Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Rebels forced Alabama's starters to play a full 60 minutes on Saturday in the Crimson Tide's eventual 63-48 victory in Oxford, Mississippi.

Three Alabama players made their season debuts on offense or defense, one of whom took his first-ever snaps at a new position.

Below is a breakdown of snap counts for every player, first by offense and defense and then with additional observations by position:

Offense (71 snaps)
Mac Jones 71
Alex Leatherwood 71
Deonte Brown 71
Landon Dickerson 71
Emil Ekiyor Jr. 71
Evan Neal 71
Miller Forristall 68
DeVonta Smith 59
Jaylen Waddle 59
Najee Harris 53
John Metchie III 49
Kendall Randolph 19
Brian Robinson Jr. 18
Carl Tucker 15
Cameron Latu 7
Slade Bolden 5
Joshua McMillon 3

The offense used 11/Blue personnel (three wide receivers) and 12/Silver personnel (two tight ends, two receivers) at almost equal rates. It was in Blue personnel for 36 of 71 snaps and Silver personnel for 32 of 71 snaps. The remaining three snaps were in Tan personnel, the team's four-tight-end group it uses in short yardage. Alabama is 6 for 6 on scoring touchdowns when in Tan personnel this season.

Defense (86 snaps)
Dylan Moses 86
Christian Harris 86
Josh Jobe 86
Patrick Surtain II 85
Malachi Moore 83
Jordan Battle 79
Chris Allen 73
LaBryan Ray 59
Will Anderson 59
Daniel Wright 51
Demarcco Hellams 47
Christian Barmore 39
Justin Eboigbe 35
Phidarian Mathis 27
D.J. Dale 25
Byron Young 13
Drew Sanders 7
Ben Davis 3
Brian Branch 3
Jalyn Armour-Davis 1

The defense was in nickel almost exclusively, lining up with five defensive backs on 80 of 86 snaps. In the first half, all 35 nickel snaps were with two linemen and two outside linebackers on the field to help defend Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral's mobility. But in the second half, the team went with three linemen and one outside linebacker on 30 of its 45 nickel snaps to stop the run more effectively. The team was in dime (6 DBs) on just five snaps, its fewest in a game this season, and had 12 men on the field for one snap. The penalty was declined.

QUARTERBACKS
Mac Jones 71

No Bryce Young for the first time this season. Jones went 28 for 32 for 417 yards, becoming the first Alabama quarterback to ever throw for 400-plus yards in back-to-back games. He leads the Football Bowl Subdivision with a passing efficiency of 220.3, nearly 10 points ahead of Ole Miss' Matt Corral in second place. He said in his postgame press conference that the offense knew that it would have to score on basically every drive, and Jones' ability to deliver on that lofty expectation cements him as one of the premier quarterbacks in college football and a contender for the Heisman Trophy.

RUNNING BACKS
Najee Harris 53
Brian Robinson Jr. 18

Harris had a career game, rushing for 206 yards and five touchdowns, breaking his previous career highs of 146 yards and three touchdowns. His five rushing touchdowns also tied the school record, and his fifth touchdown, a 39-yarder, was the longest of his career. In just three games this season, he has scored 10 rushing touchdowns, two more than any other FBS player, and has jumped from 18th to ninth on Alabama's all-time rushing touchdown list.

Robinson had to wait until late in the third quarter last week against Texas A&M to get his first real action, but he had a larger role against the Rebels. His production has increased each week; his stat line against Ole Miss was 10 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown. His runs consistently kept Alabama ahead of the chains, and four of the 10 resulted in a first down or a touchdown.

WIDE RECEIVERS
DeVonta Smith 59
Jaylen Waddle 59
John Metchie III 49
Slade Bolden 5

Over the first 53 minutes of game time and Alabama's first 60 plays, Smith didn't miss an offensive snap except for two goal-line runs that didn't include any wide receivers. His 59th and final snap of the game was the 14-yard run that put Alabama up 11 points with 3 minutes remaining. Waddle matched him for the first time this season with Metchie just a bit behind. Bolden relieved Waddle on five snaps. All three receivers rank in the top 28 in the FBS in receiving yards.

TIGHT ENDS
Miller Forristall 68
Kendall Randolph 19
Carl Tucker 15
Cameron Latu 7
Joshua McMillon 3

There continues to be a strong rotation among the tight ends. Jahleel Billingsley didn't see the field for the first time this season, but McMillon, a linebacker, debuted in a new role. Coach Nick Saban said McMillon still hasn't fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered last season, but he can run very effectively in a straight line. He made the key block on Harris' game-sealing 39-yard touchdown run. Forristall remains the only tight end to catch a pass this season.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Alex Leatherwood 71
Deonte Brown 71
Landon Dickerson 71
Emil Ekiyor Jr. 71
Evan Neal 71

For the first time this season, there were no second-team offensive linemen in the game at any point. The O-line gave up one sack on 33 dropbacks by Jones and allowed just one additional tackle for loss. The run game also averaged nearly 8 yards per carry after averaging below 4 yards per carry in the first two games.

DEFENSIVE LINE
LaBryan Ray 59
Christian Barmore 39
Justin Eboigbe 35
Phidarian Mathis 27
D.J. Dale 25
Byron Young 13

Ray played 69 snaps over the first two games but led the way with 59 against the Rebels. He essentially swapped with Eboigbe, who had led the D-line in snaps in each of the first two games. Barmore continues to expand his role beyond just a pass-rush specialist. Dale, the nose tackle, didn't play the first 27 snaps of the game but was on the field for 25 of the last 59 plays.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
Chris Allen 73
Will Anderson 59
Drew Sanders 7
Ben Davis 3

Allen had more snaps than Anderson for the first time this season. He was named one of the Alabama coaches' defensive players of the week for the second straight game after recording a sack, another tackle for loss and seven total tackles. Sanders and Davis briefly relieved the two starters late in the first half when Ole Miss increased the tempo even more than usual.

Saban said the team switched from two OLBs to one OLB on the field for most of its defensive plays in the second half because it wanted to stop the run more effectively. In short, it worked.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS
Dylan Moses 86
Christian Harris 86

Again, no reserves for the first time this year. One of the most pressing issues for Alabama's defense has been giving up plays over the middle, especially on third down. There were a few plays against Ole Miss where there appeared to be confusion among the back seven about their coverage assignments or Corral's scrambling led to open space within Alabama's zone coverage.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
Josh Jobe 86
Patrick Surtain II 85
Malachi Moore 83
Jordan Battle 79
Daniel Wright 51
Demarcco Hellams 47
Brian Branch 3
Jalyn Armour-Davis 1

Jobe played every snap for the third straight game, the only player on the team to do so on offense or defense. Surtain missed one snap late in the first half for an unknown reason; Armour-Davis sprinted across the field to take his spot. Branch filled in at Star for the first three snaps of the second half while Moore was late coming out of the locker room, also for an unknown reason. This marked the season debuts for both Armour-Davis and Branch.

For the second straight week, Hellams took Wright's spot mid-game. For the first 43 plays of the game, Wright was on the field for all 43 and Hellams only came in on four snaps to play the Money position in dime. But after Ole Miss tight end Kenny Yeboah's second touchdown of the game, Hellams played the rest of the game at safety and Wright only came in on one dime snap — that is, until Battle was ejected for targeting and Wright played the final seven snaps at safety next to Hellams.

SEC Mascots

More From 105.1 The Block