TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama will face the SEC’s top passing offense when Ole Miss travels to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. And although the Rebels have seen success through the air in recent meetings, that excites the Crimson Tide’s defensive backs.

“Especially if you’re in the secondary or a DB, yeah,” redshirt senior cornerback Anthony Averett said. “It’s just more opportunities for us to make plays and more fun for me, in general.”

In the last two meetings, which the teams split, quarterback Chad Kelly averaged 381 yards and three touchdowns against UA’s defense. And the Rebels’ passing offense is still potent.

Ole Miss has averaged 427 passing yards through its first three games, which is the fourth-best average in the country, and has scored a league-leading 11 touchdowns through the air.

Sophomore quarterback Shea Patterson is the only Rebel to throw a pass this year, accounting for all of those numbers, as well as four interceptions. His 70.5 completion percentage (86-122) also ranks second in the SEC, just behind Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham (70.6) and just ahead of Alabama’s Jalen Hurts (64.3). Patterson averages 10.5 yards per pass attempt.

While his stats don’t reflect it (23 carries, 4 yards), Patterson’s ability to escape the pocket and extend plays is one of the main focuses during the Tide defense’s preparation this week.

“When he extends plays, it’s a Johnny Manziel-type of game and very, very difficult on defensive players and takes a lot out of the players because they are chasing players two or three times longer in a play than in a normal play,” coach Nick Saban said. “These kinds of quarterbacks can be problematic if you can’t control them with the athleticism of your rushers.”

Alabama’s passing defense ranks seventh in the SEC, allowing opposing offenses to average 177.8 yards each game. The Tide is next-to-last in the league in sacks with five in four games, although the pass rush affected Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur last week.

Alabama DB Minkah Fitzpatrick

Having said that, the secondary could be in for a challenge in its SEC home opener.

Facing a playmaking quarterback like Patterson is one thing. But he isn’t the only one out there making plays. Saban said Ole Miss has “the best group of receivers, collectively, we’ve played against all year.” Three starting wideouts rank in the top five in the SEC in receiving yards per game -- 1. A.J. Brown (129.7), 2. DaMarkus Lodge (94.7) and 5. D.K. Metcalf (82.0).

Brown, a true sophomore, was considered questionable with a knee injury earlier in the week, but interim head coach Matt Luke said “I think he’ll be ready to go” on Wednesday.

Brown, Lodge, Metcalf and Van Jefferson are all at least 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. Brown stands at 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, and freshman tight end Kedrick James (6-foot-5, 272) sported a No. 1 scout-team jersey this week to emulate the big-bodied receiver.

In an effort to combat the multiple ways Ole Miss will use its receivers, Saban is thankful to have a versatile player like junior defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick at the Money position in Alabama’s dime package to face Brown, who plays in the slot.

“Having a guy like Minkah, really in a game like this, really helps you because there’s a lot of matchup issues,” Saban said. “When they have four wide receivers on the field, if you play five defensive backs that’s probably not really quite enough. If you play six, maybe you match up a little bit better. But maybe you have some other issues when it comes to other things you want to try to defend.

“But when you have players like Minkah, it gives you the diversity to do some of these things. He’s very good at it because of the adaptability. He’s smart, he can learn multiple tasks with minimal reps. So, when you don’t have players like that, I think that’s really when you have lots of problems with a team like this.”

Ole Miss is going to throw the football. And partly because it hasn’t had much success running it this season. The Rebels ranks last in the conference in rushing offense (69.67), while Alabama is No. 5 nationally in rushing defense (70.25). Sorry, D-lineman.

But despite the recent success this season and in previous meetings with the Crimson Tide, the idea of facing a pass-heavy team puts a smile on the faces of Alabama’s defensive backs.

“To be honest with you, we do get a lot more excited when we think they’re going to pass the ball,” senior safety Hootie Jones said. “But at the same time, the D-line, they’re a little pissed off because they want them to run the ball so they can stop it.”

Alabama-Ole Miss will kick off Saturday, Sept. 30, at 8 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).