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Your Friday Hoodoo, Worry Index, and Sweetheart Thread │Rebel Black Bears Edition

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Alabama heads to Oxford for its first real road test of this young season, and your hoodoo is needed now, more than ever.

By Lah-ell Tawd-Bammar
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What exactly is a Hoodoo and Worry Index? You can find out here

If you don't think hoodoo matters, and the football gods are just something we've made up, just ask Oregon fans how they feel this morning...

So get yer mind right and get to hoodoo'ing.

RBR Worry Index Level: 6

Bill Curry

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Won some games, 26 in fact, handled the also rans, but you were never really confident in the outcome, especially against Auburn. Alabama will have to bring their A-game if they have any plans on notching an X in the win column.

I would have gone with Mike Shula for this game but the man only lost one time to the Rebs (2003). Oh, by the way, that would be the last time the fighting Ackbars defeated our Crimson Tide.

So just for fun, here are some things that weren't a thing when Ole Miss last beat Alabama:

  • Facebook
  • The iPhone
  • The iPad
  • USB drives
  • Pluto was still a planet
  • Hurricane Katrina
  • Twitter
  • My Space had just been launched (in 2003)
  • Gas was still less than 2$ a gallon
  • None of my kids were born (I have three now)
  • I wasn't married (Been married 10 years this past May)
  • RBR wasn't a thing
  • Google was a thing but AOL was the bigger thing.
If Ole Miss has any hopes or dreams of ending this win-less streak, this year may be their best chance. But that has less to do with Alabama and more to do with Ole Miss. Meaning, Hugh Freeze has taken what was a bottom dweller and at the very least put Ole Miss in a position where they can compete with the Alabama's, LSU's, and Auburn's of the world. Make no mistake, this is not the same Houtson Nutt led Ole Miss team who was all hype and no bite.

Bo Wallace is still Bo Wallace and will forever be Bo Wallace but their defense has improved and they have play makers on offense.

Keys to Victory

  1. Which Bo Wallace shows up? No, Dr. Bo isn't an elite level quarterback but he has the skills needed to pick apart a 'Bama defense that has been susceptible to quality passing attacks over the past year or so. This point has been run into the ground this week but if Bo can avoid the costly turnovers and runs the offense like a senior QB should, this game will be much closer than anyone expects.
  2. Which 'Bama pass defense shows up? The one who struggled against West Virginia or the one who shut down Florida?
  3. Which Hugh Freeze shows up? Mr. Freeze isn't exactly known for his in-game decision making ability (notice the zero points scored last year against Bama despite two trips inside the red-zone) but if he can avoid the blunders that have plagued him for much of his time at the Grove, much like his quarterback, Ole Miss should be able to score more than zero points this year. #analysis.
  4. Pick your poison. If you're Ole Miss, how do you defend the Alabama offense? 'Bama under Lane Kiffin is still a balanced offense (1034 rushing yards, 1343 passing yards) but Blake Sims and Amari Cooper are doing things in the passing game we haven't seen since....I can't remember. So pick your poison, Rebs. Do you load the box and make 'Bama beat you in the air or go Nickle and ask your front six to contain our rushing attack? Given how 'Bama struggled to run the ball early against Florida, if I'm Hugh Freeze, I test our offensive line and see if they can open up rushing lanes for Yeldon/Henry/Drake.
  5. How will Blake Sims handle his first real road game? Sims is a senior who has seen two national championships and nearly ten times that many prime time games, but this will be his first start in a hostile environment against a very good defense. He looked shaky in Atlanta against WVU, and though he played one of the best games ever by a 'Bama quarterback against UF, there were still far too many mental errors (fumble and penalties). Will he be able to handle the crowd noise and avoid the mental mistakes that plagued us verses the Gators?

Score Prediction: I'm worried, as usual, but confident that our defense will hold up against the Ole Miss HUNH long enough to allow our offense to get ahead by a couple scores. It's a tight game into the 3rd quarter but 'Bama pulls away late and gets out of Oxford with a 31-17 victory.

Roll Tide and don't forget to submit your hoodoo!

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