Alabama finds footing in rout of Mississippi State
The Tide won comfortably, showing continued improvement, for their 16th straight win over the Bulldogs.
By: Dave in Tuscaloosa
It wasn’t too long ago that the sky was falling around Alabama football. With a loss to a solid Texas team in Week 2 followed up by a lackluster victory over an outmatched South Florida, the 2023 version of the Crimson Tide was left for dead. However, after two weeks of impressive play and positive results, word has it that the funeral arrangements have been officially put on hold.
The Tide put together its third straight dominating defensive performance and the offense continued to make progress as Alabama downed Mississippi State in Starkvegas, 40-17, on Saturday night. Coming off of a strong performance against Ole Miss last week, both of the Bama lines turned in another improved performance as offensively the rushing attack, led by seniors Jace McClellan and Roydell Williams, gained 193 yards and kept the Bulldog defense off-balance all evening. Sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe performed well, rushing for two touchdowns and completing 10/12 passes for 164 yards. Even though Milroe’s long ball was absent, he was incredibly calm and cool in the pocket and was effective as he found seams in the Mississippi State secondary to keep the chains moving throughout the game.
Meanwhile, the young Bama D stepped up once again, limiting Will Rogers and the Bulldog attack to 261 total yards. Coach Saban had a noticeable fire about him, challenging his team unlike he has all season. The evening was not perfect by any means, but progress was made on the Bama side and the Tide left Davis Wade Stadium with their 16th straight victory over Mississippi State. Bama improved to 4-1 on the season while State fell to 2-3.
After a sloppy start on both sides that included three punts and a Mississippi State fumble that led to no points, Alabama got on the scoreboard with a 53-yard Jalen Milroe keeper up the middle to open the scoring. On its next possession, Rogers threw his first of three interceptions on the night that resulted in linebacker Chris Braswell’s first career pick-six from 28 yards out to stretch the first-quarter lead to 14-0. Rogers and State put together a 12-play, 62-yard drive that stalled at the Bama 13 and placekicker Kyle Ferrie hit a 31-yard field goal to get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard.
A Will Reichard 48-yard field goal made it 17-3 Bama with 10:07 to go in the first half, Rogers led State on an impressive 9-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a Mike Wright's 15-yard gallop to close the gap to 17-10. Bama responded with a great drive of their own, marching 75 yards on 12 plays. McClellan scored from 2 yards out to increase the Bama lead to 24-10. One play later, Rogers threw his second pick of the day and the Tide found themselves on the MSU 31-yard line with 57 seconds to play in the half. It took the Tide three plays to find the endzone again, a Milroe 10-yard run, and the teams entered the locker room with Alabama holding a comfortable 31-10 lead. State did not go away and opened the second half with an 11-play, 75-yard drive. Jeffrey Pittman scored on a 1-yard pass from Rogers to cut the score to 34-17 early in the third quarter. Alabama would control much of the second half and put the game away with three Reichard field goals to make the final score 40-17.
Saban and the Tide seemed to have righted the ship for now, yet their biggest challenges are in front of them, starting next Saturday in College Station against a solid Texas A&M squad that has responded nicely after their Week 2 loss to Miami. With Ole Miss knocking off LSU in a scorefest in Oxford, the Tide and Aggies stand as the only teams in the SEC West that do not have a conference loss.