Alabama's Shula wary of Rebels

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama coach Mike Shula has seen enough upsets in the Southeastern Conference this season to disregard Mississippi&#39;s losing record.<br> <br> Instead, Shula points to the Rebels&#39; competitive game against No. 16 Georgia two weeks ago as an example of what can happen in this league.<br> <br> ``There&#39;s some pretty good teams in the SEC, regardless of their records,&#39;&#39; he said. ``If you&#39;re not on top of your game, it might not be good enough no matter who you&#39;re playing in the SEC.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Besides, the Crimson Tide (4-2, 1-2) and Rebels (2-4, 1-2), who meet Saturday afternoon, are both in the same boat in the SEC West, trying to keep slim title hopes alive.<br> <br> Alabama is more than a two-touchdown favorite for the game and has a 21-1 advantage in Tuscaloosa, but followed up back-to-back road losses with an embarrassingly close call against lowly Duke.<br> <br> The Rebels, on the other hand, might have a little more confidence following a win over Vanderbilt that snapped a four-game losing streak and a competitive 14-10 loss to No. 16 Georgia.<br> <br> ``We know that we can play and compete and go down there and give them our best shot,&#39;&#39; Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said. ``And they&#39;re going to get it, I guarantee it.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Tide got it last year, winning only on Jamie Christensen&#39;s field goal on the final play.<br> <br> But while Alabama has begun to develop some balance offensively with tailback Kenneth Darby apparently overcoming early-season struggles, the Tide defenders know what to expect from Ole Miss.<br> <br> Lots of running.<br> <br> The Rebels rank 113th in Division I-A in passing offense, but BenJarvus Green has been one of the league&#39;s more productive runners and has back-to-back 100-yard games.<br> <br> Defensive coordinator Joe Kines told his players Ole Miss might be the most physical team Alabama plays this season. He also says it&#39;s the best offensive line the Tide has seen so far.<br> <br> ``They run hard,&#39;&#39; linebacker Matt Collins said. ``I mean, every play they explode off the ball. You can really tell that they&#39;ve got a good attitude about themselves and how they can run the ball.<br> <br> ``In the league that we&#39;re in, you&#39;ve got to expect those sorts of challenges every single week. It wouldn&#39;t be fun if you didn&#39;t have those challenges.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The challenge facing Ole Miss might be to avoid turning the ball over against a team that ranks sixth nationally in turnover margin and has 10 interceptions. Rebels quarterback Brent Schaeffer has been prone to mistakes, getting picked off eight times already.<br> <br> It&#39;s a statistic the Tide&#39;s secondary certainly noticed.<br> <br> ``When I saw those eight interceptions my eyes lit up,&#39;&#39; said safety Jeffrey Dukes, who grew up near the Ole Miss campus. ``He makes a lot of mental errors that he can correct.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Two of Alabama&#39;s offensive focal points will be trying to find ways to minimize the impact of Ole Miss defensive star Patrick Willis and his fellow linebacker Rory Johnson.<br> <br> Johnson, a junior college transfer, had 16 tackles and forced three fumbles against Vandy. Willis is more familiar to the Tide players.<br> <br> ``They are an intense team. They get after it,&#39;&#39; Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson said. ``They really center around that linebacker (Willis). He is a playmaker, he lights people up and goes and gets the ball.&#39;&#39;