Ole Miss Defense Plagued By Short Fields In Loss At Alabama
Looking at the scoreboard, you might deduce that the Ole Miss defense ran into a lot of problems against Alabama, and they did.
Alabama has scored 30 or more points in 31 consecutive games, and that streak continued Saturday in a 42-21 win over Ole Miss.
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Although the defense had their hands full trying to slow down quarterback Bryce Young and running back Brian Robinson Jr., the offense did not set up the defense for success.
Lane Kiffin came into the game ready to risk it all, trying to convert three fourth downs on just the opening drive. The offense converted on the first two, but could not get the third on their side.
While Alabama was forced to go a long distance on their first touchdown drive, it began a pattern for Ole Miss that enabled more risk-taking as the hole Ole Miss dug for themselves began to grow.
The other three touchdown drives Alabama scored in the first half started inside Ole Miss territory.
The second and third touchdown drives were stemmed from failed fourth-down conversions, while the fourth came from a strip-sack.
Going down 28 effectively knocked Ole Miss out of the game and made the second half almost meaningless.
When any team plays Alabama, it's easy to feel like you have to take all these risks to compete, but there was too much pressure placed on the offense to contribute and it negatively affected the defensive game plan.
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