TUSCALOOSA, AL - OCTOBER 08: Trent Richardson #3 of the Alabama Crimson Tide waits between downs against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 8, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Ole Miss welcomes Alabama to Oxford this weekend, and they'll need a miracle or six to avoid defeat
With the Ole Miss Rebels sitting at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the SEC, head coach Houston Nutt is more or less a dead man walking at the moment. This weekend, his team welcomes the superb 6-0 Alabama Crimson Tide to Oxford, where it will probably take a series of miracles for the score to stay close.
Bored with their defense's elite play, Trent Richardson's awesomeness and A.J. McCarron's unspectacular but almost obnoxiously consistent play, Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll decided to turn their attention to the Tide's special teams. They've taken a bit of criticism, but the unit has actually been just fine.
Those who thought Bama's special teams units were hurting the team were probably being too harsh. Sure, sometimes the kickoffs and punts are short, but thus far the height of the kicks and/or the general effectiveness of the coverage teams has been enough to offset the lack of kick distance, and has effectively prevented anything approaching a game-changing return by our opponents through half the season. Meanwhile, the field goal unit has been efficient from short range, thus ensuring deep drives into opposing territory do not go for naught.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss blog Red Cup Rebellion is not bored of Trent Richardson and decided to examine whether or not he's a legitimate Heisman candidate in lieu of discussing their own team this week. And who can blame them? Combing through the Rebels' team with a fine-toothed comb would be exceptionally depressing.
I don't think that Trent Richardson will win the Heisman Trophy, nor do I think he would earn it under the most sensible circumstances, I do not deny that he's an excellent footballer and worthy of the consensus all-American selection he is likely to receive.
Despite criticism of the Heisman Trophy, it still manages to carry an allure which, regardless of its seemingly silly selection process and results, has endured for as long as it has been around. It gives players the recognition they (feel like they) deserve and programs the bragging rights needed to excite fans and lure recruits. It is still, despite its shortcomings, a big deal. I get why Trent Richardson and Alabama fans in general would want the trophy in their case, but it ain't gonna happen - this season.
Game date, time: 6:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 16
Location: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Mississippi
TV channel: ESPN2/ESPN3
Spread: Alabama favored by 27 points
Series history: Alabama leads, 47-7-2
For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll and Ole Miss blog Red Cup Rebellion. Here’s this week’s college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.


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