Associated Press photo by Vasha Hunt / Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith leaps for his fourth touchdown catch of the game well ahead of Ole Miss defensive back Keidron Smith during the first half Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama entered Bryant-Denny Stadium on a scorching Saturday afternoon having routed Ole Miss the past two football seasons by the average score of 64-5.
This was a thriller by comparison.
Spotting the Rebels a 10-7 lead after the first quarter, the second-ranked Crimson Tide awoke for a resounding 59-31 victory to improve to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play. Tua Tagovailoa set an Alabama single-game record with six touchdown passes, and fellow junior DeVonta Smith had a gargantuan performance with 11 catches for school records of 274 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions.
Smith's previous collegiate best of 136 receiving yards occurred earlier this month in a 47-23 win at South Carolina.
"I think all our guys are in a zone, but it just so happened that he was in a zone about five times," Tagovailoa said. "He made plays when plays needed to be made, and I think he did a great job today. It's always about what the defense gives us, and I didn't realize until probably after the third touchdown throw that DeVonta had scored three of them already.
"He was the person that was pretty much open all the time, so I just gave him the ball."
Tagovailoa and Smith connected on touchdowns of 74, 25, 23 and 33 yards to stake the Tide to a 38-10 halftime lead. On the first possession of the third quarter, the two teamed for a 27-yard score to give Alabama a five-touchdown bulge.
Smith's stellar showing broke the 224 yards compiled by Amari Cooper on two occasions in 2014, and no Tide receiver ever had surpassed more than three touchdown catches in a single contest.
"I didn't know anything about all that until the game was over," Smith said. "The coaches called the plays, and I happened to be at the right place at the right time."
Alabama, which has an open date before visiting Texas A&M on Oct. 12, has won 17 consecutive regular-season games by at least three touchdowns. The Aggies gave the Tide their closest regular-season game last season, with Alabama winning 45-23 after leading 45-16 after three quarters.
Tagovailoa entered Saturday having accounted for 79 touchdowns - 71 passing and eight rushing - in his Tide career, and he tied AJ McCarron's school mark with his 74-yard strike to Smith on the team's fourth play from scrimmage. He set the program standard with a 7-yard scramble early in the second quarter that put the Tide ahead to stay at 14-10.
The three additional scoring passes to Smith in the second quarter plus his connection with Smith early in the third and a 19-yard strike to tight end Miller Forristall with 7:57 remaining gave Tagovailoa a career touchdown responsibility of 86.
"I don't think that says too much about me," Tagovailoa said. "I think it says a lot about the guys that I'm surrounded with."
Saturday's game started in familiar fashion, with an Alabama receiver taking a short-to-medium catch and turning it into a lengthy touchdown. This time it was Smith, the hero of the 2017 national championship win over Georgia, who hauled in a pass from Tagovailoa around midfield and broke free from three Rebels for the 74-yard score just 70 seconds into the game.
"This has been a goal the whole time, just getting my name established as not just the guy who caught the game-winning catch," Smith said. "I've wanted to get myself more out there."
What transpired next was not so typical, as Alabama receiver Jaylen Waddle fumbled a punt return that the Rebels (2-3, 1-1) recovered at the Tide 30. Ole Miss needed seven plays to capitalize, with freshman quarterback John Rhys Plumlee rushing for 24 yards on three carries before scoring from a yard out to forge a 7-7 tie.
Alabama drove to the Ole Miss 36 with its second possession, but a false start on Landon Dickerson resulted in the Tide punting. The Rebels marched 65 yards on 13 plays and took a 10-7 lead on Luke Logan's 33-yard field goal, with Plumlee's mix of rushing and passing continuing to fluster the hosts.
The Tide regrouped and went 66 yards on nine plays, taking a 14-10 lead on the Tagovailoa 7-yard scramble, and that ignited a dominant second quarter in which Alabama outgained the Rebels 223-50 and outscored them 31-0.
"A win is a win, and we did some very good things out there today," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "I think it's pretty obvious that we left some money on the table on offense. Tua was good today and we ran the ball effectively, but we probably didn't keep the ball as much as we need to.
"We didn't get off the field on defense when we had opportunities, and that allowed them to extend drives and keep the ball."
Tagovailoa threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns in the first half and finished with 418 yards on 26-of-36 passing.
Plumlee, making his first collegiate start, threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 25 times for 109 yards and a score.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.
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