for today's game at Ole Miss were Landon Collins, Xzavier Dickson and Arie Kouandjio. The Rebels won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
SERIES HISTORY: With the loss, Alabama leads the Ole Miss series 47-10-2 (51-9-2 before NCAA rulings) with wins in 27 of the last 30 games dating back to the 1977 season (excluding NCAA rulings).
SABAN VS. OLE MISS: With the loss, Alabama head coach Nick Saban owns a 10-2 record (11-2 before the vacated win in 2007) in his career against Ole Miss. He is 6-1 at Alabama (7-1 before vacated 2007 win) following today's 23-17 loss against the Rebels. Saban posted a 4-1 record against Ole Miss while at LSU from 2000-04. His lone loss to the Rebels before Saturday's setback came on Oct. 27, 2001, as Ole Miss posted a 35-24 win in Baton Rouge.
BEATING THE BEST: With the loss, Alabama is 26-10 (.722) against the Associated Press top 25, including a 16-6 (.727) mark against AP top-10 teams since the start of 2008. The Crimson Tide was 3-2 in 2013, beating No. 6 Texas A&M, 49-42, in College Station, blanking No. 21 Ole Miss, 25-0, in Tuscaloosa and knocking off No. 10 LSU, 38-17. The Tide fell at No. 4 Auburn, 34-28, and then dropped a 45-31 decision to No. 11 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama went 5-1 against the AP top 25 in 2012, with victories over No. 8 Michigan, No. 13 Mississippi State, No. 5 LSU, No. 3 Georgia and No. 1 Notre Dame, plus a loss to No. 15 Texas A&M. The Tide held a 4-1 mark vs. top 25 teams in 2011 and went 5-3 against the AP top 25 in 2010.
STRONG IN OCTOBER: Alabama can't claim an undefeated record in the month of October dating back to the 2008 season, but has a 21-2 record counting the loss to Ole Miss on Saturday. The Crimson Tide finished October of 2013 with a 4-0 record and has won 21-of-22 games in the month of October over the past six seasons headed into the Ole Miss game. The Tide was 3-0 in 2008, 4-0 in 2009 before a blemish and a 3-1 mark in 2010 (loss at South Carolina). UA went 4-0 in 2011 and 3-0 in 2012. The loss to Ole Miss ended a 13-game win streak by Alabama in October dating back to 2010.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
NON-OFFENSIVE TDs UNDER SABAN: Junior Cyrus Jones' 13-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter marked the 36th non-offensive touchdown of the Nick Saban era. Since Saban took over in 2007, the Crimson Tide has garnered 15 interception returns, nine punt returns, five kickoff returns, four fumble returns and three blocked punt returns for a touchdown.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
COOPER CLIMBS TO THIRD IN CAREER RECEPTIONS: Junior Amari Cooper moved into the No. 3 spot in career receptions during the third quarter of today's game at Ole Miss, passing Freddie Milions, who recorded 152 catches. Cooper finished the game with 9 receptions, giving him 156 for his career. He is now 24 receptions away from passing Julio Jones for second (2008-10: 179).
YELDON MOVES INTO SEVENTH IN CAREER RUSHING YARDS: With 123 yards rushing in today's game, junior T.J. Yeldon moved into sixth place in the Alabama record book in career rushing yards. He now has 2,750 yards for his career and passed Johnny Musso (1969-71: 2,741) for sixth place. Trent Richardson (2009-11: 3,130) is ahead of Yeldon in fifth place.
YELDON GOES OVER 100 FOR THE 13TH TIME: Junior T.J. Yeldon recorded the 13th 100-yard rushing game of his career. He finished with 20 carries for 123 yards.
RUSHING TO SUCCESS: Alabama suffered a rare loss when rushing for at least 140 yards. With the loss to Ole Miss as the Tide rushed for 168 yards, the Tide is 64-2 since the start of the 2008 season when rushing for at least 140 yards. The only loss was at Auburn in 2013 when the Tide went for 218 yards, but saw the Tigers gain 296 and score on the game's final play. In 76 total wins since the start of the 2008 season, Alabama has averaged 215.8 yards per game (16,400 yards).
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES: With senior Blake Sims' 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Alabama has scored in 174 consecutive games - the longest streak in program history.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
PUNTING GAME: Freshman JK Scott had six punts in the game for 311 yards, an average of 51.8 yards per punt. Three of his five punts were inside the 20, and his 64-yard punt in the second quarter was a career long.
