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Alabama moves to No. 1 in the coaches poll after sitting idle Saturday | AL.com
Still, Alabama moved to the No. 1 spot after sitting idle Saturday. The Crimson Tide topped the Amway Coaches poll for the first time this season despite gaining just 15 first-place votes to Florida State's 26.
It had more total votes with 1,477 to the Seminoles 1,468. Alabama gained 11 total points and four first-place votes since last week's poll following the Florida win.
Alabama holds firm in Associated Press poll after coaches rank Tide No. 1 | AL.com
After moving up to No. 1 in the coaches poll, Alabama stayed right where it was in the Associated Press poll. The Crimson Tide remained No. 3 behind top-ranked Florida State and Oregon.
It picked up seven first-place votes, but didn't gain enough ground on the top two overall.
Alabama opens as small favorite to beat Ole Miss in tightest Tide spread since 2012 | AL.com
Danny Sheridan's opening line has Alabama a 4 1/2-point favorite Saturday in Oxford.
The Tide opened as a 4-point favorite on VegasInsider's survey of sports books.
According to OddShark.com, it's the tightest spread for Alabama since being a 2 ½-point favorite to beat LSU in the 2012 BCS title game.
Through four games, Alabama was no less than a two-touchdown favorite, but beat the spread for the first time in Week 4 against Florida. The Tide hasn't been the underdog in a game since it beat Florida in the 2009 SEC Championship Game.
ESPN makes it official: College GameDay is headed to Alabama-Ole Miss | AL.com
Ole Miss made things interesting, but it kept its end of the bargain. After beating Memphis 24-3 on Saturday night, ESPN confirmed its popular College GameDay show would head to next Saturday's Alabama-Ole Miss game.
It'll be the first trip to Oxford in the 21 seasons the show has been traveling. Producer Lee Fitting said Friday they'd be heading to Mississippi as long as the Rebels took care of Memphis. After leading just 7-3 at halftime with three costly turnovers, Ole Miss finished off the Tigers in the fourth quarter.
Alabama was distraction, Ole Miss admits. Rebel says Tide not as good as in past | AL.com
Rebel safety Cody Prewitt was ready to move on to see No. 3 Alabama. Last year he expected a "throw down" before Alabama beat Ole Miss 25-0. He sees something different this fall, according to FoxSports.com.
"We understand that we haven't played a team that's going to be as good as 'Bama," Prewitt told FoxSports.com. "But we don't really think 'Bama is as good as they have been. And we're better than we have been. We're looking forward to getting to the game plan and really nailing down all the tweaks and stuff that we're going to have to put into 'Bama."
How the no-huddle offenses changes the way Alabama communicates, reads the opposition | AL.com
For Alabama's offense, plays are signaled into the quarterback like in the past. Where it goes from there is how things changed.
"When we go with the fast pace, it's more one or two word things that are just quick and you get up to the line and run the play," right tackle Austin Shepherd said. "When we're in the huddle, I wouldn't say it's a long drawn out call, but it's seven or eight words instead of one or two."
The New England Patriots, coached by Nick Saban's close friend Bill Belichick, use one-word play calls on occasion, according to a 2012 Boston Globe story. A lone, single syllable word would determine the Patriots' play, formation, motions and directions.
Everything is coded when quarterback Blake Sims shouts the calls in time to read the defense and make any adjustments from there. Noise will be a factor Saturday at Ole Miss so tight end Brian Vogler said they're comfortable relaying the calls down the line if Sims' voice can't be heard.
1. Alabama It's Ole Miss' first time getting a visit from College GameDay, Alabama. Be nice.
No.