Alabama 27 Ole Miss 24

Saturday the boys and I drove to Oxford to watch the Tide take on the Ole Miss Rebels. This was an exciting game to watch. As usual, we all predicted Alabama to win. This time I was the closest, as I predicted Alabama to win by 3 points, 31-28. Joe predicted Alabama would win 24-17, Matt predicted the Tide would win 20-10, and David predicted 31-14. I wish David was correct.

No one could have predicted that the game would have been won based on a reviewed call. On the other hand, this was the fifth game in a row that the game was decided on the last or next to last play of the game. This Crimson Tide team is nothing if it is not exciting to watch.

We got up at 6 a.m. and began our three hour drive on Highway 278 west at 6:45 a.m. After finding a good place to park, we walked over to the stadium took a few pictures, and got some food before settling into our stands for the 11:35 a.m. start.

Alabama fans turned out in droves. In my estimation the crowd was pretty close to a 50/50 split. On the way to Oxford we stopped at the Mississippi Welcome Center. That welcome center was covered up with Bama fans so much that it seemed like we were at the Ferguson center. I even saw one Bama fan holding tickets in the air to sell.

Matthew commented several times on how exciting the game was. He was right. Both teams made several big plays. There were turnovers, long pass plays, long runs, great punt and kick-off returns, critical penalties, sacks, and most importantly for Bama fans, a few very big officiating reversals on challenged calls. Throw into the mix some very angry, classless Ole Miss fans who threw cups and whiskey bottles and you have the makings of a true barn-burner.

I took several photos and a few videos which I will post here soon.

Crimson Tide clip Ole Miss with 10-point rally, late replay reversal ESPNU
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- John Parker Wilson passed for 265 yards and Alabama scored 10 points in the final eight minutes and benefited from a critical replay reversal in the closing seconds to beat Mississippi 27-24 on Saturday. Ole Miss quarterback Seth Adams completed a 41-yard pass to Shay Hodge to give the Rebels possession at the Alabama 4 with 7 seconds left.
After a 5-minute review clearly showed Hodge stepped out of bounds and returned to the field to make the catch, the play was ruled illegal and Alabama (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) took over on downs for a final snap to seal the victory. Ole Miss (2-5, 0-4) has lost three straight to Alabama, each by three points.

Alabama Wins Another Nail-Biter Kirk McNair, Scout.com
In this incredible five-game stretch of Alabama football games, the outcome has rested at or near the final play of the game week after week. Some weeks it was the offense making a play, some weeks a defensive play, and some weeks a special team play. Saturday the key play may have been a re-play. Alabama went to Oxford and came out with a 27-24 win over Ole Miss. The only thing that kept the Rebels from having a chance to win or tie the game on the final play of the game was that on the next-to-last play of the game a long pass completion by Mississippi was overturned by Southeastern Conference replay officials. Officials with benefit of replay were able to correct the wrong of the official on the field, who apparently couldn’t see down the sideline as well as Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban could. Saban saw the Rebels’ Shay Hodge come from out of bounds back into the field of play and called a time out to challenge the call. It was obvious Hodge had been out of bounds before out-battling Tide cornerback Lionel Mitchell for the ball. That’s not legal. And since it was a fourth down play with only seven seconds to play, it was left only for Bama to take a knee and wrap up the victory. With the win, Alabama improved its record to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in SEC games.