Ole Miss vs. Alabama 2017 final score: Rebs fail hard in Tuscaloosa, 66-3

66-3. Sixty six to three. That is downright atrocious.

From the opening kick, things went south. Ole Miss began from their own 12. They went three and out, then somehow forced an Alabama three and out, then whiffed again, then gave up a touchdown. That right there is a perfect microcosm of how this game went. The Rebs lost, 66-3. SIXTY SIX TO THREE.

Shea Patterson and Co. looked disjointed early. Quarterback wide receiver miscommunication, a series of missed blocks, and DK Metcalf not quite being able to drag a toe inbounds led to two straight three and outs. A few big plays and a muffed interception by Myles Hartsfield later, and former Reb recruit Bo Scarborough plowed into the end zone to take a 7-0 lead for the Tide.

The Tide built their lead on the ensuing Ole Miss possession when Damarkus Lodge momentarily forgot how to play wide receiver. Shea rifled one into a tight window in one-on-one coverage, and Alabama CB Levi Wallace ripped it away from a hapless Lodge and took it to the house. 14-0 Tide.

Of course, the Rebs’ punishment for disrespecting the Tide had only just begun. After Shea overthrew Lodge for a wide-open, sure thing touchdown, Jalen Hurts only needed five plays to go 85 yards for a third TD. Nevertheless, the Ole Miss offense remained undeterred. Determined to cover the 30 point spread, Shea Patterson marched down to the Bama 10-yard line and kicked a field goal to cut the lead to a measly 18 points.

After Matt Luke’s heroic effort to cover the spread, we here at Red Cup collectively blacked out for approximately two and a half quarters. From what we remember Ole Miss attempted something like football for 30 minutes, but in the end it wasn’t enough to overcome the upstart Tide.

Here are three initial takeaways from Saturday’s murder in Tuscaloosa.

Field position crippled Ole Miss early.

On the opening kickoff, Alabama stopped up the Rebs’ return attempt at the Ole Miss 12 yard line. Ole Miss’ beginning drives started at the 12, 13, and 24 yard lines. The Rebs didn’t make a push into the red zone until 4:25 remained in the first quarter. Needless to say, providing a very short field to Alabama’s offense will normally yield a fair amount of Alabama points.

Shea got beat the hell up.

It was no secret coming into the game that the 2017 Ole Miss Rebels had their weaknesses. The run game has been next to nonexistent, South Alabama and Tennessee-Martin repeatedly gashed the defensive line, and even the usually steady Gary Wunderlich had missed a few chip-shot field goals. The one bright spot was Shea Patterson and the nasty wide-out passing attack, which came into the game averaging the third-most passing yards per game in the country. But unfortunately, that group never had a chance to get rolling. A hobbled o-line got blitzed into oblivion and the result was that Shea spent more time sitting on his ass than zipping passes to his bevy of offensive weapons.

Alabama went full Ole Miss and threw the ball all over the damn place.

Jalen Hurts was a questionable passer last season, but he worked on his timing and accuracy over the offseason and turned himself into a decent downfield threat.

So it’s remarkable and tragically hilarious that Nick Saban would dial up Hurts as a passer to severely overcome the shithouse rat passing attack of Ole Miss. The Tide signal-caller effortlessly carved up the Rebel D through the air to the tune of 197 yards and two touchdowns.

Welcome to rock bottom.