Order Restored: Bama Routs Mississippi State, 49-9
Mississippi State gets boat raced in Starkville by the angry Tide.
By: Dave in Tuscaloosa
Roydell Williams truck sticks a Mississippi State defender. (Photo: UA Athletics)
Alabama fans: breathe easy, as it turns out that the sky is not falling after all. Coming off a tumultuous week after a rare loss, 5th ranked Alabama bounced back big time by rolling over the Bulldogs of Mississippi State to the tune of 49-9. It was the Tide’s 33 straight game of scoring over 30 points and it re-established the Tide as a contender for the college football playoffs.
Bryce Young had a terrific night, completing 20 of 28 passes for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns to four different receivers. Three of them were the result of big plays as catch and run combinations of 46 yards to John Metchie III, 75 yards to Jameson Williams on the first play of the second half, and a beautifully designed 51 yarder in the face of a blitz to Brian Robinson Jr. helped Young have a big evening. The Tide amassed 543 total yards, including 344 in the second half (to State’s 99) and converted on 12 of 16 third-down attempts. The backs ran hard all night and were led by sophomore Roydell Williams’ 78 yards on 11 carries. Not to be outdone was Robinson, who continues to impress, gaining 73 yards on 19 carries. More importantly, a week after offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was heavily criticized for passing on the goal-line, which resulted in a pick and two field goals against Texas A&M, Alabama pounded it out inside the 5, resulting in two short Robinson touchdown runs. Leading the receiving corps was Metchie, who hauled in 7 passes for 117 yards and 1 touchdown.
Defensively, the Tide needed a big night to keep Mike Leach’s Air Raid attack in check, and that is exactly what they got. The Bulldogs were limited to 299 total yards on offense, including a total of -1 on the ground. State sophomore quarterback Will Rogers was kept in check, completing 25 of 55 for 300 yards, yet he failed to get the Bulldogs into the endzone and threw 3 interceptions. Bama sophomore linebacker Will Anderson was a terror, as he spent the evening in the Bulldog backfield and tallied a career-high 4 sacks. Overall, the defense was a menacing wrecking crew that held the high-flying Bulldog attack in check. The secondary had a fine night, recording a season-high 3 interceptions and they were only flagged for pass interference/holding just once during the contest.
State opened the game with an impressive 7 play, 40-yard drive that made it to the Bama 35 yard line but it ended with a Josh Jobe interception. Young and company would drive 65 yards on 6 plays that ended with a Metchie 46 yard catch and run to give Alabama a 7-0 lead. State responded with a nice 12 play, 49-yard drive that ended with a 44-yard field goal from senior Brandon Ruiz that would cut the lead to 7-3. After a rare 3 and out from Alabama, State would get the ball on its own 15. Four plays later, Rogers would throw his first pick of the night and junior Jordan Battle took it to the house to extend the Tide’s lead to 14-3. Bama would score the only touchdown of the second quarter as they would close a 16 play, 93-yard drive that ate up 7:17 with a Robinson 1 yard touchdown run. Mississippi State would answer with a field goal to make the halftime score 21-6. The Tide would open the scoring in the third quarter on the first play of the half, with Young hitting Jameson Williams for a 75-yard catch and run that stretched the score to 28-6. Robinson would add his 51 yards catch and run touchdown in the third and he would score on a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. A Young to sophomore wideout Traeshon Holden 29 yard touchdown strike and a State 3rd quarter field goal would complete the scoring.
How great it was to see Bama nation back to normal. The players were jumping around, smiling and having fun on their way to their 6th win of the season. Confidence has also been restored on both sides of the ball for Bama and the schedule shapes up nicely for the Tide, as the only currently ranked team left on the docket is an Arkansas squad that just fell to Auburn at home. Up next is an improved Tennessee team that will be coming off a hard-fought 31-26 loss to Ole Miss. Alabama has won 14 in a row in the series, and Nick Saban has never lost to the Volunteers as the Tide head coach.