While the Top-15 showdown between No. 1 Alabama and No. 13 Ole Miss is still nine days away, the gears are already turning in the media to hype the game up.
The Rebels have a bye week this week, giving them a grand total of two weeks to prepare for Nick Saban, Bryce Young and the Crimson Tide. For the most part, teams that enjoy a bye week before Alabama do not fare well.
Lane Kiffin, who served as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2016, had plenty to say about the transfer portal and Alabama’s dominance picking up key transfers to fill depth chart holes.
“Now they go to cherry-pick players for any holes they may have like an Ohio State receiver [Jameson Williams] or a Tennessee linebacker [Henry To’o To’o],” Kiffin said. “So now, it’s like not only do they get the best draft picks but they get to go into free agency and take players, so it really is going to set up one of the most talented teams ever, which is what we’re getting ready to play.”
The Crimson Tide’s best transfers of the 2021 cycle, linebacker Henry To’o To’o and wide receiver Jameson Williams, have proven to be valuable additions. Williams leads the team with 218 receiving yards. To’o To’o leads the team with 22 tackles.
Lane Kiffin twice brought up the new transfer rule that he says allows Alabama to “cherry pick” the best players from around the country like Jameson Williams from Ohio State and Henry To’o To’o from Tennessee.
— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) September 22, 2021
After a close Alabama victory against Florida (31-29) on Saturday, Kiffin offered a warning to reporters that may have a feeling of impending doom for the Crimson Tide.
“As we know, they have a great team, great players,” Kiffin said. “I wish the media would stop upsetting Coach Saban by saying this is a weak team or has weaknesses. I mean, they went on the road into a top-10 team, into the Swamp and won with a freshman quarterback. Got an early lead and hung on at the end and now all of a sudden it’s not a good team and they have weaknesses and they can’t stop people, so it doesn’t really help us a lot being around there knowing how that place works.”
Alabama will play Southern Miss this Saturday, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network. Ole Miss has the week off.
The Tide and Rebels will face off on Oct. 2 at 2:30 p.m. on CBS. Last year’s game between the two was a shootout, ending in an Alabama victory 63-48.
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