BIG AL's 5* NCAA FB GAME OF THE MONTH (40-14 L54) -- Saturday
At 3:30 pm, our College Football Game of the Month is on the Mississippi Rebels plus the points over Alabama. Ole Miss was ranked in the Top 5 in late September, but fell victim to Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks in Columbia, South Carolina, and lost 16-10 as small road favorites. After losing that game, Mississippi was called "overrated" by the media, but its defeat certainly wasn't a surprise to me, as I played South Carolina in that ballgame. Now, however, with everyone off Ole Miss' bandwagon, I'll jump back on, and take the points with the Rebels as a home underdog. It certainly will be a raucous atmosphere at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, as coach Houston Nutt has asked all fans to wear blue in support of the Rebels. Whether or not this "blue-out" will inspire his squad is another issue, but I look for Nutt to pull out all stops on Saturday. Indeed, he closed practice to the media all week, and that's the first time he's done so since coming to Mississippi. Alabama has won the last five meetings between these two schools, but Mississippi has covered each of the last four, and those four Crimson Tide wins have come only by 3, 3, 3 and 4 points! So, getting points with Mississippi here at home in Oxford is HUGE. Even though its offense hasn't been impressive in SEC play (scoring just 16.5 ppg), its defense has been stellar, and the Rebels have allowed 10.7 ppg through its first four games this season. With such a good stop-unit, the Rebels fall into a great system of mine that plays on strong teams with good ground games, and staunch defenses. That system is 72-26 ATS since 1980, and is one reason why I favor the Rebels. Another is a 51-20 ATS system of mine which plays on certain revenging home dogs, who have exactly one loss on the season. Finally, I have a 64-25 ATS system that goes against unbeaten road favorites vs. .601 (or better) teams, provided our road favorite is off an ATS win. Two weeks ago, Alabama lost Dont'a Hightower for the year with a torn ACL, and the Crimson Tide was able to overcome his absence with a 38-20 victory at Kentucky. Still, Alabama gave up over 300 rushing + passing yards to the Wildcats, and that was the most yardage the Tide has surrendered this season! Look for the Rebels to pull the small upset on Saturday. 5* College Football Game of the Month on Mississippi.<!-- / message -->