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Alabama 22, Ole Miss 3. The most frightening (and probably most overlooked) aspect of Alabama's unchallenged run to 5-0 was its suddenly high-octane offense -- the Tide came in ranked in the top 10 in total yards and scoring, with as much success against Virginia Tech and Arkansas as against the Sun Belt fodder and a penchant for big plays we haven't seen from a 'Bama offense in ages. And we certainly didn't see it today: Greg McElroy completed fewer than half of his passes, didn't hit a throw for longer than 15 yards and didn't find the end zone.

Still, the Tide cruised to another routine thumper against an overmatched upstart, an appropriate reminder that this team is still first and foremost about a) Smothering defense that always seems to be in the right place, and arrives with menace; and b) Wearing defenses down with a solid, consistent ground game featuring a couple Brinks trucks in the backfield. You could add "making field goals" -- Leigh Tiffin was 5-of-5 when the offense stalled in Rebel territory -- but the blueprint would have been sufficient today even he'd missed all five. Per its head coach, this team is a cold, consistent, mercenary machine on all fronts.

So two questions remain. The first: Does Ole Miss have any offense at all? You can't realistically expect much against a brick wall like Alabama, but the Rebels now have a grand total of one touchdown and 13 points in two nationally-televised games against 'Bama and South Carolina, and Jevan Snead's three touchdowns at Vanderbilt last week were accompanied by three interceptions in a defensively-driven win. They have one week now to get something rolling against UAB, or face the prospect of the season really spiraling out of control against the fast-paced spreads of Arkansas and Auburn to close out the month. The conclusions from the Thursday night flop against the Gamecocks seem to be confirmed: On offense, at least, the Rebels are very, very average, and that may be a generous assessment after watching them flail through a wretched first half today.

And the second: Is holding the passing game in check enough to beat the Tide? I focus on the passing attack because no other aspect of their game has been as muted at any point this year as the passing game was today -- no one yet has broken through against the defense, no one has really stopped Mark Ingram and/or Trent Richardson on the ground -- and it still didn't matter. Teams driven by the defense and running game are destined for some close calls; at some point this year, 'Bama really is going to need Tiffin to drive home the game-winner in a tight game. But based on their consistent dominance throughout the first half of the schedule, I'll be damned if I have an idea right now how anyone on the second half is going to push the Tide to that point.