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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Practice Report: Bama Week
9/27/2021 | Football
Kiffin, Corral, Mingo Meet with Media as Rebels Prep for Top-Ranked Tide
OXFORD, Miss. — To the No. 12 ranked Ole Miss football team, Saturday's trip to Tuscaloosa is just a road SEC opener, regardless if it's against Lane Kiffin's former boss, the top-ranked team in the country or the most dominant program in college football's recent history. Despite how impressive the Rebels have been themselves, any hype or high expectation placed upon them will be labeled by Kiffin simply as "rat poison."
The Rebels went toe-to-toe with Alabama last season for over three quarters of play, but were outdone by an offense that had multiple first round NFL draft picks and considered one of college football's best. With the evolution of the game and team management in recent years, Kiffin believes this year's Alabama team could be even better on both sides of the ball. Playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium after a bye week makes it even tougher.
"It's good to go out there and compete against a great team, as we all know," Kiffin said. "You don't see any holes in this team. It's not only challenging to play them, but to play them there. We've never really played in front of a crowd in two years. It's a true road game. We're going to have our hands full. We're a huge underdog for a reason."
The individual matchup that national and local media have been building up for weeks is the quarterback duel between Matt Corral and Alabama's Bryce Young. Both are somewhat familiar with each other, facing off in southern California during their high school tenure. Since then, they've become two of the biggest faces of the 2021 college football season thus far.
"That's cool. That's awesome, but it's not a point of focus. I'm not putting any energy into it," Corral said.
Through three games, Corral has completed 66 of 96 passes for 997 yards and has accounted for 14 touchdowns without turning the ball over. A common denominator from upsets over Alabama in recent years have come down to the man behind center not only playing great, but protecting the football. One of the many preparations being made this week is maneuvering through disguised coverages.
"Like any week, whatever they do, we try to simulate," Kiffin said. "Our service team guys have meetings and try to give (Corral) the same looks. It's hard to disguise because of our tempo. We're not sure what people will do."
The Tide was tested by the Florida Gators two weeks ago, running the ball with success despite coming up short in the end. While players Jerrion Ealy, Henry Parrish Jr., and Snoop Conner have given the Rebel offense a nice luxury in the backfield through three games, things will come down to fundamentals should the Rebels turn to the ground game on Saturday.
"It wasn't a secret formula," Kiffin said. "(Florida) blocked well, made safeties miss and had some good schemes."
Kickoff against Alabama on October 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by CBS as the SEC Game of the Week.
"We're not worried about who we're playing. We're worried about how we handle each practice individually," Corral said. "Even though they are a great team and they're the best team we'll play this year, we're not worried about them right now. We're worried about having the best practice today."
Get all the latest information on the team by following @olemissfb on Twitter and Instagram and OleMissFootball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at OleMissSports on Twitter and Facebook and OleMissAthletics on Instagram. To purchase 2021 Ole Miss football season tickets, visit OleMissTix.com.
