Alabama and Southern Mississippi have been playing football against one another since 1947, when the Crimson Tide rolled over the Golden Eagles 34-7. With Southern Miss headed into Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, a lot of onlookers think the visitors will be lucky to get off that easy this time. But it’s not like Southern Mississippi lacks pride or a glorious history. A guy named Brett Favre used to quarterback there, after all. Bama’s been successful over the years against Southern Miss, but it was fairly close the last time these two teams met–with Alabama getting a 30-21 win in 2005.
‘Bama’s a 47-point favorite this time because Southern Miss allows 6.5 yards per carry. And because Alabama’s defense didn’t allow a single point last week against Florida Atlantic–another C-USA team like Southern Miss. Oh and there’s this fact: Southern Mississippi is a combined 1-23 over the last two seasons. They scored only 205 total points last year while giving up 503. The talented Tide should be pretty eager to get this one over with, so it can start its more competitive SEC schedule. Unless Southern Miss quarterback Nick Mullens somehow morphs into Brett Favre on Friday night, the TV ratings on this one should sink by the second half. Except for all the gamblers who like the underdogs–they’ll be watching and hoping for a score more like 1947.
