Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze isn’t sure how far the Rebels have progressed in his one-plus season at the helm.

However, Freeze feels like he will know a whole lot more Saturday after his team plays defending national champion and top-ranked Alabama.

For a second straight season, the teams will meet at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (ESPN).

“We look forward to the opportunity to go over,” Freeze said Monday at his weekly media gathering. “For several years now, Alabama has been the standard to which you measure yourself in this conference. That hasn’t changed. It’s another opportunity for us to measure ourselves and see where we are. I’m OK with the results as (long) our best effort is put forth.”

Off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 1989, No. 21 Ole Miss enjoyed its first of two open dates this season Saturday.

“Not playing a game was a good thing for us,” Ole Miss junior quarterback Bo Wallace said. “It is good to have two full weeks to prepare for Alabama because they do so many things well. This will be a big challenge, but I like our chances.”

Last season, Ole Miss stayed with Alabama well into the third quarter of play. In the end, a kick return for touchdown and three turnovers doomed the Rebels in a 33-14 loss. Still, the confidence gleaned from that loss and a 30-27 loss at Texas A&M the following week helped Ole Miss reach the postseason for the first time in three years.

“Physically they’re (Alabama) very, very good,” Freeze said. “They’re not going to make the mistake that allows you to have many explosive plays. That’s been their staple of their defense. They’re going to stay in the right position. Very rarely do you see explosive plays. We’ve got to find a way to create those, or find a way to stay in and convert on third and shorts to stay on the field.

“Do I think we’re better prepared for this year? I do. We have a better understanding of who we are and what we want to do.”

Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) already has won twice on the road. It opened the season with a SEC victory at Vanderbilt and then delivered a dominating performance in a road win at Texas.

“We knew we had some big challenges right off the bat,” Wallace said. “I like the confidence level of this team. You can tell we are no longer intimidated when we go on the road and into hostile situations.”

Freeze feels improved play at quarterback will give the Rebels a better chance against the Crimson Tide. Against Texas, Wallace was 17 of 25 for 177 yards and two touchdowns. The Rebels committed only one turnover and scored the final 30 points of a 44-23 victory.

” Bo (Wallace) has taken care of the ball better (this season),” Freeze said. ” If you look at that last year, those three turnovers resulted in a touchdown and two field goals, 13 points or so. If you don’t have those, maybe we’re in it in the fourth quarter last year. He’s proven this year to this point that he’s been more conscious about it, and hopefully he will be again.”

Ole Miss junior wide receiver and former Noxubee County standout Vince Sanders is expected to be back in the lineup after suffering an injury against Vanderbilt.

“Vince will play,” Freeze said. “He went through a full practice yesterday. We’ll incorporate him in just like we would anybody. He’ll be ready to go. You’ll see him, Laquon (Treadwell), Ja-mes (Logan), and Donte (Moncrief) out there at the same time. We’ll just rotate them and keep him fresh. We love having him back. It gives us another threat for sure.”

The status of linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche is expected to be determined later in the week. Freeze said the Rebels have played with a lack of depth at linebacker all season and he expects that trend to continue.

Alabama (3-0, 1-0) is coming off a 31-6 home victory against Colorado State on Saturday. Freeze expects a much more focused Alabama team this weekend, so Ole Miss will need to limit mistakes if it has a chance to earn its fourth win, its third road win, and its second win in Tuscaloosa.

“It would mean we’re definitely ahead of schedule in our program, to go there and win or beat them here,” Freeze said. “We won’t talk about Ole Miss winning just once there. That really doesn’t matter to these kids. … Our coaches probably don’t even know that. I know it because I’ve followed this program. I don’t think that would motivate us one way or another. What should motivate us, and I think will, is an opportunity to go stand in front of the measuring stick and prove that you deserve to be there. That’s what we’ll focus on. If it does go our way, it would be a huge boost to our program and move us a few steps forward quicker than anybody thought, including myself.”

Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.

Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.