As predicted, Alabama and Ole Miss are the frontrunners to win the SEC West, but some might not understand the magnitude of this matchup between the Crimson Tide and Rebels. For starters, Ole Miss and Alabama have not had a bigger game in the series since 2015, when those two met on September 19th in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. That 2015 matchup was the last time that Ole Miss defeated the Crimson Tide. Since that day, Alabama has dominated the series, which could remain this year, but with Lane Kiffin, in year two as Head Coach at Ole Miss, some have started the chatter that the matchup this year could easily decide the SEC West.

Both coaches will call all the chatter around the game” Rat Poison,” but it’s easily going to be one of the most anticipated College Football of the season. Coming into the matchup both, Alabama and Ole Miss will have a lot to prove.

For Alabama, it’s business as usual. The entire 2021 season is one gigantic warpath following their undefeated 2020 season where Coach Saban showed once and for all that he still has it at the ripe age of 69. From there, Coach Saban has seemingly drank from the fountain of youth and has continued to dominate the game of College Football. In their first three games, Alabama has defeated Miami, Florida, and Mercer. In those three games, Alabama had two blowout wins over Miami and Mercer before being battled-tested on the road at Florida. In that win over Alabama, the Crimson Tide were forced to learn on the fly what this 2021 team was all about. It was ugly. There’s zero question about that, but you give Coach Saban and his boys an extra game week before Ole Miss and, you’ll have a brand new team from this past weekend.

For Ole Miss, the matchup with Alabama is much bigger for their program than it for Alabama. For the Rebels, a win over Alabama on October 2nd would solidify everything that Coach Kiffin has worked around the clock to build in Oxford, Mississippi. It’ll never be Alabama, but former Head Coach Hugh Freeze laid out the blueprint for Lane Kiffin to come in and build Ole Miss from the ground up into something that every Mississippian could be proud of and a program that could withstand the test of time.

Last season, these two programs scored 111 points and played in one of the most exciting offensive matchups of the entire season. Now I know what you’re thinking, how can either program sustain such impressive offensive explosiveness without a defense backing it? Well, both Coaches spent the entire off-season improving both units which, will translate to an even better matchup between the two this year.

It might sound crazy to some, but the matchup on October 2nd could very well determine the favorite to win the SEC West and represent the division in Atlanta. It’s also not out of the realm of possibilities that the Southeastern Conference could see two teams in the College Football Playoffs, with the Alabama and Ole Miss game being an early play-in type game. Obviously, Alabama will be the favorite come October 2nd but don’t be surprised when this matchup between the Rebels and the Crimson Tide shape out to be one of the best College Football games of the year.