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- Ole Miss played well enough on defense to win. Moving LaMark Armour from tackle to end paid off against the run game. The Rebels found a pass rush as well, although it was not as consistent as it needs to be.

Punter Tyler Campbell had his best game of the year with a 47.9-yard average on eight attempts.

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- Campbell's success was negated by the punt team, which gave up 125 yards on six returns, one of them ending inside the Ole Miss 10-yard line.

The offense was unable to get anything going until it was down by three touchdowns in the second half.

The Rebels were called for five personal fouls and gave up 112 yards in penalties, a season-high.

Keys to victory

- Evaluating the keys to victory in Saturday's GameDay section:

1. Stop the run: Ole Miss was solid. Alabama averaged 2.9 yards per play with 100 yards on 34 attempts. The Tide's longest rush was a 12-yard run by Trent Richardson; Mark Ingram, who rushed for 172 last year in Oxford, had 60 yards on 15 carries.

2. Get the receivers involved: There were a few drops, but generally the receivers were covered much better than Alabama covered receivers at South Carolina the previous week.

3. Win the turnover margin: The Rebels were close to a second-straight turnover-free game when Jeremiah Masoli had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted late. The Rebels did not force turnovers on defense like they did against Kentucky, but forced a turnover on special teams and used it to score a field goal.

MVP

- LaMark Armour: In his first start at defensive end, Armour had six tackles, a half sack and was a factor in helping control the Alabama run game.

Bottom line

- The Rebels won't face an Alabama-type of defense every game, but they're going to have to find ways to be successful when they do. Defensively, if Saturday's effort was a beginning point and not an isolated incident, Ole Miss will be in position to win games in the second half of the season.