TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - Mississippi had another nightmarish visit to Bryant-Denny Stadium while Alabama atoned for its own humbling.
Brodie Croyle threw two touchdown passes and Ray Hudson rushed for a career-high 116 yards and scored a pair of TDs to lift the Crimson Tide to a 28-7 victory Saturday night.
It was a big about-face from last year's meeting, when the Rebels led 24-0 by the end of the first quarter and were never challenged.
``That was the most embarrassing loss I've ever been part of, in high school, junior high, college,'' said Croyle, who was a pristine 14-of-22 for 169 yards. ``That was probably the lowest point of my career. To come back and have a good game against them as a team means a lot.''
The Crimson Tide, 2-0 for the first time since 1999, has won 21 of the last 22 meetings with Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa and seven straight - the last three by a 115-21 score.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, dropped its first two games for the first time since 1987 and continued to sputter offensively.
The Tide overpowered the Rebels for 221 yards on the ground and held onto the ball for more than 37 minutes. Hudson took the last of his 14 carries 46 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter and also caught a 13-yard scoring pass.
Kenneth Darby gained 86 yards on 17 carries.
Croyle also hit Tyrone Prothro for a 15-yard score in the first half as the Tide mostly kept it on the ground and relied on short passes.
The Rebels turned to backup quarterback Ethan Flatt in the third quarter after Micheal Spurlock's second straight shaky performance. Spurlock was 5-of-15 for 54 yards and lost a fumble that led to a Tide touchdown.
``We wanted to try to get a lead on these guys and try to make them play catch-up a little bit,'' Tide coach Mike Shula said. ``We wanted to make sure we did everything we could to keep (Spurlock) from running the ball. If he was going to beat us, it was going to be by throwing the football.''
It was apparent early that scenario was unlikely, with a relentless Tide pass rush and an assortment of dropped passes.
Flatt fared somewhat better, directing the Rebels' only touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, though it was kept alive by a pass interference call on fourth-and-9. He hit Eric Rice for a 6-yard touchdown pass two minutes into the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout.
Hudson answered with his long touchdown scamper.
Ole Miss had just 192 total yards and looked nothing like the offensive team that Eli Manning led to a 10-3 record last season.
The Rebels had plenty of chances but weren't accepting handouts in the first quarter. They started three of their first four possessions in Alabama territory, thanks partly to two fumbles, but wound up with a missed field goal and two punts.
They got only one first down out of it but did twice bury the Tide inside its 5.
Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe called the offensive performance ``anemic.''
``We blew some opportunities early in the game,'' Cutcliffe said. ``We tried to get some momentum going. We had field position and maybe an opportunity to go up in the ballgame but we didn't take advantage of it.
``And from there it got worse.''
Alabama drove 98 yards the second time, scoring on Tim Castille's 1-yard plunge for a 7-0 lead. The drive was aided by three costly Ole Miss penalties.
Roman Harper jarred the ball loose from Spurlock at the Rebels' 8 on the next play. After a holding penalty, Croyle hit Prothro in the end zone.
D.J. Hall and Keith Brown became the first freshman receivers to start for Alabama since Ozzie Newsome in 1974, but the offense still racked up 390 yards.
``It gives us a lot of confidence, because that was a very good Ole Miss defense that we were playing,'' Croyle said. ``It gives us as an offense a lot of confidence. Seeing our defense play the way it did gives us even more confidence.''
Thursday
March 27th, 2025
8:45PM
