Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa
The Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0) get ready for their first challenge of the young season, a road date against fellow SEC West rival, the Ole Miss Rebels (2-0) on Saturday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including all the ESPN channels. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
ESPN and ESPN 2 are both included in the “Sling Orange” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
ESPN Platforms
Additionally, you can also watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. You’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can still sign up for one of the above options and then use your Hulu or Sling TV credentials to sign in and watch on the ESPN digital platforms.
Preview
So far the story for the Crimson Tide has been sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. After replacing Jalen Hurts in the National Championship Game against Georgia, Tagovailoa has taken a stranglehold on the starting job, and has yet to throw an interception in two games this season.
In a 51-14 win against Louisville last week, Alabama was – shocking – dominant in all three phases. Tagovailoa didn’t do much, finishing 12-for-16 with 227 yards and two touchdowns, adding 26 yards and a touchdown in the ground. Hurts briefly saw action, like he did in the opener against Arkansas State, finishing 5-for-9 for 70 yards. Hurts will likely see action throughout the season, especially in games the Crimson Tide dominate early and take commanding leads late into the second half.
Head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide defense have a tough challenge this week, as the Rebels’ explosive offense has scored a lot through two games; Ole Miss is third in the nation in scoring (61.5 points) and eighth in total offense (596 yards per game).
“I think they’ve changed their style of play a little bit. They became a much more effective running team. Play-action passes, RPOs. And (the quarterback) does a really good job of executing.”
Junior college transfer Scott Phillips leads the SEC in rushing yards per game (155.5) and touchdowns (4). In addition to Phillips’ performances, senior quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, a fellow Hawaiian, leads the Rebels against Tagovailoa and the Crimson Tide.
Ta’amu led Ole Miss in a 47-27 road win against Texas Tech on opening weekend. He finished with another 300-yard performance – 22-for-32 for 336 yards and two touchdowns. He was even better last week – although against a weaker team in Southern Illinois – throwing for a career-high 448 yards and five touchdowns.