One win over Ole Miss hasn’t washed away the past for some of Alabama’s most experienced players. The Rebels still have their attention.
“Coach Saban always talks to us about, ‘You don’t want to be that team that has to lose a game before everybody wakes up and realizes that they’ve got to get going,’” senior linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton said. “Ole Miss, they’re a team they’re always well-coached. Great athletes. And always going to come ready to do a lot of things, so it’s going to be important that we hit on all cylinders Saturday.”
Hamilton said his biggest memory from recent games against Ole Miss was when fans rushed the field after Alabama was defeated 23-17 in Oxford during his freshman season. He was a sophomore when Alabama lost 43-37 at home in 2015, and was a starter in last year’s 48-43 win.
For Alabama’s seniors, Ole Miss has been the most competitive series over the last three years. All three games came down to the final drives.
“When we play Ole Miss, it’s a challenge,” senior safety Hootie Jones said. “But at the same time, everybody in the SEC is a challenge. So we can’t base it off of a game that’s longer. We just got to go out there and finish every play.”
The Rebels are just 6-6 since the last time they played Alabama. But Alabama knows there’s reason to be ready on Saturday.
“We just know that they’re not going to be intimidated,” redshirt junior guard Ross Pierschbacher said. “They’ve been in there, done it before. So, we’re just going to have to come out and, like we did last week, just try to earn their respect and just try to play Alabama football.”
Saban had a message for his team about that on Wednesday.
“I think the ultimate disrespect sometimes is when someone quietly thinks they’ve got your number,” he said. “Our players need to understand that and do a great job of preparing for a totally different type of game this week than what we played a week ago.”
