When I said battle on the west coast I never in a million years thought that it would be a defensive battle. But through most of the game that’s what it was. Before a late pick-six by the Cal defense it was 20-16 Cal. Last week if you’d have told me Ole Miss would hold Cal to 27 points I’d have told you that Ole Miss would win by 20.
Boy would I have been wrong.
Out coached, out played and out willed the Ole Miss Rebels drop a game in Berkeley and move to 2-1 on the season with the meeting with Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide waiting in Tuscaloosa for a night game in Bryant Denny Stadium.
What happened?
Well first off, injuries hit the team and they hit hard. AJ Brown(sprained MCL) out 1 to 2 weeks, Sean Rawlings (sprained ankle) questionable to go against Alabama, Victor Evans (Sprained MCL) out 1 to 2 weeks, and Gary Wunderlich (pulled hamstring) should be fine after a week of rest. Needless to say things could’ve gone better for Ole Miss in this game. On top of the injuries you had a Cal defense that seemed to know what was coming after just the first quarter and an offensive line that just could not handle the 4 man rush of the Cal Bears. It seems like no adjustments were made after halftime because the Rebel offense didn’t put a single point on the board in the second half.
Lone Bright Spot
The defense all of a sudden learned that when you wrap up that the ball carrier often times goes to the ground with you! Still not a stellar performance but a move in the right direction. The Rebels gave up 399 yards of total offense with 236 yards through the air and 163 yards on the ground. Like I said not stellar but a little more improved from what we’ve seen in the past couple weeks from a tackling standpoint. Still a long way to go!
Looking forward
The Rebels have a big task on Sept 30th when they roll into Tuscaloosa. Can Shea Patterson and NWO bounce back? Or was this game in Cali a sign of things to come? I’ll give you my take on the Rebels match up against the Tide a little closer to game time. Until then, Hotty Toddy!
